Do-it-yourself or ‘DIY’ home improvement projects are becoming more and more common. With a wide variety of guides and tutorials posted all over the internet, it seems like with some effort; you can find a way to do just about any job without professional help. While it is true that many tasks in the home can be done without hiring anyone, provided you have the right knowledge, patience, and tools, there are also some jobs that you’d be better off leaving to the experts.
One such task is window installation. Granted, if you are extremely careful to do it safely and correctly, we aren’t saying that nobody should ever attempt it. However, it is important to know that installing windows without hiring professionals comes with a handful of risks, and most people find that it simply isn’t worth it. Here, we will cover some of the things that can go wrong with DIY window installation and why it might be a better idea to swallow your pride and enlist professional help instead.
Aesthetics
When it comes to your home, most people find aesthetics to be somewhat important. Since it’s not only where you and your family spend most of their time, but presumably also somewhere you entertain guests, you want everything in your home to look like it was professionally installed. Your windows shouldn’t be an exception to this. There are a lot of little mistakes that someone can make during a DIY window installation that leads to the final product being subpar.
In many cases, the finished windows end up being slightly ajar or positioned wrong. Sometimes the edges of the windows accidentally get installed, protruding slightly inward or outward. These issues don’t look good, and sometimes an amateur trying to fix their minor mistake just ends up accidentally making things worse. The fact is, if you want to be certain that your windows look good, you should hire a professional to do the job.
Energy Efficiency
According to experts who install windows in Natick, because homeowners attempting DIY installations don’t have the years of experience and ability for precision that trained window installers have attained, there’s a very good chance that the window isn’t going to end up being perfectly placed within the wall. Unfortunately, when it comes to the home’s energy efficiency, the window placement being even the tiniest bit off can make a significant difference. If that window is just short of being airtight, it’s going to end up doing more work for your HVAC systems, which leads to you paying more money for your monthly energy bills.
Potential for Expensive Mistakes
Every homeowner that enters into a DIY project has good intentions. They intend to do a great job and to do everything right. But the fact is, there’s a reason that the professionals get paid to do these jobs—it’s because they have spent years being trained, accumulating knowledge, and learning how to avoid making big mistakes. If something goes wrong, regardless of the reason, the repairs or replacement windows you end up having to pay for can be extremely expensive.
Huge Time Investment
Odds are, if you’ve decided to embark on a DIY window installation project, you’ve already come to terms with the fact that it’s going to be time-consuming. Most likely, you have a realistic timeframe that you expect to be able to finish the job within. It’s possible that you will encounter no speed bumps, everything will go smoothly, and you will hit your time estimate perfectly. However, there’s a good chance that’s not how it will happen. In reality, by choosing to go the DIY route, you’re risking it turning into a much larger time commitment than you expected. If a couple of things go wrong along the way, that week-long project could end up taking months. When you hire professionals to install your windows, they can give a much more accurate estimate of how long the job is going to take. Plus, it isn’t your time that’s being spent.
Security Issues
Windows are a crucial part of any home’s safety and security, and that’s not something that you want to be taking chances with. A window that’s improperly installed may have trouble closing or locking properly, making it significantly easier for an intruder to force their way into the home. It’s scary and something many people understandably don’t like thinking about, but it’s something you have to consider for something like DIY window installation.
Additionally, in a scenario where you need to get out of your home in an emergency and need to use the window, it may have trouble opening if it’s not installed correctly. If your home is filling up with smoke or carbon monoxide, an improperly installed window can turn the house into a death trap. For these reasons, anyone attempting to install their windows without professional help needs to be certain that they know how to do the job the right way.
Some people have the skills, time, and dedication to complete DIY jobs like window installation and do them properly and thoroughly. However, typically that is a fairly small percentage of the population. If you are someone who is unsure whether or not DIY installation is right for you, just make sure you’re considering the things that can potentially go wrong and whether or not it’s really worth it. You may be hesitant to spend the money required to have a professional job done, but when it comes to improving your quality of life and safety in the long run, it’s wise to view that payment as an investment in your household’s future.
Leave a Reply