Are Professionals Worth the Money?

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am the type that asks myself this question about everything. If the tv stops working, I take it apart. If the A/C stops, I don't know what I'm looking for, but I start to take it apart. Maybe it's a guy thing. I don't really know. I do know that it drives my wife absolutely nuts though. Well, the latest saga was the bathroom. In the kids bathroom, there was a leak behind the tiles, plus they are pretty dated being our home is about 20 years old now. So, since I know everything, I am sure I can redo a little tile job in about a day or two. I started by tearing all the tile out, apparently insuring there was no going back at this point. This was easy. Why would I pay someone to do this? After the tile, I took down the green board and had everything exposed. I could see the culprit was a slow leak at a copper pipe joint. I went to the hardware store and got all of my needed supplies. Although I know everything, I have tried several times to sweat copper pipe to no avail, so I decided to switch to cpvc. In between cheerleading, open houses, work, laundry, etc. about a week and a half later everything was installed. ( Nevermind the 3-4 leaks that came about while installing) Now all I have to do is put up the new backing board. I finished this in about an hour and half. Now I was ready for the new tile. I know quite a few people who have done it recently and could have called for help. But men don't do that. I started putting the tile up and discovered it's not as easy as it looks. After about 2 1/2 weeks of cussing each night. Ruining tiles while cutting them. And other fun times. The tile was on and had a couple or 20 imperfections. After another night and a few blisters, I did learn that grout actually hides most mistakes!

All in all, it did turn out pretty nice. But I will gladly admit, the other bathroom will be done much more quickly by a professional. I wouldn't recommend any of my clients to do their own mortgage, so I guess I'll stick to mowing the grass and minor paint jobs. After quite a bit of research, I am finding most professionals really are worth the money. Have a great day all!