Home Electric Repair: DIY vs Licensed Electrician

electric repair

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When it comes to maintaining your property, few things are as important as your home’s electrical system. After all, think about it: almost all of the core functions of your home, such as appliances, HVAC, lighting, and maybe even some of the plumbing rely on electrical power. No electric power means no functional house.

And if you’re not on top of your electric repair list, that could also be a safety hazard. An electric fire is no small danger to your home — many properties have been burned down as a result of electrical projects gone awry or poor electric maintenance.

But now that you know why you need home electrical repair, another question arises: should you do it yourself or should you call in a licensed professional to take care of your household electrical repairs?

In this article, we’ll attempt to answer that question by giving you the pros and cons associated with each method of home electric repairs.

Pros and Cons: DIY Electric Repair

With DIY electric repair, the most significant pro is obvious: cost savings. Licensed electricians aren’t cheap to hire.

Research shows that the cost of hiring an electrician to do your electric work can be as high as $100/hour. And even on the low end, you’re still looking at shelling out $40/hour (but do you really even want to hire a cheap electrician? Probably not).

The other pro is that you as a homeowner get to learn how to do some basic electrical maintenance as you go. This translates into you being handier overall with your home. It’s an important life skill to build up.

The cons, however, are significant. If you wire something incorrectly, that can very easily fry the electric system in your house (which is a tremendous expense to fix).

And the worst-case scenario is even worse: you could shock yourself (which is no small health risk given the voltages that run through a home), or cause an electrical fire.

Pros and Cons: Professional Electric Repair

The primary pro of professional electric repair is the experience of the electrician. Typically, he or she will have years and years of experience under their belt.

They’ll have come across the exact problems your house is facing and will be able to fix them in no time at all. This means that you prevent permanent electrical damage, get repairs done quickly, and don’t have to worry about the professional doing a shoddy job.

However, the con is the expense associated with the repair, as we’ve already touched upon. In addition, you may have to take a day off work to stay home to let the electrician in.

And let’s not even get into the pain that selecting an electrician can be given that it’s such a crowded market.

Will You DIY or Go With a Pro?

Now that you know the pros and cons of DIY and professional electric repair, you should be much better equipped to make a decision on which route you will take with your home.

For more home improvement advice, check out the rest of the website!