Saving Money by Doing It Yourself

Time to add an update to the Monday Money series I started last year.

Over the weekend, I replaced a kitchen faucet.

Big whoop, some of you are saying.

That’s kids stuff.

Except when you thought of yourself as being mechanically challenged.

First let me tell you about the savings.

If I would have had a professional plumber do the job, it would have cost between $300 and $500 including their mark-up on the fixture and supplies along with labor.

My cost was $102.72 for parts including the faucet and supplies and no out of pocket labor costs.

I did spend another 20 bucks for tools because I was missing a wrench.

The biggest challenge was removing the old faucet which involved a pipe cutter, hacksaw, pliers and a hammer.  That plus working in a very tiny space were the biggest challenges.

This wasn’t a planned repair.  But I was aware of a leak and when I saw the potential damage of waiting until next weekend, I had to move quick.  I had a time deadline.  It was 1pm and we were going to be leaving by 4:30pm.

Off I went to the store, picked out a replacement faucet, similar to what we had, except about 30 years newer.

I warned my wife that I may need to shut off all the water to the house, due to a lack of proper shut off valves under the sink and went to work.  4:15pm, everything was done and it was time for me to clean up.

Besides the $200 plus savings of doing it myself, there is also the savings of preventing future damage to our home due to leaky water pipes which can create mold, mildew, rot, decrease the value of your home and create hazardous living conditions.

I am not naturally handy.  But I am curious.  I would be a good detective, and it was that part of my personality that lead me to figure this out myself.

Are you willing to try Do It Yourself projects to save some money?