Be smart about home improvement projects

Bill Petitta knows what can happen when homeowners get in over their heads on home improvement projects they can't handle. He just wishes the New Year's resolutions of die-hard do-it-yourselfers would include some introspection about what they can -- and can't -- do around the house.

"The problems go beyond cosmetic blemishes," said Petitta, of the Home Service Store. "Homeowners sometimes overlook safety concerns, structural integrity, or how mistakes add to project costs."

Petitta, whose firm oversees projects at the behest of homeowners, draws a fine line between projects homeowners can tackle vs. jobs best left to real pros.

He cites high-skill projects such as electrical, heating and air-conditioning projects as requiring professional ability. Missteps on these tasks can put consumers at risk of injury or damage the home.

Quality of work is issue No. 1. "Poor work is very visible and can destroy the appearance of a room quickly," says Petitta. Such work ultimately affects resale value. "When the time comes to sell the home, and if it appears you did the work on major projects, buyers may penalize you on asking price," said Petitta. "The hard part is that the homeowner thinks their work is good enough when they really need to ask themselves 'Do I have the skills for this project?' A lot of people won't admit to their true skill level."

It can cost big bucks for a contractor to rescue the project by redoing homeowner mistakes. According to Petitta, a contractor might not offer as competitive a bid knowing the homeowner has already bungled portions of the job. Repairing structural damage is particularly costly. The result: the homeowners might pay more money than if they had simply allowed the professional to do the project in the first place.

Even homeowners who complete their work satisfactorily might be in for a few surprises if they consider the projects ultimate cost. "If you've spent long days or weeks on a portion of a job that would take the professional two or three days to complete, there is a cost to that," says Petitta, "especially if it pushes back the schedule or causes the professional to come back several times."

If homeowners insist on their own labor for the bulk of the project, Petitta suggests they limit their role to routine tasks such as painting or other easily done jobs. But the homeowner role should be discussed with and agreed to with the contractor.

Petitta understands the homeowners' drive to do work themselves. "I'ts only natural for us to look for a good-quality product for as low a price as we can get, but homeowners need to look at the big picture," he says. "Do you ultimately save money in the long run by using a professional? The answer is that 99 percent of the time you will get better results, and save money, too."