If you watch remodeling TV shows or if your social media feeds are full of do-it-yourself projects to try, you may think that all you need to upgrade your home is some confidence and a couple of tools. And if you’ve completed smaller successful DIY projects, you might think you’re ready to tackle a bigger project—like maybe remodeling your shower.
But when it comes to big things like bathroom remodels, you should really leave these projects to the professionals. Here are five reasons to choose a shower contractor over DIY:
1. Remodeling Looks Easy on TV
That person on TikTok who is tiling their floor might have more experience than you think. When you don’t understand what you’re doing in a remodel, you could make mistakes that could end up being costly to fix later. Tackling a project of this scale requires more than an eye for design and the ability to color match. If you don’t know what you’re doing, the end result may not be what you want at all. You might even injure yourself if you’re not familiar or skilled with, for instance, the required power tools. You can’t assume that everything will fall into place once you get started, because oftentimes, they won’t. DIY projects are notorious for going wrong.
2. Your House Resale Could Suffer
Have you ever taken a tour of a house and seen some cobbled-together mess of a bathroom? Who would want to buy that if they just have to spend the money to redo it? Painting and cosmetic changes such as updating hardware or faucets are easy ways to add your own style to your space, and they don’t require major overhauls of existing plumbing or electrical systems. Better to stick with that until you find a contractor to help with your remodel.
You should also consider who is going to see your DIY project. If you add shelves in your bedroom that are a little off-center, or if you do a poor job of painting, it’s safe to say that only you or your family will see that. But if you’re redoing a bathroom and shower that everyone will use, including guests, it may be much more obvious that you didn’t have a clue when you started your project.
A visibly botched job can not only look bad but also may not be up to code, which can make your home very difficult to sell later. You might consider a remodeling project to be an automatic upgrade to your home—but not everyone may have that same mindset.
3. You Don’t Have the Skills
Do you have training in demolition? How about framing, insulation, and drywall? Where did you train to gain that knowledge? Was it the School of YouTube?
There are plenty of ways that YouTube can be helpful for a homeowner (such as unclogging a sink drain, for example)—that’s an easy DIY, and you don’t need many tools for it. But if you need to replace the sink, you should definitely spring for a plumbing contractor.
Finding an expert to help you will mean the shower installation is done safely and quickly, and you won’t need to redo anything you mess up. Plus, depending on how old your home is, you might run into problems with asbestos, lead-based paint, or black mold, which you may not know how to handle. These substances can cause problems—not just to your project but to your health as well. If you find these issues in your home, you should make sure to contact experts to remove them.
4. DIY Will Cost You More
In the long run, your DIY shower may cost you more money overall, as you may need to pay experts later to fix what you did incorrectly. The perception is often that DIY projects will cost you less, and while that may be true in some cases, it doesn’t mean the project will be done correctly. Mistakes cost money. If you have to redo something, you’ll be spending more money on the same thing until you get it right. If you’re already investing money in your new bathroom, you might as well get it done correctly the first time.
You may also not know what materials to use. Sometimes contractors have better suppliers than homeowners can find—which means their sources may be more durable and of higher quality than what you find in big-box hardware stores.
5. Timing Is Everything
If you’re under some kind of deadline, DIY is definitely not something you should attempt. Let’s say there’s even a long timeline—maybe you want to finish your bathroom before a guest comes to visit in a month—surely this update can take place over a weekend, right?
Sadly, DIY projects rarely turn out that way. And honestly, after a long week of working at your job, do you really want to work all weekend on a bathroom remodel that may or may not match your vision? Consider all the work a contractor does on a project: they order or purchase the necessary materials, hire subcontractors or colleagues to handle different tasks, set up a schedule so not everyone is working in the same space at once, and ensure quality at every step of the way. They’ll also clean up and dispose of unused or old materials at the end too.
As you can see, while there are some good DIY projects out there, you shouldn’t DIY your own bathroom or shower remodel unless you’re a professional who knows what you’re doing. If you want to make some small changes, some DIY projects you can try include cosmetic updates such as new wallpaper or painting, replacing cabinet hardware, changing light fixtures, or refreshing an old piece of furniture or cabinets. Leave the major work to the professionals.
If you’re looking for contractors in Scottsdale, Phoenix, Chandler, or Tempe to refresh your bathrooms, take a look at our gallery of bathroom remodels. Our expert team collaborates with our clients so that we’re sure you get the best possible experience and the bathroom of your dreams. Contact JMG Contracting today and see what we can build for you.
