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Marquette · 06-25-2008, 10:18 AM

Well, not to knock on that article too much, but the gist of it is that they didn't research costs for a lot of things on a project that ended up being bigger than they could comfortably handle. The key is to do little things and work your way up the skill level.

Here are DIY projects I've done in the last year:

Paint the house (inside) - Quote was $5k and the work would be done over 17(!) days. I already owned brushes, picked up some other supplies. Spent 4 days (mostly evenings) and did it myself.

Floorboards and quarter round in two rooms - Quote was $3k. I already owned a miter saw ($110 on sale from Home Depot) and I borrowed a finish nailer and compressor from friends. Picked up the lumber and poly for under $100 and did the work myself. Probably spent 10 hours of my own time (coat the boards, go do something else while they dry... sand, recoat... ). Filling the holes was the most tedious part.

Bed slat frame - Could have bought one for $600 + delivery. Ordered the latex strips for $100 and spent another $80 on lumber (spent a lot more because I got clear pine 1x4's rather than the building grade). I used metal squares and t's to join the base and then screwed in the 21 1x4's. I used the miter saw for all of my cuts so that went fast. Whole project took 3 hours, including cutting and glueing the latex strips to the 1x4's.

There were a lot more projects before that... the biggest mistake from a DIY perspective was doing the wood floor in our master bedroom. It was still cheaper than getting it installed, but I didn't spend enough time on the weekend so I ended up keeping the stapler for a week rather than a couple days. I had to rent that so, wit the final bill, it would have been much cheaper to buy one, use it, and then sell it on Craigslist.

I factor my time into the cost of the project, but usually at a discounted rate if it's not keeping me from other work... and in the middle of February in Minnesota it's not like I'm passing up nice weather outside.

06-25-2008, 10:18 AM	#3
Marquette Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 2,020	Well, not to knock on that article too much, but the gist of it is that they didn't research costs for a lot of things on a project that ended up being bigger than they could comfortably handle. The key is to do little things and work your way up the skill level. Here are DIY projects I've done in the last year: Paint the house (inside) - Quote was $5k and the work would be done over 17(!) days. I already owned brushes, picked up some other supplies. Spent 4 days (mostly evenings) and did it myself. Floorboards and quarter round in two rooms - Quote was $3k. I already owned a miter saw ($110 on sale from Home Depot) and I borrowed a finish nailer and compressor from friends. Picked up the lumber and poly for under $100 and did the work myself. Probably spent 10 hours of my own time (coat the boards, go do something else while they dry... sand, recoat... ). Filling the holes was the most tedious part. Bed slat frame - Could have bought one for $600 + delivery. Ordered the latex strips for $100 and spent another $80 on lumber (spent a lot more because I got clear pine 1x4's rather than the building grade). I used metal squares and t's to join the base and then screwed in the 21 1x4's. I used the miter saw for all of my cuts so that went fast. Whole project took 3 hours, including cutting and glueing the latex strips to the 1x4's. There were a lot more projects before that... the biggest mistake from a DIY perspective was doing the wood floor in our master bedroom. It was still cheaper than getting it installed, but I didn't spend enough time on the weekend so I ended up keeping the stapler for a week rather than a couple days. I had to rent that so, wit the final bill, it would have been much cheaper to buy one, use it, and then sell it on Craigslist. I factor my time into the cost of the project, but usually at a discounted rate if it's not keeping me from other work... and in the middle of February in Minnesota it's not like I'm passing up nice weather outside.