Some people hear the expression “DIY,” shorthand for “do it yourself,” and they panic. What if they try something, and it doesn’t work out the way they envisioned? They may prefer to hire a professional for just about any little job around the house.
As a homeowner, it is your prerogative whether you would like to do that. However, keep in mind that hiring professionals can get expensive. If there’s a major plumbing job you need to do, it’s probably best to contact a pro. If you’re looking at a much smaller job, though, you might want to give this popular DIY thing a try.
What’s nice about DIY is that if you do something small, it can give you the confidence to tackle larger projects. Think about how good you’ll feel if you can do one of the things on this list in the upcoming year.
Wallpaper a Wall
Knowing your limitations does matter with DIY. For instance, if you need someone to install professional landscape lighting for your lawn, you’re probably not trying that as your first project. Something smaller and simpler, like wallpapering a wall in your home, is likely more your speed.
Wallpaper is something pretty inexpensive that can add some real color and depth to any room. An elegant or traditional pattern can recall bygone design eras, while something flashy will show off your eclectic tastes.
Many of today’s wallpapers don’t require much more than the peel-and-stick approach. You will likely spend more time picking out a suitable one than installing it. The only slightly tricky parts are avoiding light switches and cutting the pieces into the appropriate lengths, but most people find they can do it with a little practice.
Tile a Backsplash
Backsplash is there to protect your walls. That is why you so often see it in bathrooms or kitchens: those are high-volume areas with a lot going on.
Backsplash also has a decorative aspect to it, though. There are some very colorful and flashy ones you can get that will light up a room that you feel is drab or doesn’t look as attractive as you would like.
You can call a pro for backsplash installation, but this is another DIY project that most people find they can do if they only try it. Selecting the tiles, measuring the space, and marking the starting points are most of the job. After that, you apply your tile mastic insert spacers and install it row after row.
Vinyl Flooring Installation
If you have old, stained vinyl flooring in your kitchen, hallway, or elsewhere, you might feel like the time has come to replace it. This is something else you can do in 2022, for which the pros would charge you an arm and a leg.
You can get it in plank form, by the roll, or as tiles. Any version makes a good-looking floor, though. It’s easy to buy, cut, and apply to any surface.
What’s great about it is that it snaps onto a subfloor and makes a tight fit that won’t budge as you walk across it. Removing the baseboards and any molding you have is generally the most strenuous part of this job.
Laying out the planks will take no time at all after you make sure your floor is level. You will need to use a utility knife on the door frame or floor duct sections.
Paint Your Front Door
Painting is perhaps the thing for which homeowners overpay the most. An able-bodied person can paint a room, but if you’re not comfortable doing that, you might just start with your home’s front door.
Presumably, your front door matches the rest of the house. You can make your home more enticing, though, if you change up that color scheme a little bit. You don’t want to choose a color that completely clashes with the rest of the house, but getting one that complements it nicely might be a project to tackle next year.
You will have to sand, wash, and then dry the door’s surface first. Then, you will remove the hinges and knob. You can apply the primer next. Once it dries, you can apply your paint. It should take two coats.
If you try a couple of these next year and find that you have more at-home skills than you imagined, think about what you might try next. You can definitely save yourself hundreds or thousands of dollars this way.
Thanks to all the companies linked above.
