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> You never save money building it yourself I know where you're coming from with this. I've been refurbing my house myself and I doubt I've saved that much bec

> You never save money building it yourself I know where you're coming from with this. I've been refurbing my house myself and I doubt I've saved that much because the "saving" has meant that I've been able to buy tools and, of course, better quality materials (e.g., more expensive flooring). I've also often chosen to go the extra mile with improvements where I might have scaled back if I were paying someone. I suppose you could argue this is a saving in that I've got more value out of the money I've spent by treating my own time as "free labour", but have I spent less? I doubt it. Still, I don't know if it's entirely true in all circumstances. Here, for example, TheGeekPub (The 8-Bit Guy's brother) manages to save himself a ton by building his own electronics station rather than buying one or paying a carpenter to do it for him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KfWMJV7fQ0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KfWMJV7fQ0 But then, as becomes evident when you watch the video, he already owned all the tools he needed and just had to buy the materials, which were relatively inexpensive. I think the results look great though, and it's clearly an extremely functional piece of furniture. Like a lot of things in life, does it save you money? It really depends on your starting conditions (skill level, tools and facilities), and how much you want to invest in the project (both time and money).

PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
There's also a timeline element to this. I may not have saved myself any money at all by doing things myself when I was 25. But now I'm 57, and I can more or less fix anything in my house, and carry out more or less any changes I want or need to do, without outside assistance. Me fixing that one toilet leak myself at 25 was probably a net cost to myself - tools & time considered. But at this point, when I can just remove a defunct radiant heating system from my house without even thinking of calling a plumber - by this point, I'm way ahead on cost. Similarly for electrical and basic framing work. Plus, I manage to almost entirely avoid having to interview/audition contractors and deal with the stress of them (almost invariably) doing a worse job that I would have done myself.
- nrb 5y ago
  Something to keep in mind is, despite those 30 years of experience that leads to one not needing to think about contacting a professional, knowing whether the work you're about to perform requires any permits/code; the lack of which might affect homeowners insurance claims or local code enforcement.
  - PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
    Part of the 30 years of experience is knowing when you need permits. That's why I got licensed by the state of NM to install my own solar array, and why I don't bother with permits for domestic plumbing here in NM (mostly).

PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago

There's also a timeline element to this. I may not have saved myself any money at all by doing things myself when I was 25. But now I'm 57, and I can more or less fix anything in my house, and carry out more or less any changes I want or need to do, without outside assistance. Me fixing that one toilet leak myself at 25 was probably a net cost to myself - tools & time considered. But at this point, when I can just remove a defunct radiant heating system from my house without even thinking of calling a plumber - by this point, I'm way ahead on cost. Similarly for electrical and basic framing work. Plus, I manage to almost entirely avoid having to interview/audition contractors and deal with the stress of them (almost invariably) doing a worse job that I would have done myself.

nrb 5y ago
Something to keep in mind is, despite those 30 years of experience that leads to one not needing to think about contacting a professional, knowing whether the work you're about to perform requires any permits/code; the lack of which might affect homeowners insurance claims or local code enforcement.
- PaulDavisThe1st 5y ago
  Part of the 30 years of experience is knowing when you need permits. That's why I got licensed by the state of NM to install my own solar array, and why I don't bother with permits for domestic plumbing here in NM (mostly).