Know When To DIY and When to Hire

It's been a crazy few weeks.  I went on a work/vacation trip for 9 days to escape the cold weather and had such a relaxing and productive trip!  But before that, there was.... an incident.

A dog got loose in the neighborhood and promptly ran over to my yard and started fighting with my dog.  My dog is always on a leash and this was almost a disadvantage.  Luckily, my dog was perfectly fine, but it brought back a major homeowner decision back to the surface: a fence.  I've wanted a fence in my yard since I moved in.  Living in a subdivision with an HOA, I knew a chain fence wasn't going to cut it.

Now, the decision about the fencing was not only a convenience decision, it was a safety concern.  Do I want to be able to just let my dog out the door without having to bundle up?  I would love that!  Do I want a place for her to run around?  Yes!  Do I want to take the chance of the next dog fight ending without injuries?  Heck No.  Do I want to take the chance of the next dog fight ending with a dog attacking me?  HECK NO.  I've been bitten before and the amount of damage that can be done in seconds is alarming.

The style I decided to go with!

This whole decision took me back into the realm of DIY.  Was this something I could do myself, with some help?  After only a moment of thinking, the answer was a resounding no.  See, there are some factors you should take into account when deciding whether to DIY or hire someone:

• Skills required - Will this require skills that are far outside your realm of knowledge?  Think along the lines of major electrical, plumbing or HVAC work.  Outside, do you have the skills to use the tools to dig the proper holes for a fence?  Can you make them straight?
• Cost difference - Will doing something yourself save you money or provide you with a higher quality product than if you hired someone to do?  Why do a project if it's going to cost you more money AND look worse than hiring a profession?  I think that's just silly and a waste of time.
• Convenience - I believe that paying for convenience is sometimes worth it.  If there is only a small price difference and it's going to be very convenient for someone else to use their time and expertise....  it is probably worth the extra money.  This factor is different for every person.  We all know we have things we hate doing and would rather pay someone else to do, no matter the cost.

When I was thinking about getting a fence put in, I used these to help determine how I would go about it:

• Skills required - I have never dug a fence post, I have never mixed concrete and I've never installed a fence.  I don't even have many people that would be able to help me with anything like that.  I had a friend offer her family services, but after I looked at the 2nd factor, it wasn't worth it.
• Cost difference - After pricing materials, I realized that materials were the largest part of the price of getting a fence installed.  After getting quotes from numerous local companies and pricing out the materials separately, it was easy to see that I wouldn't be saving much money by doing the labor myself.  If I had help, I would definitely want to give them money, but I wouldn't be saving much money.
• Convenience - I'm not going to save money.  It would take at least 2 full days of work to put the fence in myself... if I knew what I was doing.  I'm not a big manual labor person, I have too many injuries for that!

The decision was easy.  I selected a contractor and it should be installed in a few weeks once everything is in line.  I'll be on a super strict budget over the next few months and this probably lead to more DIY projects around the house!  But the safety of my dog and I as well as my family and friends is top priority and completely worth the cost.