Reasons why hiring a professional is the right choice for that DIY project
One wise saying about homeownership is that you don’t own your home, your home owns you. Parts of your home wear out, break, or need upgrading. Nowhere is this truer than with your plumbing system. There’s a strong tendency in homeowners to invest sweat equity into their home – doing things on their own. This is great for interior painting or even laying tile…but it’s a false economy when working with plumbing.
Safety
We’ve all seen home improvement re-runs where Tim Allen’s character attempts to do some relatively simple household repair and disaster strikes. Tim Allen is a great physical comedian, and all of his disasters on the show were staged by professional prop makers. When you have to use a power saw, or are mucking around with a jammed in-sink garbage disposal, there’s always a risk of personal injury.
Warranties
Most people are used to warranties from consumer products – the product works more or less as intended, and you turn in the warranty card and you’re good. When you’re doing self-installed plumbing fixtures, hooking up a tank-less hot water heater, or even replacing the flow valve on a toilet, even if you install it perfectly, you may void the warranty. Many appliances that hook into your plumbing, like refrigerators with ice makers, hot water heaters or high efficiency washing machines, have certifications and warranties that only apply when they’re professionally installed. Yes, it looks like a racket, but that warranty is great for peace of mind.
Long Term Costs
While modern indoor plumbing is a mature area of engineering, and everyone has stories about how expensive plumbers are, the reality is that you’re undervaluing your time. A plumber can do the job in less time, and with less ancillary disruption of your home while they do it. Plus, a paid professional can identify future problems; there are plenty of homeowners who tell stories about a plumber replacing a toilet or a sink drain and identifying places where water-runoff has caused warping, or seeped below the floor and started rot or mold.
In the end, your home is your responsibility, and while it’s easy to say “I can do that!” backed up by commercials from Lowe’s or Home Depot, the reality is that the skilled trades are exactly that. You wouldn’t do an appendectomy on yourself to avoid going to the doctor, and you shouldn’t do your own plumbing repairs to avoid paying a contractor.
Are you looking to upgrade your West Covina home? Call Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Drain & Sewer at (626) 962-0885 and get started today!