With the cost of most everything rising quickly the last 5 years, the cost of home maintenance, repairs and improvements has become more of a burden. Once clients of mine, myself included, get bids on home services, it can be shocking. How do you decide if you can tackle it yourself? Or take the chance on a lower priced handyman vs. calling in a full service company?

Some items are pretty basic and almost all of us can take care of: batteries in smoke alarms and CO detectors, or installing new ones; air filters for HVAC; light bulbs (finding the right ones anymore is the hard part!); cleaning; touch up painting; hanging artwork, cabinet pulls/ handles (if the holes line up).

Next level may include changing a doorknob; cleaning a hair clogged drain; drywall repair; caulking; painting trim, doors, rooms, ceilings; steam cleaning carpeting; landscaping and grass service; installing a thermostat; towel racks; fence repairs; limited wallpaper areas, small mirrors and surface mounted medicine cabinets; staining decks and fences; powerwashing.

Then changing electrical outlets; new faucets; water line to the fridge; new light fixtures; one room of flooring; hanging interior doors and new trim; demo work (tear out old flooring, drywall, cabinets, etc); install monitoring systems like Ring; closet racks; whole drywall sheets and taping; exhaust fans; recessed medicine cabinets.

If you are bold enough - whole closet systems; windows and exterior doors; flooring thru multiple rooms; shower pans and surrounding tile work; bath vanities; small retaining walls; installing fencing; major deck repairs.

I have done most of these items - some many times over - having owned homes for 35 years and several rentals. It can save you time, money and give a sense of pride. It can also give you heartburns and headaches from doing it wrong, or just plain exhaustion after working all day/ week, then working "a second job". Word of warning - some of these jobs can be dangerous, and some may need a permit, depending on scope of job and where you live (I have pulled my own permits 3 times). Please be confident you can do the job right before starting, otherwise get help or hire it out.

One new thing I just did this weekend was to seal my driveway joints. They are too big to caulk, and I loved the look of the smooth shiny gray material I saw on some of my client's driveways. After getting a bid that seemed quite excessive, I looked into the materials, and found "self-leveling" driveway sealant. I did it soon after powerwashing all the gunk out. Then fill in the gap if needed with foam rod (comes in rolls next to the sealant), and top off with this thick but runny material that oozes itself around the joint and smooths itself out. Be sure it says "horizontal surface only", or it is just caulk which should be used for smaller cracks, and cap the joint ends and fill holes or it runs out. That is my tip of the day!

Happy DIYing!