Why DIY? — Not for saving money, but more for gaining new knowledge and saving your time!
This weekend, I accomplished an urgent DIY project — replacing my leaking kitchen disposer fully by myself! So highly recommend to DIY when it’s a reasonable project like the one I did.
As a result, this my ROI analysis:
Return:
A) Gained new knowledge and skills on how a kitchen disposer works and when it should be replaced and how to replace one.
B) Saved 4+ days of time (compare if I choose to hire a plumber)
C) Saved $150+ (compare if I choose to hire a plumber)
Investment:
I) 2 hours of online research
II) 1 hour shopping time at local Home Depot
III) 2 hours work of replacement
To me, the biggest gaining here is gaining the new useful daily life knowledge incl. how to identify which wire is hot and which is neutral from a power cord in US. And since the average lifespan of a kitchen sink disposer is about 5 years, with this experience, I can replace the disposer next time with only 3 hours since no need to do the research any more!
Below are the more detailed breakdown comparison:
With service providers — Total ~5 days, $250~
- [2 hours] Research on Google, Yelp to find the reputable(online) local plumbing service provider
- [~1day] Call or email 2~3 service providers for quotes and determine which one to go with.
- [~1day] Schedule an appointment with the selected provider
- [1day] The actual work delivered and paid.
DIY — Total 5 hours, $120
1. [1 hour] Online research — mostly YouTube and Google
2. [2 hours] Offline parts/tools purchase trip — I chose to go offline(Home Depot) here mainly for saving time since even with Amazon Prime, it will take 2 days usually. While the cost is higher (Same disposer costs $20 more in Home Depot than Amazon, and it’s understandable to me.)
3. [2 hours] Uninstall the old disposer, and install the new one.
Go DIY when it’s reasonably doable not just for saving money, but MORE for new Knowledge/Skill and saving your precious TIME!!
