Do you do it yourself or use other people??
- Thread starter kals
- Start date
If I have the spare time I will do what I am capable of but leave everything else to the pro's. Being a landscaper I obviously handle that area but I also get involved in planning, DA's, supervision of tradies, final cleaning,etc.
Remember time is money when you are managing a construction site. Carefully watch your holding costs don't blow out and get professionals to do the work where required
Remember time is money when you are managing a construction site. Carefully watch your holding costs don't blow out and get professionals to do the work where required
get professionals to do the work where required
Absolutely I'd never do anything I wasn't confident I could tackle - and that pretty much ends with sugar soap!!!
Both...
For my PPOR we did everything from lock-up except the licenced trades. I did the carpentry and my wife wields a mean paintbrush.
But we're in the process of tendering our multi-unit housing development in Mona Vale and that's another story. I'm even using a professional third party to coordinate the tender process for me. We'll select a builder from that and do a full fixed price turn-key contract. My wife will probably still do the soft landscaping to save a few bucks and will probably attend auctions to source some of the building materials on the cheap for PC items.
Professionals can make it happen quicker but you pay for the privelege.
Cheers,
Michael
For my PPOR we did everything from lock-up except the licenced trades. I did the carpentry and my wife wields a mean paintbrush.
But we're in the process of tendering our multi-unit housing development in Mona Vale and that's another story. I'm even using a professional third party to coordinate the tender process for me. We'll select a builder from that and do a full fixed price turn-key contract. My wife will probably still do the soft landscaping to save a few bucks and will probably attend auctions to source some of the building materials on the cheap for PC items.
Professionals can make it happen quicker but you pay for the privelege.
Cheers,
Michael
Depends what your goal is and how much you are used to getting paid in your normal work if you work.
If you get paid $100 an hour, pay some chumps to do everything for you.
But I don't get paid much, so I am happy to slave away at whatever I can, and feel happy if I have been roughly half as efficient as a tradie because the knowledge gained is invaluable, and my goal is to one day work for myself on properties!
Always need to pay someone for something though or holding costs go through the roof.
If you get paid $100 an hour, pay some chumps to do everything for you.
But I don't get paid much, so I am happy to slave away at whatever I can, and feel happy if I have been roughly half as efficient as a tradie because the knowledge gained is invaluable, and my goal is to one day work for myself on properties!
Always need to pay someone for something though or holding costs go through the roof.
Paying or getting other people do do stuff?
We've paid for other people to do reroofs, plumbing, replacing glass and counterweights in some windows, and putting in a new kitchen. And that's it. We would have paid for rubbish removal but we gave the bloke next door so much firewood he did it for us free.
Everything else we've done ourselves. The biggest thing coming up is we need a 45m boundary fence and will be doing that ourselves too. On my first house I had to pay the electrician too but that was before I had an electrician for a father in law
Still debating whether or not to pay someone else to dig a freakin enormous great hole in the backyard. I have a feeling this one might be beyond us and is really not a choice at all.
We've paid for other people to do reroofs, plumbing, replacing glass and counterweights in some windows, and putting in a new kitchen. And that's it. We would have paid for rubbish removal but we gave the bloke next door so much firewood he did it for us free.
Everything else we've done ourselves. The biggest thing coming up is we need a 45m boundary fence and will be doing that ourselves too. On my first house I had to pay the electrician too but that was before I had an electrician for a father in law
Still debating whether or not to pay someone else to dig a freakin enormous great hole in the backyard. I have a feeling this one might be beyond us and is really not a choice at all.
i tackle everything myself first.
if you find you're in too deep, you'll have to pay someone anyway.
if you get thru it, then you've saved someone else's labour content cost.
if you find you're in too deep, you'll have to pay someone anyway.
if you get thru it, then you've saved someone else's labour content cost.
I'm lucky ( or not depending on how you look at it) to work for an equipment hire company and spent many hours watching people hiring items for home reno's.
The best by far is floor sanding 7 out 10 come back and ask us to recommend a pro to fix up the mess hahahahahah
I've done 2 reno's 1 on a unit that was stripped bare including plumbing and electrical and totally redone. I did all the removal of everything and paid tradies to do the "legal" reinstalls of water and electricity.
2nd reno just finished and more a clean up that only required a pro for the floor sanding the painting and garden was done by me.
Cheers
Andrew
The best by far is floor sanding
7 out 10 come back and ask us to recommend a pro to fix up the mess hahahahahahI've done 2 reno's 1 on a unit that was stripped bare including plumbing and electrical and totally redone. I did all the removal of everything and paid tradies to do the "legal" reinstalls of water and electricity.
2nd reno just finished and more a clean up that only required a pro for the floor sanding the painting and garden was done by me.
