Boost Your DIY Skills and Save Money on Improving Your Home

Like so many things, doing some home improvements or home maintenance is actually simple enough for people who aren't professionals in the construction industry to do very good jobs of, if they take the time to learn how to do them safely, efficiently and to a high standard of quality.

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What Kind of Home Improvement Jobs Could You Do With Better DIY Skills?

To the novice, the term 'DIY' conjures up images of Homer Simpson's badly put together spice rack, but in actual fact DIY is about much more than just putting up shelves – with the right skills, tools, and some confidence, you can do what would otherwise be hugely expensive jobs for yourself – you could replace your fitted kitchen or bathroom suite, lay new flooring, or even convert your loft without having to pay for contractors!

Walk Before You Try to Run

Of course, you have to start somewhere, and it is best not to leap in with an ambitious project before you have tried some easier ones, but there is no need to think of DIY as a progression from putting up shelves to say, installing parquet flooring – look at the skills you need for your goal job, and take on smaller projects that let you practice them. If no woodwork is involved, building a table probably won't get you anywhere, but perhaps if your goal is a bathroom, then some lighter tiling and plastering jobs elsewhere in the house may be a good place to begin.

Resources to Help You Learn

There are loads of resources that can help you plan your DIY projects, learn the skills you need, and find out how to use the tools you will be working with safely and properly. Safety is key when you are doing DIY, so never overlook this aspect in your enthusiasm to start playing with your new tools. Just as a note on tools, if you need specialist equipment that is expensive to buy and you only want it for one job, don't let this put you off taking on the project – you can often hire the tools and equipment you need from a company like Brookings rental depot who have comprehensive ranges of specialist construction tools available for daily rent or longer.

One of the best things you can use to help you learn DIY skills is to watch tutorials online. These will show you very clearly how things should be done, and if you can also load them on a tablet or cellphone you can actually re-watch them and follow along with them as you work, no matter what room you are in. This can be extremely helpful, and there are loads of tutorials available for just about every conceivable DIY job!

DIY is not just a great way to save money and improve your home, it can also be a really rewarding hobby that can open up all kinds of great possibilities as you gain confidence and experience!

Tools and Equipment Hire or Buy: How to Make the Right Choice

Using the right tools and equipment is essential if you want to complete your project successfully and on time. They say a poor workman always blames his tools, but if you are using the wrong ones, it won’t be long before things go badly wrong. You will also have problems if the tools you are using are old and poorly maintained, which can happen if you are borrowing an item from a friend, or the equipment you have is ancient. So is it better to hire or buy tools and equipment? 

How Often Do You Plan on Using the Equipment?

The main consideration when comparing hire and purchase should be how often you think you will be using the equipment. For occasional use, it isn’t cost effective to spend a lot of money buying a large piece of equipment. You won’t get your money’s worth from the investment and in this instance, it is much more sensible to hire what you need instead. That way you won’t have to pay out a large amount of money.

Business or Personal Hire

Hiring and buying equipment from a company such as Brookings rental depot for personal projects is a very different proposition to hiring it for commercial jobs. If you are laying a slab of concrete on your property and you need a cement mixer, the purchase or hire cost is a personal expense and will come out of your pocket either way. In the case of a business, bought equipment is classed as a fixed asset whereas hire costs are an expense and therefore needed to be accounted for differently. The hire cost of equipment for business purposes can be used to off-set business taxes because it is an expense. For this reason, it is usually better to hire equipment unless the equipment is needed long term.

Specialist Equipment

Specialist equipment is sometimes required if you are undertaking a complex project, but unfortunately specialist tools and equipment usually come with a hefty price tag attached. If you think you will need to use the equipment on a regular basis, the investment will be worthwhile, but if this is just a one-off job, you will be much better off hiring from a rental company such as rental depot Brookings SD instead.

Do You Have Storage Space?

Tools and equipment take up room. It won’t be a problem if you are a commercial contractor as you will probably have a storage facility, but if space is at a premium, investing in large plant and equipment could cause you a few issues. Hiring equipment from Brookings equipment rental or similar means you don’t need to worry about finding space long term. Instead you can hire, use it for as long as needed, and then return the equipment and reclaim your space. This is particularly the case if the equipment you need to hire is very large and in this instance hiring is really the only sensible option.

Before making a final decision about whether to hire or buy, draw up a list of pros and cons to help you decide.