Is DIY Practical or Impractical?
‘Doing it yourself’ can be both beneficial and arduous in unison. While there’re a lot of practical upsides to getting stuck in yourself, a few drawbacks can also crop up along the way like with anything else. But what are these, and is DIY always the best solution moving forward?
Consequently, let’s try to definitively answer; is DIY practical, or can it be impractical?
Learning and limitations
DIY projects can be a great opportunity to stimulate your mind. Given enough time, they can almost have the same effect on you as a good hobby might. You’re focusing on a goal, and you have a result in mind that will change your life forever. Undoubtedly, this can all be very invigorating and exciting, and it can all do a lot of mileage in terms of personal pride and happiness.
That said, your confidence can take a knock in your early days of your DIY pursuits. Whether it’s a builder, plumber or electrician, try to call in an expert when it’s necessary. More advanced work may require sharper skills that you don’t yet possess, and if you take risks you may hurt yourself or make things worse than they were before. Today more millennials are calling in help for similar matters, but there’s no shame in this if it means people are safe from tampering with things they shouldn’t.
Safety considerations
Doing DIY work means that, in some instances, your personal wellbeing can be on the line. If you’re using dangerous tools and regularly getting dirty and dusty, there’re chances that an accident or two may happen at some point. To curb the likelihood of this happening, you’ll need to invest in all the necessary protective gear.
Goggles, gloves, overalls, dust masks and respirators, first aid kits; you’ll need to pick them all up for most DIY efforts. The expense will surely tally up, but fortunately these won’t be constantly recurring costs that will chip away at your finances overtime. It’s perhaps a big one-off payment, but it’ll all keep you safe while you’re working away.
Money concerns
Of course, if you’re going to start ringing up professionals, you can expect a lot of expense for the work. You even must pay for their time when they simply come over to view and assess what work needs doing, long before they pick up their tools and get going on the job. Every second can feel like another penny being spent, which certainly isn’t ideal.
However, while those who go down the DIY route can save a lot of money, there’s still a cost; losing a lot of personal time. With jobs to go to and a series of other obligations to attend to, precious days off and weekends are spent hard at work on the project. Some enjoy it, others get miserable very quickly. What you sacrifice here is down to you and what you value more; money or free time.
Whether a DIY project is practical or impractical is largely down to you. Are you skilled enough? Do you take safety seriously? Can you afford a professional, or are you prepared to give up time with friends and family? Once you carefully consider what the financial and personal costs are of a DIY project, the path forward should be clear.