Signs A Home Repair Has Gone Past The Point Of DIY

Being a homeowner is about taking on the responsibility of maintenance over time. You buy a house, you want to keep it in good condition for both yourself and any future buyers, and that means brushing up on as many DIY skills as you can. 

Buy yourself a toolbox, get to know each tool that should be in it, and practice your skills time and time again with little projects around the property. It’s quite a straightforward process, and it can save you a lot of money on needing to call out someone to fix things for you.

You also learn how to diagnose common issues around the home, and by the time you’ve been living there for 3 or 4 years, you’re an expert in making sure that the garage door doesn’t stick and the pipes don’t rattle in the cold.

DIY, however, isn’t a magical power. It’s good for putting up shelves by yourself and unscrewing the sink to find out what’s gotten trapped in the U-bend, but it’s not something you can always rely on. In fact, trying to DIY some of the repairs around your house could just make them a whole lot worse! 

And that’s why you need to know the signs of a home repair that has gone past the point of DIY. By all means, take on the challenge yourself at first, but if that doesn’t fix anything, it’s not worth trying to do it yourself time and time again. 

You’re going to need the help of a professional, to save both time and money, and that’s what we’re going to break down for you here. Check out our guide below on what to look out for when you’ve already tried DIY and the problem has stuck around anyway. 

When a Crack Gets Bigger

If you notice a crack in the wall, one quick and easy way to fix it is to buy yourself a caulk gun or some plaster and fill up the hole. Make sure you smooth it over and sand it down, then repaint, and voila! No crack to cause an unsightly mess anymore. 

However, if the crack gets bigger after a fix like this, there’s clearly something else going on. And that something else could even be tied to the foundation of your home. Indeed, the wall could be moving and starting to break apart because the structure has become unstable for some reason or other. 

That’s not a job you want to take on yourself! And sure, this is a worst-case scenario, but you won’t know what’s going on until you call in a professional to take a look. 

You should also leave a crack that’s in a hard-to-reach area to a professional as well. Say you’ve found this problem in the attic, or in the ceiling of your second floor. Don’t try to fill it in and walk away, as once again, a deeper problem could be going on. And if something from above starts to crack, there’s a strong chance a collapse is on the way.  

There could be something wrong with your roof or your rafters, or it could even be a pest issue. If a mouse has gotten its way into your home and wants to live in the walls, it can push anything that’s already in the walls outwards. Say hello to huge cracks that are only a symptom of the problem! 

Your Blocked Drain is Resistant to All Your Attempts to Clear it

A blocked drain doesn’t sound like a hard task to get on with. If there’s a blockage, you can usually just pour boiling water down there and let it melt whatever has gotten stuck, and then the drain is fine to use again. At the very least, all that water makes it easier for the blockage to start moving its way down. 

But sometimes, drains have been collecting the blockage for a while. That means it’s a lot bigger and made of various materials and substances, and trying to remove this will take a lot more than a bit of hot water. If any oil has made its way into the drain, for example, it’ll be a lot harder to cure it with water alone - the two just don’t mix!  

That’s when it’s time to call in a drain cleaning service to bust the blockage for you. Whether it’s an inside or external drain, if there’s a blockage you keep having to come back to, get a professional to clear it out. They’ll have a lot more specialist equipment for diagnosing what’s really going wrong, including cameras they can snake into the pipes. 

And remember, the longer a drain sits blocked without any positive action, the more it’s going to build up and cause problems. From terrible smells to genuine dirty water and sewage backing up into your sinks, baths, and showers, the problems caused by a repair job like this can really make your life difficult! 

When Water Has Gotten into the Walls

Water damage isn’t something to play around with. It’s the kind of damage that seeps into the deepest layers of your structure and just stays there. And seeing as water tends to make things wet as it soaks in, in a sealed environment, there won’t be any air available to ventilate it and let it dry properly. 

Your walls are such an environment. If water gets into them, the interior is always going to be just a bit damp, and that’s a breeding ground for things like mold and rot. When your house has either of these issues to deal with, you’re going to have instability on your hands. The moment you see problems like these creeping in, you can’t afford to wait around and see what happens next. 

Of course, water damage is quite easy to spot, as is mold growth. Darker patches of the wall, for example, usually near the floor or ceiling, and wallpaper that bubbles up away from the surface it’s been pasted onto. Paint will also flake off, and mold will always have that distinctive spotty blackness to it. If you see any of these things in your home, get a professional to come out and assess the damage right away. 

They’ll be able to tell you where it’s come from, how much it has spread, and what they can do to prevent any more mold growth. They’ll also be able to kill off and remove the mold that’s already there, which lessens the chance of any health hazards occurring. You do not want to live with mold on the walls for too long - trust us on that one!  

When Anything Disrupts Your Electric Supply

And we mean anything here! Really, the wiring that makes up your home’s lighting and outlet points can be very dangerous when it starts to break down. Trying to apply a DIY fix could make the problem so much worse, seeing as the average homeowner does not have the same understanding of electricity as a qualified electrician! 

And when electricity sparks in the wrong way, it can start to burn. If that burning is left for a little too long, it can build up into a fire. This doesn’t even mention the danger to life that an electrical repair presents as well! If you don’t know how to handle electricity, there’s every chance you could end up needing an ambulance. 

So really, the moment you notice there’s an issue with your electricity, call in a professional. Don’t try to take the job on by yourself, and especially don’t if you’re not even sure how to work the fusebox in your house! Leave it for someone skilled in making sure electricity doesn’t become a hazard; they’ll be able to rewire the issue and make it much safer to turn the lights on and off. 

Don’t Waste Your DIY Skills!

It’s great to have some DIY knowledge. It makes being a homeowner ten times easier, and usually a lot cheaper! At the same time, you can live with the satisfaction of knowing you really can ‘do it yourself’. That’s a great confidence boost when you’re living in a home of your own for the first time. 

That being said, there are also many times when DIY just won’t cover it. You’re going to need someone to get the job done for you. And while the upfront cost can be something you’re unhappy about, it’ll mean no further costs in the future. You also won’t spend every free weekend for the next 6 or so months trying to find out where the trouble is coming from! 

So make sure you’re looking out for signs like these in common problem areas in the home. And remember, trust your gut when you’re looking at a repair issue. If you feel you won’t quite be able to sort it out yourself, don’t try to. Get yourself some professional help that also comes with peace of mind. 

Related Article:

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• How to Raise Money for Urgent Home Repairs