DIY or tradespeople?

Some tasks you can do yourself. For others, you’ll need to call a professional.

Do it yourself or professional?

You may be able to do basic maintenance and repairs such as leaking taps, washing the roof or oiling hinges. You may also be competent to carry out more complex jobs.

But know your limits. It is better to hire a professional and get the job done properly the first time around than to make costly mistakes. By law, some jobs have to be done by a professional, such as electrical, gas, plumbing or drainage work. Some work may look simple but require an expert or expert advice, such as:

• Replacing sealant movement control joints in cladding.
• Recoating a monolithic cladding system.
• Repairing flashings.

If you’re doing DIY work, make sure you take the necessary safety precautions.

Hiring the professionals

On this website when we talk about professionals we mean builders, electricians, plumbers, designers, engineers or other tradespeople who have expertise in a particular area. Many will be members of professional organisations.

When you need to hire a professional, be thorough in your selection process. Tradespeople who are members of trade organisations are often required to meet education and experience requirements in order to be members of the organisation. Ask around for references from friends and family and see dealing with tradespeople for more information.

When you are choosing a potential tradesperson:

• Do some early research so you have a clear idea of the scope of the job – how much preparation is involved and to what standard, what materials you want used, and when you want it done by.
• Get more than one quote unless you are re-using someone you know and trust.
• If you do not get a written agreement then make notes at or after each meeting of any decisions agreed upon.
• For larger jobs, ask for a written fixed price quote.
• For smaller jobs ask for a written estimate with a fixed top price. An estimate should be close to the final price, within 10-15%.
• Ask for an hourly rate for extra work that may come up in the course of the job.
• Tell the tradesperson you must be advised about any extra work before they go ahead with it, so you can agree on the scope and approve any extra costs.
• Ask for guarantees on the workmanship. Whatever guarantees the tradesperson offers you still have protection under the Consumer Guarantees Act and the Building Act 2004.
• Ask what insurance cover the person has for any damage caused during the work. You could also ask for proof of cover.
• Sort out how payments are to be made – at the end of the job or progressively for larger jobs. The Construction Contracts Act 2002 provides a process for deciding what payments have to be made under a construction contract and when they are due.

Note that in some cases it can be difficult for someone to give you a firm quote because the full extent of the problem is not always obvious. For example, if you are having some rotten weatherboards replaced, the extent of rot may not be evident until the boards are removed. You should then ask for an hourly rate quote for the removal of the timber and the cost of the replacement boards or any other further costs that may apply. Alternatively you could ask for a worst case price.

For larger jobs, such as re-piling your home, you might want someone to manage the project for you, paying them an agreed rate to supervise the work, the payments and the code compliance side of things – see project management for options.

It is your responsibility to ensure a building consent is obtained (if required) prior to the work commencing and a code compliance certificate issued at completion.