{"id":963,"date":"2016-06-27T19:23:51","date_gmt":"2016-06-27T19:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/?p=963"},"modified":"2025-01-17T23:33:48","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T23:33:48","slug":"diy-mistakes-can-impact-homeowners-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/homeowners-insurance\/understanding-homeowners-insurance\/diy-mistakes-can-impact-homeowners-insurance\/","title":{"rendered":"How DIY Mistakes Can Impact Your Homeowners Insurance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Homeowners looking to save money on repairs are turning to DIY shows to learn how to do the work themselves \u2013 often with disastrous results. It looks so easy on television, weekend warriors consider themselves to be just as capable as the experts, only to quickly get in over their heads. And, those DIY mistakes can impact your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/insurance-options\/homeowners-insurance\/\">homeowners insurance<\/a>, if you aren\u2019t careful.<\/p>\n<p>A simple plumbing job could easily turn into a flooded kitchen, bathroom or nearby master bedroom. And, one of the by-products of something going awry is you may have to file a claim with your homeowners insurance company to repair the serious damage you inadvertently caused trying to prove to the \u201cmissus\u201d you\u2019re super handy with a crescent wrench.<\/p>\n<p>Before attempting a modification or repair that may be above your pay grade, you should first consider this: the half-hour and hour-long segments of your favorite DIY program showing complicated projects getting done without a hitch don\u2019t necessarily reflect how the job can swallow up a novice in a hurry.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the more serious DIY mistakes that can have an impact on your homeowners insurance are:<\/p>\n<h2>Not obtaining a permit or the proper permits<\/h2>\n<p>This is a common problem. Do-it-Yourselfers frequently underestimate the size of the project they undertake or the fact that permits are required, while others don\u2019t want to deal with bureaucratic red tape and ignore the process altogether.<\/p>\n<p>The purpose of a permit is twofold.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>To ensure that you\u2019re not going to be engaging in any construction or repair activity that ends up breaking any kind of codes or laws.<\/li>\n<li>So your local city, county and state know on whom to place financial liability in the event of a loss suffered by neighbors or the city itself should you blow the municipal power grid while attempting to replace a breaker panel.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When it comes to permits, if in doubt \u2013 find out. In other words, if the DIY job is bigger than painting walls, consult your city to see if you need a permit.<\/p>\n<h2>Unsafe or dangerous environment<\/h2>\n<p>Overwhelming repairs or jobs you aren\u2019t qualified to do can easily turn disastrous.<\/p>\n<p>Working in crawl spaces or over false ceilings can be exceptionally hazardous. Many a Do-it-Yourselfer has found him or herself unexpectedly crashing through the ceiling, causing costly damage that will require a professional to repair, not to mention possible medical attention for the nimble-footed Do-it Yourselfer who went from crawl space to living room floor in a single step.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, if you aren\u2019t too sure what you\u2019re doing when dealing with electrical wiring, don\u2019t touch it. This usually ends badly. You can go from a simple shock to frying the wiring and also your house \u2013 to possible electrocution and life-threatening injury.<\/p>\n<h2>Forgetting to Measure Twice<\/h2>\n<p>The old saying \u2013 measure twice, cut once has been around for a long time. And, while a novice may assume they\u2019ve measured correctly, reality can quickly set in when they discover the drywall, pipe, or anything to do with wood is cut too short.<\/p>\n<p>Professionals know and follow this rule of thumb because it won\u2019t just save them time, but money as well. Accuracy is vital when framing and even more so if you\u2019re dealing with load-bearing walls. Mis-measures are not easy fixes and trying to do it by cutting corners could have catastrophic implications for your house or yourself should it lead to serious injury.<\/p>\n<p>DIY shows are entertaining and help at the same time. But, know your limitations. If you\u2019re not the handiest tool in the box, let a professional do the job. It may be more expensive, but it\u2019s better than losing your house or winding up in the hospital and having your homeowners insurance go up or canceled because of something you did wrong.<\/p>\n<p><em>If you\u2019re looking for homeowners insurance, it helps to compare and bundle with your auto insurance. Call Freeway Insurance today at <strong>(800) 777-5620<\/strong> to speak with a live agent about the discounts you can get when you bundle your insurance. You can also get a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/insurance-options\/homeowners-insurance\/\">free homeowners insurance quote<\/a>\u00a0online.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Homeowners looking to save money on repairs are turning to DIY shows to learn how to do the work themselves \u2013 often with disastrous results. It looks so easy on television, weekend warriors consider themselves to be just as capable as the experts, only to quickly get in over their heads. And, those DIY mistakes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1002628,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[104],"importance":[],"type-content":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1002628"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=963"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6938,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963\/revisions\/6938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=963"},{"taxonomy":"importance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/importance?post=963"},{"taxonomy":"type-content","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type-content?post=963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}