"RicodJour" writes:
User Example wrote:
Some of the work they do takes skill and some things they can do better
because they know some tricks of the trade. But for the most part there
isn't anything that you can't do as well or better. They will almost
always rush a job. You have the luxury of taking our time.

Taking what could be excessive amounts of time to complete a task is
not doing a better job. If you ignore time, and look at just the
quality of the work, it's still doubtful that a novice, in any line of
work, could perform work better than someone who has done it hundreds
or thousands of times before. If you believe otherwise, it's either
your ego talking or you really don't know how to evaluate the work
being done.


I agree with much of the (deleted) rest of your post, but take issue
with some of your points here regarding the quality of DIY
vs. professional work.

If you are a perfectionist and reasonably handy, then on many basic
carpentry, electrical and plumbing type projects you can do a higher
quality job than a professional if you do your research and are
willing to take a lot longer. As you state, you may save out-of-pocket
costs but you will almost definitely take longer and the true savings
depends on what value you assign to your non-business hours time.

Professionals are not being paid enough for perfectionism nor do they
usually bring that level of commitment to the job. I find that the
"skill" in "skilled labor" has more to do with the efficiency of their
labor than with the quality of the final result. Of course, if you are
willing to pay unlimited sums for a job then you can mandate
perfectionism though even this is not necessarily true.

For example, my mom is a perfectionist and goes with the highest
quality/highest cost contractors yet is repeatedly frustrated with the
lack of skill and attention to detail -- unfortunately, even the best
contractors often bring in subs and unskilled labor that don't
justify the premium they demand. She is now in the process of builing
a standalone 1-story, 1-car garage for which she is paying $100K+ yet
the carpenter brought in by the contractor has made countless
mistakes, disregarding clearly speced architectual plans.