The global DIY industry is massive – currently worth in excess of $1,300 billion and growing by more than four per cent year on year. This growth has been fuelled and driven by the growth in residential real estate and the passion people have developed across the world for both creating their dream homes in an affordable way, and adding value to their overall property value.
DIY literally refers to the homeowner ‘doing it yourself’ – eliminating the need for a professional to do a job that, with the right tools, you are perfectly capable of doing yourself.
How the right tools transform DIY skills
There are many jobs which the novice, or beginner, will not be able to complete simply because they do not have the right tools. One of the key reasons for this is because the level of expenditure that is usually required by someone who is engaged in multiple jobs of different competencies will necessitate a range of tools that can fulfil a range of functions.
For example, the simple collection of driver bits owned by a DIYer, will need greater impact for a professional tradesman to complete a job to an acceptable standard again and again. To this end, the investment a professional will need to make in a more expensive quality product that has durability and versatility is greater than a DIYer who may only need to use the same tool occasionally.
Ultimately, a pro’s investment will pay for itself over a shorter period of time, whereas any purchase a DIYer makes is a hobby purchase, but which may make savings in terms of not having to pay for the pro in the first place.
No substitute for experience
Ultimately a pro has several years, if not decades, of experience under their belt. The novice DIYer may face a problem and have to spend several days researching how to rectify it, watching YouTube tutorials, Googling different methods, and thinking about how to do it, before they actually make a start.
Once started, there is no guarantee that the job will be done properly. The DIYer does not have the depth of knowledge or experience to deal with any unexpected issues of challenges, and might end up having to employ a professional to rectify any mistakes anyway.
But ultimately, if you don’t make any attempt, then you will never learn. And if DIY is something that you enjoy and find a relaxing distraction from every day life then learning new skills is part of the attraction.
A creative and resourceful approach
A professional tradesman will see hundreds of different variations of the same job over time. This gives them a wealth of knowledge about how best to tackle a job, and what to do if a more creative approach is needed.
This also gives them a keen eye for detail. When you know what you are doing, you notice anything out of the ordinary that might not be obvious to a novice.
Speed and efficiency
With great experience comes great speed and efficiency. A professional tradesman experienced in their own particular field can often achieve a state of ‘flow’ in their work which means that they complete a job in a way that is quicker, and therefore more cost effective in the long run. This state of ‘flow’ is known as a fully immersed mental state whereby you are performing a function with no external distraction.
Whatever your experience level, the enthusiastic DIYer will always be able to build up a skillset that is perfectly suitable for any domestic project. But don’t mistake enthusiasm for experience – if you have a particularly complicated job then it might be better to put away your own tools and call in the professionals.
