Owning your own home has a lot of advantages, but it also comes with many costs. But if you are willing to spend a bit of time and effort on your home, you can save a lot. This guest post has many ideas to get you started…

Homeowners and landlords are simply spending too much money on paying professionals to make minor repairs around the house. While there are some major projects that definitely require the help of professionals (especially septic and electricity problems), there are many that can be done for cheap.

So instead of making the call right away, here are five problems that can easily be fixed in a do-it-yourself project:

1. Minor Car Repairs

While you may not be able to replace an engine or transmission in your vehicle, routine maintenance and repairs can be done right at home.

For instance, people are spending upwards of $70 or $80 for premium oil changes, but you can do it yourself for just a few dollars. There are some details that you need to know when changing your oil, but the basics are simple.

You drain the old oil, take out the oil filter, put in the new one and fill it with the new oil. One thing you certainly need to know, though, is to never do this while the oil is hot. If you are spending $20 to change your own oil instead of $50, you can save $120 a year or more.

Changing your fuel filter, brake pads, spark plugs and windshield wipers are a few of the other automobile projects that you can do at home for next to nothing.

2. Pool Work

Owning your own pools can be a big expense, but hiring someone to maintain it is an even more costly. So let the pool boy stay at home and do the easy maintenance yourself. Picking up the necessary items you need can be done through pool supplies sources like hot spring spa parts and is often much more cost efficient, and not much harder, than paying someone to buy them for you.

Skimming the pool takes only a few minutes and a one time investment of a skimmer. From there, you just need to check that the major components are in good shape and that you are putting the necessary amount of chemicals in to keep the water clean.

photo credit: Giacomo Carena via photopin cc

3. Doors

When doors get stuck, people are too quick to call a contractor. It is an easy fix, sometimes it is as easy is chalking the door and closing it to see which section is sticking.

After that, you just need to sand down that part and the door should be working just fine. Installing doors can be a bit trickier, but those can be done without professional help, as well.

There are many aspects of the door that shouldn’t require paid service, so unless the door and frame are ripped clean off the hinges, do the repairs at home.

4. Painting

When it comes to painting an exterior, interior or fence, it isn’t necessary to hire a professional. Unless you are attempting to recreate the Sistine Chapel, it’s a job that can be done easily, even though it is rather time consuming.

With the right preparation and layering, you can make your paint job look professionally done. Paint is a bit pricey if you are looking for the best kind, but it still beats the cost of having to hire someone to do the work.

5. Roof Cleaning

Instead of dropping a couple of hundred dollars on hiring someone to clean off your roof, it can be done at home easily for a very low price. Picking up some algae and fungus cleaner that can be used with a pressure washer doesn’t take a long time and is very cheap.

Major shingle replacement and new roof installation is tough, but cleaning is easy.

photo credit: FreeWine via photopin cc

Can you think of any other DIY repairs that can save you a few bucks? I know I didn’t hit all of them…

Those are just a few of the projects that you can do at home. There are literally dozens, if not hundreds, of minor repairs that can be done without a pro. Before opening up your wallet, open up an internet browser to see how to get the job done.

Feel free to visit my disclosure page if you have questions about this post or any other posts on NOH.