It is relatively easy to take a look inside real, everyday homes – but how about taking a look inside real, everyday homes Repairs? Do you know what repairs most often need to be done around the house and what mistakes are most often made? The person who can provide the best insider information from apartment to apartment (or condo to condo or bungalow to bungalow – whatever) is probably a Tasker on the app Taskrabbit, which is an app-based freelance handyman who gets booked for apartment and house visits. Taskers are hired for all sorts of things, from hanging art to assembling furniture to fixing botched DIY jobs.
Lindsay, a Tasker from Brooklyn, New York, who is also a licensed contractor, joined the platform three years ago and makes home visits for everything from furniture assembly and installation to custom woodwork and repairs. After completing hundreds of tasks through the app—and even more through her own handyman business—Lindsay shared her thoughts on The most common project she does, and one that people could probably tackle themselves if they wanted to try their hand at DIY or save some money: minor electrical work.
A DIY repair that you can do yourself (with restrictions)
“People are usually shocked—no pun intended—when I say that, but my answer here is actually minor electrical work, like changing a light switch or replacing light fixtures,” Lindsay says. If you take the proper precautions (turning off the circuit breaker, using a voltage tester before touching wires, and always using proper wire connectors), basic electrical work is doable for an advanced DIYer, according to Lindsay. You’ll need to do a lot of research beforehand, but there are plenty of YouTube tutorials that can help beginners with the, er, light bulb Moments they may need, she adds.
There is one caveat, however: “A lot of emphasis is placed on the SMALL electrical jobs,” says Linday. These are projects where you replace one thing – like an outlet, switch or light – with something else that exactly the same configurationThis means: same cable, same wattage, same size, same weight – so replacing a hanging lamp with another hanging lamp (not a heavy ceiling fan) or replacing an outlet without a residual current device with another outlet without a residual current device.
“If all goes well and it’s just a simple fitting replacement where you follow all the precautions mentioned above, there shouldn’t be any problems,” says Lindsay.
Of course, there are exceptions to this. If you can’t figure out how to turn off the power to the area that needs rewiring, by all means don’t proceed. If your home still has old knob and tube wiring, leave it to a pro. And of course, if you run into any problems during installation, take a step back and get a professional electrician on board. You don’t want to risk electrocuting yourself or creating the possibility of an electrical fire in the future.
Lindsay’s best advice for anyone who feels ready to tackle this DIY project? Get a reliable non-contact voltage tester. A basic model costs about $20. ““Don’t attempt any electrical work without one of these in your pocket,” advises Lindsay. “Using one could save your life.”
A DIY repair you should never do yourself
And then, of course, there are the projects where you should turn to the professionals right from the start. What home repair should renters/homeowners never attempt themselves? Plumbing, says Lindsay.
“Even I sometimes have problems with plumbing,” she says. “It requires special tools, patience and usually involves working in tight spaces with rusty pipes.”
Lindsay says that when novices try to do plumbing repairs, they can often stress the system, creating a new problem somewhere near the newly repaired connection and having to start over again. Small leaks can go unnoticed for a long time before becoming major problems later. “Plumbing work definitely causes me the most frustration, and I have a lot of experience,” she says. “So honestly, save yourself the headache (and back pain!) and hire someone to do plumbing work.”
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