2013 has dawned a bit brighter than the past couple of years, at least as far as the economy is concerned. The US government managed to come together across the aisle to avoid the ‘fiscal cliff’, and most industries are now back to adding thousands of jobs each and every month. It’s an encouraging time to reinvest in the stock market, to launch that small business you’ve been planning, to book your dream vacation and to invest in upgrades around the house. But just because things have turned around a bit doesn’t mean you can spend without consideration. This is crucial when it comes to home repairs. The real estate market has yet to fully come around, and home values may never return to where they once stood. That means if something breaks around the house it will always behoove you to try and fix it yourself. Yet there are limits to this strategy. For instance, you never want to attempt to repair an electrical issue if you don’t have any experience in that area. Here are some home repairs you can do on your own to save money.
If the exterior of your home needs work you can often handle these efforts yourself. That includes spots that require paint fixes, replacing siding and shingles or even repairing wood. Bring a sample of the material with you to the home repair shop, and they should be able to match it close enough to get the job done. If you’ve got some time you can usually special order an exact match as well. This work takes some light carpentry skills and a bit of patience, but neither should be outside of your range.
Leaky pipes are another area where you could save money by just addressing things yourself. If the problem is inside the walls you might be out of your league. But plumbers are incredibly expensive, and it can often be difficult to schedule a quality plumbing service when you need it most. The majority of these issues can be solved with sealing materials and a bit of elbow grease. So check out any trouble with your sinks, toilets and washing machines yourself before heading to the online yellow pages.
Window and door issues should also be easy enough for you to manage. You probably have never replaced a window before, but with an extra hand and detailed instructions it’s not actually as difficult as you would expect. In most instances you don’t have to handle anything this extreme, but just need to reseal gaps or replace locks. You’ll find all-in-one systems you can purchase for these tasks, and you should be able to manage the work in a single afternoon.
Problems with your air conditioning and heating systems are often far too complicated for a DIY job, but the same cannot be said for your hot water heater. These devices may seem daunting to you, but they’re really just glorified tanks of water. In most cases the problem boils down to a short in the heating device or a clogged pipe. Even if the tank itself needs to be replaced you’ll have no issues finding what you need. Check out GoToTanks.com, where you can order the exact same water tank if need be. The key to this job is to be especially careful when you empty the tank. Even when switched off the water inside could be very hot. Take your time and wear protective gloves and you’ll be fine.