Do-It-Yourself Home Repairs Will Likely Kill You

The first rule of being a homeowner is that you are constantly unprepared for how expensive it is. Even after years of struggling with the slow destruction of your most valuable asset, you can still be overwhelmed by the sheer size of your repair bill, so it’s no surprise that many people head to YouTube University to try their hand at DIY household chores. repair and reconstruction. The money you can save by doing things yourself can be significant.

We tend to think of DIY home renovation failures in terms of aesthetics or functionality – crooked shingles or a roof that keeps leaking despite our best efforts. But doing things on your own when you lack the knowledge and experience can sometimes lead to something worse than an unsightly, twitchy result: it can lead to serious injury or even death. Here’s a home renovation that could kill you.

microwave

It is easy to assume that when the appliance is unplugged it is inert and perfectly safe, but many electrical appliances have a capacitor that holds a high charge for a long time. You can unplug your microwave, keep it unplugged for months, and it can still hold enough voltage to effectively kill you . If your microwave has stopped working and you think you can open it and fix it yourself, stop: you could definitely get killed . It’s time to either just buy a new one or hire a licensed technician to try and fix it.

Gas and electricity

Whether it’s installing a new gas stove or trying to figure out why the light fixture keeps flickering, working on the gas lines or electricity in your home when you’re not a licensed electrician or plumber is a bad idea. Even if you manage to avoid electrocution or arson for the moment, a gas leak can (and will) slowly kill you in your sleep, and dilapidated homemade wiring can (and will) burn down your house (also probably while you sleep).

Roofing

Your roof is annoying because it mysteriously fails – trying to pinpoint a roof leak is usually futile. This is why most people choose to call a professional roofer when the roof shows signs of decay, but it can be expensive. So many people break down a wobbly old ladder and climb it themselves, despite the fact that roof falls are one of the leading causes of death among professional roofers . If the professionals consider being on your roof a deadly experience, you definitely shouldn’t be there unless you take serious precautions.

Wall demonstration

Many people choose to do the demolition part of their home renovation themselves because it seems like an easy way to save money. Sure, demonstrating is hard work, but destroying stuff doesn’t require much skill or experience. And that’s true to some extent, but if your demo plan involves removing a wall to “open up” the space, make sure you understand how to define a load-bearing wall before you start. Demolishing a load-bearing wall can bring the whole house down on your head, which will not only end the renovation, but most likely end your life.

garage door

If your garage door breaks, it might seem like an easy fix or at least worth seeing if you can fix the problem yourself. Garage doors are very heavy but are generally very easy to lift due to the torsion springs that provide lift to help the door operate. If one of these springs breaks, you can’t just take it out and replace it – the whole operation requires special tools and knowledge of how to unwind the springs safely. Using improvised tools to do this can result in a rather dramatic and explosive spring untwist that sends your tools and pieces of metal flying like shrapnel, potentially injuring you badly or even killing you.

Cleaning

Here’s a good tip for those who wake up wanting to clean their bathroom: Always flush the toilet before you put any cleaner in it. This is because even small amounts of different cleaners can cause a lethal chemical reaction when mixed . For example, combining bleach with cleaning products containing ammonia can create a poisonous gas called chloramine that can kill you if you can’t get rid of it quickly enough.

Using a generator

If you have a reliable gas generator, you may have heard that you can purchase a male-male extension cord that will allow you to plug the generator into one of your home’s electrical outlets during a power outage. The electricity generated by your generator will run through your home’s wiring, allowing you to power your home as if you had an automatic switch installed . It… works, yes, but it’s also incredibly dangerous, with potential consequences including exploding your generator, burning your home, and your own horrifying death. There is a reason they are often referred to as ” suicide cords “.

Deck building

Adding a deck to your outdoor space is a great idea, but if you’re new to building and may not be the best carpenter, you should think twice, especially if you’re also skipping the permit and screening process. A deck that seems perfectly stable with light use can easily collapse when you suddenly put a few people on it, or simply collapse on its own at some random moment when the magical combination of friction, luck, and a single rusty screw holding it together, from the ground suddenly gives out. Hire a professional if you really don’t know what you’re doing.

Keeping your home in good working order is sometimes expensive and sometimes requires a lot of sweat. Knowing when you are putting yourself in danger is critical to deciding which approach to take.