Should you hire a professional?

DIY might be the easiest way to get a home project done, but it isn't always the most cost-effective or safest.  Jody Rohlena, Sr. Editor for ShopSmart, offers some tips on when you should hire a professional to do the job for you.

When it comes to hanging wallpaper, if you have splurged on the expensive stuff, then you should hire a pro to put it up for you.  Wallpaper can be very expensive, and if you need to line up a pattern, you don't want to mess it up.  The wallpaper can be very hard to take down and costly to replace.

If you need to fix anything that involves electricity, gas, or plumbing, you should play it safe and get a professional to repair it for you.  If you don't know what you are doing when fixing anything electrical or that involves gas you could end up killing yourself or someone else.  When it comes to plumbing, you could temporarily fix a minor leak, but it's usually a signal there is a bigger issue, and a plumber could locate that.

If you have a pest problem in your home, depending on the pest, you might need to call someone.  If it's something you can see, like ants or roaches, there are pesticides or environmentally friendly ways of dealing with that on your own.  But things that you can't see, like termites, you don't want to deal with on your own.  It's probably a bigger problem than you realize and a professional will be able to safely take care of it.

You might also need to call a professional when doing a demolition job.  If all you doing is tearing down some old cabinets, you could do that yourself.  But if you are looking to take down a wall, you should get help.  You don't want to knock down a structural wall or one that has plumbing or electrical wiring in it.  You could spend more money fixing your mistake than it would cost to get a pro.

Refinishing floors might seem easy, but you should seek professional help.  You can rent refinishing equipment to do the floors yourselves, but they don't necessarily do the job as well as professional machinery.  Also, a lot can go wrong if you are unfamiliar with the equipment.

There might not be anything difficult about cleaning out your gutters, you should still seek professional help.  Climbing a ladder to reach them can be very dangerous, especially if you are unsteady.  It's not that expensive a job to avoid fatal falls

Finally, before you hire a professional, remember to get referrals from friends and neighbors.  If you are new to the area, check out websites like Angie's List and Yelp.  And once you have hired a professional, don't forget to protect yourself.  Make sure required licensing and insurance are taken care of before the job.  

For more consumer advice, please visit ShopSmartMag.org.