Concrete Prices - Should You Do the Project Yourself Or Hire a Professional?
In recent years, more and more home owners have caught the home improvement bug.
We all want to save money on projects that we can take on ourselves, while gaining a special satisfaction in completing projects on our own.
However, it isn't always easy to assess whether or not we are realizing substantial savings when the projects become more involved.
This is often evidenced by comparing DIY concrete projects and those done by the professionals, and trying to determine concrete prices in real terms.
As concrete work can be one of the more challenging home improvement categories, a careful analysis of overall concrete prices is in order.
If you are going to do some extensive patio work, for example, you will need to think your way through the project step by step before you decide that it makes economic sense to avoid hiring someone to do it for you.
If you haven't done much concrete work before, it isn't likely that you have all the tools necessary to launch a sizable project.
You may need, among other things, to rent a cement mixer.
This alone will add substantially to bottom line concrete prices.
Then you need to take into consideration all of the tools -- shovels, brushes, floaters, trowels, groovers, air movers, knee boards, etc.
- that you may need to do the job.
If you don't already have a fairly complete concrete tool collection, the purchase of just a few of these could increase prices dramatically.
Assuming that you have most of the necessary concrete working tools at your disposal (either your own or borrowed from friends and family), you will still need to put some kind of price tag on your own time and effort.
Ask yourself if you really have the time to dedicate to an extensive, labor-intensive project.
One of the most common ways to turn your patio project into a backyard disaster is to have to rush through and cut corners during the process.
Having to go back over a the job, redo a section, or end up with less than satisfying results can make the difference in concrete prices a moot point in the end.
Because the professionals have been there and done that time after time, you might be surprised at how competitive their pricing can be.
Once you have thought through your project, try to get at least three bids or quotes on what you have been thinking about doing yourself.
As contractors have all the necessary tools and well-trained crews that can precisely go through each phase, you can often count on their experience to give you quality work in a fraction of the time that you would spend.
And, as they already have all the tools, this cost isn't something that will be passed along to you.
Finally, don't beat yourself up for having spent so much time in the planning process - all the thought that you put into it will serve you well in managing the project alongside your contractor.
So to be able to evaluate the true concrete prices that you will have to commit to, give some thought to the aforementioned reality of concrete work.
Make sure that you have a clear idea of what you are paying for and how much you are paying for it.
We all want to save money on projects that we can take on ourselves, while gaining a special satisfaction in completing projects on our own.
However, it isn't always easy to assess whether or not we are realizing substantial savings when the projects become more involved.
This is often evidenced by comparing DIY concrete projects and those done by the professionals, and trying to determine concrete prices in real terms.
As concrete work can be one of the more challenging home improvement categories, a careful analysis of overall concrete prices is in order.
If you are going to do some extensive patio work, for example, you will need to think your way through the project step by step before you decide that it makes economic sense to avoid hiring someone to do it for you.
If you haven't done much concrete work before, it isn't likely that you have all the tools necessary to launch a sizable project.
You may need, among other things, to rent a cement mixer.
This alone will add substantially to bottom line concrete prices.
Then you need to take into consideration all of the tools -- shovels, brushes, floaters, trowels, groovers, air movers, knee boards, etc.
- that you may need to do the job.
If you don't already have a fairly complete concrete tool collection, the purchase of just a few of these could increase prices dramatically.
Assuming that you have most of the necessary concrete working tools at your disposal (either your own or borrowed from friends and family), you will still need to put some kind of price tag on your own time and effort.
Ask yourself if you really have the time to dedicate to an extensive, labor-intensive project.
One of the most common ways to turn your patio project into a backyard disaster is to have to rush through and cut corners during the process.
Having to go back over a the job, redo a section, or end up with less than satisfying results can make the difference in concrete prices a moot point in the end.
Because the professionals have been there and done that time after time, you might be surprised at how competitive their pricing can be.
Once you have thought through your project, try to get at least three bids or quotes on what you have been thinking about doing yourself.
As contractors have all the necessary tools and well-trained crews that can precisely go through each phase, you can often count on their experience to give you quality work in a fraction of the time that you would spend.
And, as they already have all the tools, this cost isn't something that will be passed along to you.
Finally, don't beat yourself up for having spent so much time in the planning process - all the thought that you put into it will serve you well in managing the project alongside your contractor.
So to be able to evaluate the true concrete prices that you will have to commit to, give some thought to the aforementioned reality of concrete work.
Make sure that you have a clear idea of what you are paying for and how much you are paying for it.
