We just finished painting our living/dining room today. It took us two days working straight. This is the first time we’ve painted while living in a place. Typically we do it before we move in and have furniture. It’s so much tougher having to move furniture around. I’m guessing that’s how we spend out Labor Day, cleaning and putting the rooms back together.
Anyway our neighbors paid someone to paint their spare bedroom and hallway because they were having work done on the guest bedroom. Anyway they ended up spending this weekend painting the bedroom and hallway because of the “shoddy” job done. The paint wasn’t evenly put on so there were areas where you could see the primer through the paint.
They were upset. The thing is they painted their master bedroom before they moved in, so painting isn’t hard. But they thought it was cheaper to have someone do it for them. Turns out it wasn’t. They spent less time than my DH and I, but only because they had to put on a second coat.
I have to ask when do you pay someone to fix your house or car, and when do you do it yourself? I was dreaming of having someone come in and paint our house, because it’s such a pain in the behind. But after hearing and seeing (I went in the other day), I am not sure if I’d ever be happy with paying someone to paint our house. Though it’s a pain, I have to wonder how careful and good a job they would do?
How do you decide which jobs to pay people to do for you?
17 responses so far ↓
1 dogatemyfinances // Aug 31, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Pay someone. But pay someone after someone you know already paid them and they did a good job.
2 Clair Schwan // Aug 31, 2008 at 11:38 pm
A lot of times this is a matter of whether you have more time or more money. Even if you are up to your neck in work to make money, it can be well worth your while to DIY because a bad job by others can cost you more time and money in the long run.
I do everything myself if I think I can do a good job. I know I won’t skip steps or cut corners, and I know what it is I have done. This isn’t always the case with others you might hire.
Lots of folks that you hire don’t have the vested interest that you do. Why pay for that?
Clair
3 MoneyGrubbingLawyer // Sep 1, 2008 at 8:13 am
I’m a big proponent of DIY projects. The overwhelming majority of home improvement tasks are fundamentally simple- there’s no special skill or magic involved, just an basic level of knowledge and understanding.
By doing the work myself, I know that the job gets done the way I want it. It also saves a ton of money and builds skills and confidence. Hiring a pro is no guarantee that the work will be done better, faster, or properly, it’s just a guarantee that it will cost more.
I only draw the line on DIY when the project involves specialized equipment that I don’t have or isn’t feasible to rent , a bigger labour force than I have access to, or if there are serious safety concerns. Or if I’m just feeling lazy, but that’s rare- I’m too frugal to be lazy
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4 Karen // Sep 1, 2008 at 8:18 am
We’re painting our dining room right now as well! But we’re one week in with a few weeks to go because the walls needed so much work and there’s a wall of built-ins to brush paint.
This is the 5th room we’ve painted but I knew it would be a pain with the wall materials we’re working with. We discussed just paying someone to do it all several times, and even considered doing prep work and sanding ourselves and paying for the actual painting part.
We decided to DIY for exactly the same reason – we’re perfectionists and it would drive us crazy if we paid for a job that wasn’t as good as what we could do. At least then you’re responsible for your own work!
I’m impressed (and jealous) you finished a whole room in just two days! I’m not sure we’ve ever managed that.
5 Livingalmostlarge // Sep 1, 2008 at 10:54 am
My DH spent 3 weeks prepping the room. It’s an 1880s victorian so there were tons of cracks in the walls. He also redid the drywall in some areas. So the actual painting was 2 days but tons of prep work by us both.
6 Miss Thrifty // Sep 1, 2008 at 1:46 pm
I do the painting because I can do a decent.
I leave the plumbing, plastering etc. to the experts!
I don’t understand why your neighbours didn’t complain – if that had been my room, I’d have raised merry hell until the painter came back and finished it! Why pay full whack for a job half-done?
7 Brandy // Sep 1, 2008 at 3:26 pm
pretty much our rule of thumb is if you can diy then you do it. if its something you cant do then pay for it. ive leanred some plumbing if anything just cause our plumbers such a jerk i hate to call him and i dont know why i dont just call a different plumber but basically its having to be free for them to come on there time and then pay them. whereas if i can do it i can do it when i want to. if i want to paint at midnight i can, etc.. also theres a certain pride in knowing you diy. for example we just put down new floors and took up the old carpet in 4 rooms. we look at those floors constanlty with pride of knowing we did that.
