DIY-ing Your Fence
When you Fix your fence or when it comes to doing a project on your own, I know first hand how amazing it feels once you Fix your Fence. In fact that is a reason for how I got started fencing professionally and have learned other skills along the way. I was too stubborn to pay someone else to do something I could figure out how to do. There’s an indescribable feeling of pride and accomplishment when you see a project in your head, put in the blood, sweat, and tears to see it come together in the physical. This is the greatest benefit to Doing-It-Yourself. The fence also turns out EXACTLY the way you want it done as opposed to slight miscommunication when it comes to someone else doing it.
Another benefit to doing the project yourself is possible financial benefits. Obviously hiring someone else to Fix your Fence is going to cost more due to their time and experience. In the short term, penciling the project could be cheaper, especially if there’s no deadline and it’s a hobby to build it yourself. There’s also the added benefit of spending quality time with your family or friends if you make it a group project on weekends or evenings. There are a lot of life lessons that can be taught or learned when it’s a family project. I know I learned a lot on “family fence days.” There are multiple drawbacks to doing it yourself. The first is a loss of time. If building your fence is viewed as a chore then by spending your precious time on the project takes away from what you’d really like to be doing. This ties into opportunity cost with your time. In some cases, your earning potential for the same time spent, exceeds the cost of hiring the job out. Along with the time spent doing the physical work is time spent comparing material, gathering material, renting and returning equipment, fixing mistakes etc. Deadlines can be a drawback related to time. In certain scenarios fence lines need to be finished by a certain time and doing it yourself may not meet those requirements.
Rookie mistakes are a huge drawback to doing a fence line yourself. There is a reason professionals specialize in building fences. They have experienced the rookie mistakes and learned from them and how to avoid them. Rookie mistakes can be anything that causes a breakdown, delayed completion, unprofessional look in the form of non quality material, or craftsmanship. I’m NOT saying that Do- It-Yourselfers can’t choose quality material or do a quality job but the odds are higher for rookie mistakes. Experience creates professionals, lack of experience has potential for problems.
Hiring a Professional
Hiring a professional fencer to Fix your Fence has its pros and a few cons as well. The only real drawback of hiring the job out is the upfront cost of labor. Just like any service you pay for, you are paying for their time, experience, and equipment. Most professionals are willing to give free quotes and estimate start and finish dates. It never hurts to shop around for the right contractor for the job. Different locations and job specialities demand different contractors and ranges on what each contractor charges. For example, in an urban environment a contractor may specialize in yard fences and may be totally foreign to agricultural fences. The opposite is true as well, agricultural fencers may be a rookie at decorative security yard fences. Each contractor knows his specialty and charges accordingly.
The benefits of hiring a professional are actually the drawbacks of doing it yourself. A professional already knows the best quality material and its cost. In some cases they are able to buy it at wholesale prices causing the overall cost of the project to decrease. The professional already has the necessary equipment for doing the project the most efficiently and knows how to operate them to max capacity. This reduces the learning curve time of the Do-It-Yourselfers. A professional always has your project or a similar project on their mind therefore it can be completed to max efficiency and minimal time just like you are good and efficient at your profession. It makes a difference. The biggest attribute to hiring a professional is the job will be quality work. Their business depends on them getting repeat customers and referrals. The best advertisement is word of mouth and satisfied customers. It can also be the worst advertisement if they don’t do quality work.
Would You DYI it or Find a Pro?
This is just a basic list comparing the pros and cons of hiring a professional fence builder or doing the project yourself. Everyone’s scenario is different, some jobs are more difficult than others and it’s a personal preference of the individual to look into the job and decide which route to go.
If you require further information, the team here at Cat’s Claw Fasteners is ready to help! Feel free to forward your questions to our Head Cat Collector, Ralph, at
ra***@ca***************.com
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