I realize it may be very appealing to take on projects around the house yourself, after all, there is no one that cares more about your house than yourself. You’re probably thinking that you can do it much cheaper than hiring out the work, which you likely can, and depending on what the project is, you can even get it done before the contractor is able to make it out to your house.
These are all valid thoughts, however, in this post I’m going to show you why your thinking is flawed and why nine times out of ten, it’s to your benefit to pay someone else to do it. We recently came across this situation, we heavily weighed out the pros and cons and ultimately decided on hiring out a drywall contractor in Aurora IL. Here is how we arrived to our conclusion:
Experience
I know from past experience that if I’ve never taken on a certain type of project then it will take me at least 3 to 5 times longer than if I had done it before. This is not an exaggeration, but think about the time it takes you to learn a new skill, any skill. There is a learning curve and drywall installation is no different. From watching youtube videos, reading books or blog posts, to driving over to your local Home Depot several times to talk to an associate, it all takes a tremendous amount of time.
Let’s assume that you follow the instructions to a T and that everything goes as expected, then you’re one of the lucky ones. It seems that every time I take on a project in the house, something unexpected always comes up that throws me for a loop. It’s not that I end up throwing my hands up and throw in the towel, but now I have to improvise and come up with a solution to this new challenge.
I’m certain that professional drywallers who do this on a daily basis have already seen nearly every situation that could arise. To them, there is no such thing as “unexpected” because they’ve already seen and know how to overcome obstacles when they come up. It’s extremely tough to put a price on experience which is why it’s to your advantage to pay for their services.
Time
What is your time worth? In the scenario above, would it have made sense for you to take on this project? Ask yourself, could you have gone to work during that time and made more income to cover the expense of a professional drywaller? Economies of scale and opportunity costs are real and there is usually no better example than that of a new home project.
Do you clean your own home? Have you ever hired a cleaning company? If not, you should try it at least once. They bring their entire crew to your home and the work gets divided between the crew. They worth together like an assembly line and get the job done in less than a couple of hours. How long does it take you to clean your house? Once you do the math, you’d probably convince yourself that it’s costing you money to clean your own house.
Now let’s put a wrinkle in the drywall example, is it likely that you can do the entire project yourself, without any help? Likely not. You need help hanging the heavy drywall, especially when it’s hanging over your head. This means you’ll need help from another laborer and now you’re taking up time from two people to do the job. Do you see where this is going? The more people that are involved, the less it makes sense to take on the work yourself.
Material
Every time I take a project on myself I either end up with too little material or way too much – it’s never on the nose. The lack of material means I have to make another trip to the store and excess material means that it will just go to waste because I won’t end up using it. Professionals on the other hand can use it for another project they are taking on.
In addition, they’re able to obtain material at discounted prices and they typically pass on the savings to you. Not to mention that tools are costly and unless you have any intentions of redoing this sort of project again in the near future, they will probably not get used again and they’ll just collect dust in your garage or storage.
These are just a few reasons that it makes financial sense to hire out a professional. We needed drywall installation in Aurora IL and was able to find a great one by asking a few of the right questions and being patient with their schedule. I recommend you do the same.