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22 Tehama County CONTRACTORS GUIDE 2019 The benefits of hiring professional contractors The DIY movement has inspired many homeowners to tackle home re- pair and remodeling projects on their own. DIY projects can be rewarding, and many homeowners who have embraced the DIY movement have discovered talents they never before knew they had. But no ma er how simple pop- ular home renova on television shows make remodeling projects appear, homeowners should know that such undertakings are far more difficult than they appear on televi- sion. Homeowners who overes mate their abili es and the me they have to complete projects can cost them- selves substan al amounts of money. In fact, there are a variety of reasons homeowners might want to work with professional contractors when tackling home improvement projects. Experience A trial and error approach can work with various projects and problems. But applying such an approach to home improvement projects is risky and poten ally dangerous, not to men on costly. Experienced profes- sional contractors with strong track records (seek recommenda ons from friends or neighbors) won't have to go through trial and error and are therefore more likely than DIYers to complete a project on me and on budget. Inspira on One o -overlooked benefit of working with professional contractors is the likelihood that they can draw up ideas for projects that homeowners might otherwise never have thought up on their own. Homeowners with- out specific ideas in mind can ask contractors to come up with various scenarios before commi ng to a par- cular one. Veteran contractors can draw on years of experience to create designs that DIYers might be incapa- ble of coming up with and/or incapa- ble of seeing through to comple on. Cost Conven onal wisdom suggests it's less expensive to do something your- self than to hire someone else to do it for you, but that's not necessarily true of home improvement projects. Labor costs typically account for a substan al amount of professionally contracted projects, but homeowners can cut those costs by volunteering to do some of the simpler tasks them- selves. In addi on, contractors o en purchase materials at a much lower cost than individual homeowners because contractors buy in bulk. So while labor costs might be lower on DIY projects, the cost of materials can offset those savings. Resale value Many homeowners renovate their homes with eyes on improving the resale value of those homes. But if homeowners want to showcase a newly remodeled kitchen when sell- ing their homes, they should be pre- pared for prospec ve buyers to ask who worked on the project. Fearing poten al problems down the road, some buyers might be put off by homes that were remodeled by DIY- ers and not professional contractors. Renova ng a home on your own can be a rewarding project for home- owners. But it's important that home- owners recognize the many benefits of working with professional contrac- tors before making any final decisions with regard to who will tackle their next project. For advertising information contact: Gayla Eckels geckels@redbluffdailynews.com (530) 737-5044 Suzy Noble snoble@redbluffdailynews.com (530) 737-5056 Operations Manager, Kathy Hogan Editor, Chip Thompson Production Manager, Sandy Valdivia 728 Main St., Red Bluff CA 96080 (530) 527-2151 | www.redbluffdailynews.com | Facebook: facebook.com/RBDailyNews | Twitter: @RedBluffNews This is a special publica on of

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