Any homeowner enjoys the rush of completing a successful DIY job. When it comes to fixing up a damaged or deteriorating fence, you might enjoy the idea even more since it means completing an extremely visible job. The whole neighborhood and every passerby will see your handiwork, making the idea of DIY fence repair attractive and intriguing.
While you may feel drawn to complete fence repairs on your own, you might instead undergo a time-consuming, wasteful, and potentially dangerous experience. Learn seven reasons why you should get handyman services in Lincoln, CA instead of handling repairs yourself.
1. You’ll Take Up a Lot of Your Time
Even for professionals, fence repair requires a lot of time to complete. As a DIY homeowner, you’ll discover that the work professionals can perform in hours might take you days or weeks to complete. The typical steps for fence repair include:
- Inspecting the entire fence for damage, including every panel, gate, and building component
- Purchasing the necessary tools and construction components to perform repairs
- Repairing or replacing parts of the fence as necessary
- Painting, staining, and sealing as necessary
Fence repair experts have a trained eye capable of recognizing signs of damage that you may take more time to discover and diagnose. In addition, professional fence contractors know how to efficiently and effectively repair your fence, while you might have to learn certain techniques that take time to master.
2. You Might Use the Wrong Materials
From vinyl fences to wood or metal ones, the quality of the materials used to build them designates the lifetime of the fence overall. When replacing particular parts of your fence, you may accidentally purchase the wrong type of material or components that don’t match the quality of your current fence’s parts. These problems may contribute to your fence wearing out faster in the future, forcing you to perform repairs more often than you would expect.
Even if you do find materials that match the quality of other fence components, an inexperienced builder may purchase certain parts that don’t fit properly. Everything from nail length to gate fittings must meet particular size requirements, and using the wrong kinds can slow down progress and make the project take more time and money.
3. You May Not Have the Necessary Expertise
Repairing a fence requires knowledge of fence construction and building materials. Homeowners have skills in many areas of home repairs, but fixing their fence lies outside of their wheelhouse. Even when following YouTube videos or online guides, a simple mistake can cause more damage to your fence, lengthen the project’s timeline, and cost you money in the long run.
Fence contractors have training on how to repair various parts of residential fences, and the longer they’ve been in business, the more experience they have with proper repairs. When you leave fence repair up to a professional fence company, you can rest assured that they have the necessary expertise to fix your fence.
4. You Might Break Warranties or Guarantees
DIY fence repair often breaks the warranties or guarantees attached to your fence. Most fences protected by a warranty maintain their guarantee thanks to a professional installation. The fence panels, fittings, or other materials can have decades-long warranties on them that stand so long as homeowners trust professionals with repairs.
While wood fences often come with short warranties, fences built out of vinyl, metal, or other manufactured materials often have decades-long guarantees. Maintaining those warranties can prove crucial to helping you replace broken or damaged fence parts, especially if the problem occurred due to a manufacturing defect. You can also benefit from maintaining the fence warranties should you decide to sell your home, as many of these warranties can transfer to the new owners.
5. You Could Build in the Wrong Places
When trying to repair your fence, you may need to dig new posts or pull up old ones for replacement. However, many residential properties have public electrical, plumbing, or cable networks running underneath them. Digging without the proper preparations might result in accidentally hitting these underground systems, causing damage to your neighborhood and possibly resulting in harm to yourself.
Professional fence companies know how to ensure that they have the proper clearance for digging into your yard.
6. You May Lower Your Home’s Property Value
Improper fence repairs can lower your property value, especially if the new repairs stand out in contrast to your previous fence. Besides destroying your curb appeal, potential home buyers might consider the shoddy fence work as an indication of how the home has fared as well.
A professional fence company will ensure that your new fence repairs blend in perfectly with your current look, helping you preserve your curb appeal and improving your property value.
7. You Put Your Safety At Risk
Fence repairs put a lot of stress on your body. Between lifting heavy panels, using various tools and pieces of equipment, and other necessary work, inexperienced DIYers could hurt themselves. Whether you accidentally drop a heavy fence part on your foot or pinch your fingers while putting a gate together, your injuries could put you out for the day or require a trip to the emergency room. If your fence repairs result in medical bills, the cost of repairing your own fence could double or triple.
When you depend on a professional fence company for repairs, the workers carry the necessary licenses and insurance to protect them and yourself while they work. Injuries on your property won’t cost you, you won’t have to worry about your personal safety, and even if a worker becomes injured, other employees can pick up the slack.
Repair Your Fence the Right Way the First Time With Honest Lee Handyman
DIY fence repair can go wrong in many ways, causing damage to your home and posing a danger to your health. For reliable professional fence repair services in and around Lincoln, CA, call Honest Lee Handyman at (916) 542-1006. We work cleanly, offer a one-year warranty on our work, and regularly win best handyman awards locally. Get an estimate on a project!