Cheers
Andrew
I'm also doing it all myself but pay pros when I can't like getting a Solar Hot water system installed and some large trees cut down. But everything else on my first home I have done so far like prepairing & painting, landscaping, small building jobs, fence building and many other general handyman type jobs. In the future I would certainly look at hiring people though.
Sounds like my parents, Joanmc. My sister, Mum and I did all the cleaning, painting etc, and when we were painting mum helps Dad building the Deck, installing the kitchen (the plumbing obviously by a professional), but Dad was an electrician, and an awesome builder, so it was more or less a family thing with hardly any professionals.
Although unfortunately for them we're older and lazier now
Friends and family, much cheaper, more fun and all you need the professionals for is the tricky or unsafe projects that you physically can't do without some kind of paper.
I use to do everything myelf. I started doing renos and using second hand carpet, and removing stuff from one house and isntalling to another. Now days my angle is to do things properly. I only use new products, no old stuff unless its something which is a massive saving on.
If time permits i will do work myself, however last week i have a reno in sydney which is straight forward and im too busy to think about it so i paid some tradies to spend a couple of weeks renovating it. total strip out refurb. even down to the light switches.
just depends what you want to archive. I nearly killed myself with a council issue a few years ago..... i built a house from scratch was a great learning curve, however one must decide weather they are a labourer in their spare time? are they saving much, and will they get the same result as the professionals?
Its all personal choice. sometimes you can kill yourself doing too much. I always push myself to those extremes.
If time permits i will do work myself, however last week i have a reno in sydney which is straight forward and im too busy to think about it so i paid some tradies to spend a couple of weeks renovating it. total strip out refurb. even down to the light switches.
just depends what you want to archive. I nearly killed myself with a council issue a few years ago..... i built a house from scratch was a great learning curve, however one must decide weather they are a labourer in their spare time? are they saving much, and will they get the same result as the professionals?
Its all personal choice. sometimes you can kill yourself doing too much. I always push myself to those extremes.
We'll be doing it ourselves. Partner is a plumber/handyman with his own business. We're looking for something in the area he works in - can get it managed by one of the REs he works for, do the maintenance as per their normal system and get a sneaky inspection at the same time. At least that's the theory.
Wow - you guys are all so hands on!! Im thinking with my limited available time (single mum working full time in a crazy busy sales job) and limited skills; that I could take some time off and so small stuff like cleaning and get the experts in for the rest. Luckily i'm on a good wage so reckon i'm better off continuing to bring in the bucks. Thanks so much for all your replies, you are inspiring!!
some things we do ourselves and some things we pay for. as time goes on i'm more than happy to pay for things that we would have done ourselves in the past.
such as - had the builder around last night to nut out the new 20m2 deck we're putting in. he's doing all the frame and i'll nail the decking boards on (hardwood so nail gun no good anyhow) ... but when it came down to him asking if we wanted him to dig the pier holes i decided i wasn't going to pay him $50/hr to dig. guess what i'm doing today. we could have done the lot, but there would go another 3 weekends of labouring.
we also go the handyman in a lot more - he's lined up for tuesday next week to fix a sash window and install a slat screen ... little things that we could do ourselves but the list is getting to long and it's nice to knock a couple of extra items off.
painting - me. kitchen install (except benchtops) - us. plumbing/electrical - pay. gyprocking/plastering/sanding - us. replacing insulation - me (that was wednesday job. carpentry - hubby. floor sanding/carpet laying - pay. floor tiling - us. wall tiling - pay.
just depends.
such as - had the builder around last night to nut out the new 20m2 deck we're putting in. he's doing all the frame and i'll nail the decking boards on (hardwood so nail gun no good anyhow) ... but when it came down to him asking if we wanted him to dig the pier holes i decided i wasn't going to pay him $50/hr to dig. guess what i'm doing today. we could have done the lot, but there would go another 3 weekends of labouring.
we also go the handyman in a lot more - he's lined up for tuesday next week to fix a sash window and install a slat screen ... little things that we could do ourselves but the list is getting to long and it's nice to knock a couple of extra items off.
painting - me. kitchen install (except benchtops) - us. plumbing/electrical - pay. gyprocking/plastering/sanding - us. replacing insulation - me (that was wednesday job. carpentry - hubby. floor sanding/carpet laying - pay. floor tiling - us. wall tiling - pay.
just depends.
I do things the same way as Lizzie... easy stuff (painting, renovating the laundry) I do myself. Plumbing and electrical I get in the experts, but negotiate to lower the cost by doing some of the work myself. For instance, for my re-wire I ran all the cables through the roof myself (an unpleasant job with fibreglass insulation)... it all adds up
