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business Thursday 3 February 2022
DIY or call a professional: Which is right for your remodel?

By ANNIE MILLERBERND of faucet could lead to thou-
NerdWallet sands and thousands if not
A do-it-yourself remodel tens of thousands of dollars
can be a budget-friendly worth of damage," he says.
way to freshen up your Lovery is willing to knock
home. For some projects, down walls in her home,
it may take just a few You- but she makes room in
Tube videos to show you her budget to outsource
how to modernize your some work, saving poten-
space. tial headaches down the
But not every project is right road.
for amateur renovators. "When it comes to those
Your skill level, budget and very niche trades it's really,
how important the project really nice to throw in the
is to your home's value can towel and hire out those
all be deciding factors in jobs," she says.
whether to call a profes- MANAGING HOME IM-
sional. PROVEMENT COSTS
Here are home remodel If you're still undecided,
projects you can probably have a contractor write up
DIY, and those that are bet- an estimate and compare
ter left to experts. it with your DIY budget, Eg-
DIY THE FLOORS AND WALLS ner says. You can search
Aminah Chung and her A workman cuts sections of a bean at a housing site in Madison County, Miss., Tuesday, March for professionals on the
husband Bernard, who 16, 2021. NARI website.
share their DIY projects on Associated Press He also recommends add-
social media, updated ing about 10% to 20% to
their Phoenix-area home's portion of your DIY budget, to get a quality finished nightmare" of potential de- your budget for unexpect-
master bedroom and pan- says Chris Egner, president product. lays if you do it yourself. ed expenses, which are in-
try, and built a playhouse of the National Association Using a contractor for a The Chungs have two kids evitable with DIY and pro-
for their kids. of the Remodeling Indus- kitchen or bath remodel and full-time jobs, so a DIY fessional projects.
Starting in small spaces or try. Add those costs to your might cost tens of thou- kitchen remodel would Cash is the interest-free
trying simple changes, like budget, and ask if the tools sands of dollars, but Egner take a lot longer, Aminah way to pay for home im-
paint or paneling on a wall, are worth the investment, says their knowledge of Chung says. "I believe in provement projects, but
can help you build confi- he says. building codes and design doing the projects that you if you don't have enough
dence for bigger rooms, USE CAUTION IN KITCHENS best practices may end up can do so that you can available, shop around to
Aminah Chung says. AND BATHROOMS saving you money because save the money for the find the best financing.
With a little extra research, Homeowners should con- they'll do the job correctly. projects you don't neces- Home equity loans and
installing new floors can be sider their skills before com- A designer can show you sarily want to do," she says. lines of credit offer low in-
a spare-time project, says mitting to a full DIY kitchen multiple options for a new OUTSOURCE PLUMBING, terest rates and long repay-
San Diego-based DIYer Liz or bathroom remodel, Lov- layout and predict pos- HVAC, ELECTRICAL WORK ment terms, which keep
Lovery. She and her hus- ery says, because those sible issues down the line, It's best to let experts han- monthly payments low, but
band, a former structural spaces are often essential says Kevin Brown, design dle systems that make your it could take a few weeks to
engineer, installed lami- to your home's value. manager with Sunnyfields, house function, like the a month to get approved.
nate flooring in their home. Some things, like painting a Baltimore-based kitchen electrical, plumbing and Personal loans have higher
"Things like that might feel the cabinets, may be within and bath remodeling com- HVAC system, Egner says. rates and shorter repay-
overwhelming, but they reach. But if you need new pany. This work often involves ment terms, meaning your
aren't," she says. "They're cabinets installed and you The project may also fin- permits and background monthly payments are
very attainable, and it can don't feel confident about ish faster, Brown says, since knowledge, and the cost of higher, but the debt is often
actually save you a lot of accurately measuring for a professional can coor- a misstep can be high. cleared sooner. With these
money in the long run." them, Lovery says it may be dinate electricians and "A simple mistake in an in- loans, you can typically get
Tools can be a significant worth using a professional plumbers, avoiding "a real stallation of a toilet or a funds in a week or less.q
Caution from OPEC+ producers to keep

oil prices high

By DAVID McHUGH and non-members led by ers. U.S. oil traded up 1.2%
AP Business Writer Russia agreed Wednesday at $89.28, while internation-
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) to add 400,000 barrels per al benchmark Brent crude
— Oil cartel OPEC and al- day in March. That is in line was priced at $90.09, up
lied producing countries with plans by the OPEC+ 1%.
are sticking with cautious group to add that amount Prices at those levels have
increases in the amount of of oil every month and led to pressure for more
oil they send to the global gradually restore deep cuts production from the U.S.
economy, a decision like- made during the depths of and other consuming
ly to support prices that the coronavirus pandemic countries, which in Novem- The sun sets behind an idle pump jack near Karnes City, USA,
are near seven-year highs in 2020. ber announced a coordi- April 8, 2020.
amid fears of a Russian mili- The move comes as oil pric- nated release of oil from Associated Press
tary move against Ukraine. es hover near their highest national reserves, a step
The alliance of OPEC mem- levels since 2014, pushing that has not done much to as the economy bounces and consumes more fuel
bers led by Saudi Arabia up gasoline costs for driv- curb the increase in prices back from the pandemic for travel and industry.q