8 ways to DIY and save money
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3. Repairing a washer and dryer
Terri Jay of Washoe Valley, Nev., couldn't afford to replace her broken washer and dryer, and hiring someone to fix them would have stretched her limited budget. Jay decided to try the DIY approach and stopped by a local parts store for advice.
Based on her description, the salesman determined that the water in the washing machine wouldn't rise to the appropriate level because of a broken fill switch. Additionally, a faulty thermostat was the reason her clothes were still wet when she pulled them from the dryer.
Both are easy repairs. The salesman talked Jay through the process of removing the access panel on each machine and locating and replacing the parts. A couple of turns of a screwdriver later, Jay had both machines in working order again.
Total cost: $30 fill switch and $15 thermostat
Savings: $80-$100 diagnostic fee and labor for each repair
Difficulty rating: 3 out of 5
4. Replacing a faucet
Anastasia Wylie loathed the kitchen faucet in her New York apartment. It was ugly. It leaked. And its hot and cold lines were reversed. Fed up with fiddling with it, Wylie bought a new faucet and called her roommate to let him know they'd be installing a faucet after he got home from work.
Too excited about her purchase to sit around, Wylie cleaned out the area underneath the sink, unpacked the new faucet and laid everything out on the counter.
Still restless, she turned off the water supply, unscrewed the nuts and hoses holding the faucet in place and pulled it out of the sink. Once done, she read the installation instructions and decided to see how far she could get without her roommate's help.
"By the time my roommate got home, I'd installed the faucet, cleaned up the old one and washed a load of dishes," Wylie says. "I one-stepped myself through the project. It was amazing how simple it was once I got past being afraid of doing it."
Keep in mind, however, that old or poor-quality plumbing leading into the faucet can make the process much more labor-intensive, so check the plumbing out before you begin.
Total cost: $45 faucet
Savings: Guilt (and a $75 handyman fee)
Difficulty rating: 2 out of 5 with intact plumbing
5. Updating a bathroom
After successfully replacing her faucet and boosting her confidence, Wylie decided to help with a few improvements when her parents decided to sell her childhood home. One of her projects, changing out the bathroom vanity, would spruce up the look of a room that is always important to resale value.
Since contractors were already working in the room to rebuild a rotted floor, Wylie asked for an estimate to renovate the room. The price tag: more than $7,000.
Instead, Wylie picked out a kit -- complete with cabinet, sink and faucet -- and took on the replacement herself. Since the sink basin, faucet and vanity came preassembled, Wylie only needed to bolt the unit into place and connect the plumbing lines. Twenty minutes later, the bathroom looked like new.
As with replacing a faucet, the difficulty of updating a bathroom can quickly escalate if bad plumbing, mold or other unexpected problems are discovered in the area of the house you're working on. If you get in over your head, swallow your pride and call a professional.
Total cost: $250 vanity set
Savings: a $7,000 renovation
Difficulty rating: 4 out of 5
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