Home repairs really should be left to the professionals, right? I don’t mean changing a light globe. I mean home repairs that can be deceivingly complicated.

With the rise of DIY, many people believe that there are a whole bunch of home repairs that they can do themselves. What’s more, if you read a lot of do-it-yourself magazines, you come away with the impression that you really should be taking personal responsibility for household maintenance – not handing it over to someone else.

With that said, there are a bunch of household tasks you REALLY should leave to the professionals. Here are the home repairs you should never do yourself.

Servicing Gas Appliances

Several appliances in your home, including your stove, boiler and hot water tank could rely on a supply of gas to keep them operational. Unfortunately, they all have a nasty habit of breaking down from time to time, requiring a service.

Some homeowners, however, don’t like the idea of paying somebody to come out and fix their equipment and decide to take it on themselves.

Bad idea!

Gas-based appliances require professionals to service them. As a homeowner, you’re likely to make mistakes, even if you take every precaution, such as shutting off the gas in the mains. Failing to service gas-using appliances correctly can lead to severe health problems, including carbon monoxide poisoning, a potentially deadly condition.

Electrical Repairs

A lot of homeowners fancy themselves as would-be electricians. How hard can it be anyway? It’s just a matter of laying a few new wires, right?

Unfortunately, most wiring jobs are a lot more complicated than that. If you choose the wrong gauge of wire, you’re putting yourself at fire risk. And if you don’t know your live wires from your ground, you’re at risk of electrocution.

For this reason, most people rely on electrical services – professionals who know how to get the job done safely and effectively, without putting you or your family at risk.

Basement Renovations

The rise of DIY blogs and magazines has led to a plethora of people trying to carry out their own basement renovations. On the face of it, it seems to make a lot of sense. It’s just like renovating a regular room in your home, right?

Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Basements have a couple of characteristics that make them different from, say, a bedroom.

First, they must support the entire weight of the house above them, meaning that you have to be MUCH more careful when fiddling about with supporting walls.

And second, the walls of your basement back directly onto the dirt, meaning that you need to be very careful when drilling holes to avoid dampness from getting into your home.

Doing minor renovations yourself is usually fine. But going for an all-out remodel is almost certainly a recipe for disaster.

Plumbing

A leaky faucet might seem like a minor problem, not worthy of the attention of your local plumber. But in some cases, it can be indicative of issues elsewhere in the system.