8 Scott @ The Passive Dad // Sep 1, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Painting is one of those things that I can do and should do myself. We had a painter come in and give us a quote, but we need to move all the furniture and make sure the rooms are clean. Well, that half the battle. If we move everything, we might as well paint too. It’s tough to justify paying someone when we can do it ourselves. If it’s plumbing or electrical, then we hire the professional.
9 Livingalmostlarge // Sep 1, 2008 at 10:41 pm
We’ve put down our own flooring, hung cabinets, and done lots of DIY projects. I just wonder if it’s worth all the time and effort.
Why not complain? Have you ever tried to chase down those guys to come back? And with a dog it’s more of a hassle they have to put the dog in daycare, move everything, etc.
Trust me, they said they will always paint from now on, like they usually do. They said it’s too easy a job to pay again. Just thought to try it because they were having tons of work done. Besides the work also ran WAY over time and budget! eek.
10 tom // Sep 2, 2008 at 10:38 am
I wouldn’t have paid until the job was done right. I hope they get on Angies List or some other website and bad mouth the company.
My wife and I painted our entire house, top to bottom, before, during and after moving in. It took a ridiculously long time. Next time, for giant paint jobs, I would hire someone to do it, but for one or two rooms, I’ll do it myself.
11 Clair Schwan // Sep 2, 2008 at 10:56 am
Two years ago we painted the house by ourselves. Think of how much it costs to paint a house. It’s probably in the neighborhood of $1,800 even for an average house.
For us, the paint costs about $300 and the airless paint sprayer (like a professional would use) costs about $300 new. Now, we have a painted house and a paint sprayer for other painting and staining jobs, all for about one third of what it would have cost if we hired someone to do it.
Clair
12 LAL // Sep 2, 2008 at 11:10 am
They already are bad mouthing the people. Even with referrals they can go bad. I had a referral from them about an HVAC guy who stood me up and never called me back. I mentioned it to them and they have filed that away as info.
I wish I could have bought a sprayer, but my DH refused. He thought it too messy.
I think we’re going room by room for painting, next up is the hallways and staircase. It’ll take a year easily at this pace.
14 RetiredAt47 // Sep 11, 2008 at 6:53 pm
I’ve reached the point where I do anything I can do, safely and reasonably well, myself. It’s not just for the money savings (which is important) but like your neighbor’s, I’ve found so often I do a better job than a contractor. Sometimes they don’t even show up when they are supposed to.
I do all my own painting, landscaping, minor repairs around the house. Obviously the big stuff like replacing a water heater or taking down a large tree requires a professional.
15 Livingalmostlarge // Sep 11, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Funny retiredat47 you mention that! I just ranted about the stupid contractors not showing up! http://www.lalmusings.com/2008/09/11/contractors-sucks/
16 Clair Schwan // Sep 11, 2008 at 7:19 pm
RetiredAt47:
You beat me by 2 years. Congratulations. Good for you. Enjoy the rest of your life.
With respect to trees and water heaters, I tackle that stuff by myself. You should to. When I need help, I call on my neighbors. They know that they can count on me, and I know that I can count on them.
I called on a contractor to replace my furnace and do the sheet metal work. I know better than to tackle that specialty stuff myself.
My good friend Fred, 27 years my senior, can solve just about anything, even stuff he has never tackled before. We both have the same approach – sleep on it and the answer will come to you. I use his expertise and counsel to help me in my never-ending list of projects.
I do whatever I can for him.
One of my personal philosophies is that we are here to help one another through life. Fred and I have the same philosophy.
Find a good friend that can help, and you’ll be yanking out water heaters and felling trees in no time. Just remember to shut off the water and get those rug rats out of the way so they don’t get caught up in the branches.
Good fortune to you,
Clair
17 LivingAlmostLarge // Sep 11, 2008 at 7:53 pm
We’ve taken down a tree, trimmed branches and replaced a water heater. We’re not inexperienced at home repairs.
DH has also reshingled a roof, built a deck, put in hardwood flooring multiple times, hung cabinets, and wired a new light fixture.
But it would be nice to pay someone and know they are going to do a good job. Like how I’m still having problems with a leak somewhere in our HVAC unit. That we can’t do, and the contractor SUCKS.
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