With the advent of the internet, written and video content have increased exponentially and become easily available to almost anyone who cares to look. And with lots of self-help videos becoming rampant, a lot of home development enthusiasts have taken to tackling their masonry and renovation jobs by themselves.
Due to the popular opinion that masonry can be quite expensive, lots of people have decided that doing it yourself is the way to go. Our advice is that you keep away from this temptation. No matter how much you think you can save in terms of cash when you take on home improvement tasks yourself, sometimes subsequent damage or detriment to your health would be dire. Accidents happen. Accidents that a professional would prevent or handle better.
Generally speaking, masonry projects cover any work involving rock, brick, or concrete. This may apply to driveways, retaining walls, house facades, and more. Masons are skilled to take on these projects as they require tact and expertise that no DIY video would ever teach -therefore it is best left to professionals with expertise like the JC long Island Masonry and concrete crew.
In this article, we explain the reasons why you should not do masonry work by yourself.
What Are The Reasons Why A Masonry Work Is Not A DIY Project?
At this phase, It is important to realize that masonry can be a very dangerous job if not handled by professionals. While you may be familiar with the precautions to take when using a ladder for routine home repairs, masonry work calls for a unique set of abilities that only masonry specialists possess. And why bother taking the risks when the professionals should be handling it?
Here are some reasons why you shouldn’t follow that DIY video you’ve been watching about masonry.
- Masonry construction is dangerous for the inexperienced and unskilled
Masonry isn’t fixing a leaky roof or changing the handlebars on a bicycle. Masonry is a skilled job that if not taken seriously and handled by professionals could be very dangerous to the undertaker.
Masonry involves some degree of heavy lifting that when not done by people accustomed to it, could be injurious to any DIYer. Lifting and carrying heavy stones, bricks and blocks from point A to point B have in itself hazards that range from trips to having an avalanche of concrete come tumbling down.
Masonry also involves climbing to heights that aren’t safe. Also note that at these heights, you would be working which increases the risk of falling.
Apart from accidents, the health hazards of Masonry abound. The risks of Silicosis, throat, nose and eye irritation from dust, asbestos and fumes are health implications that come with taking on masonry work on your own.
- You’ll lose time and money trying to figure it out on your own.
Studies have shown that it takes about an average of 50 hours of practice working with bricks to be able to create a structurally good wall. Now that’s just to create a wall. Think of what it would take to create a beam, lintel, deck etc and that’s just talking about bricks. We haven’t considered stonework and concrete.
So how do you think a 2-hour video on youtube is supposed to make you an expert mason without the proper training and knowledge?
Masonry takes a lot of practice to get it right and I don’t think that’s what you want to expend your time in. Google best masons in my area and if you happen to be on long island, then the legendary long island masonry company JC would be there to save the day.
Now chances are that whilst learning from self-help videos online, you do not have all the tools required. That’s expected because come to think of it, you aren’t a professional mason. So do you think it wise to go equipment shopping (mind you, a lot of the equipment can be quite pricey) just because you want to fix your fence? Taking a cursory glance at this, it’s a classic case of the old saying “penny wise pound foolish”.
Hiring a professionally licensed masonry contractor would get this done for you faster and you still get to stash a large chunk of your money away. It’s cheaper!
- It is not worth the headache! Hire JC Long Island Masonry & Concrete Design.
Just as the heading suggests, it’s not worth the headache of indulging if you can outsource. Companies like JC on Long island bear the majority of the risk and accountability that come with home renovation projects. So why bother? Not only is it risky, expensive and time-consuming, but undertaking a self-taught home repair can have long-term consequences.
These can stem from wrong repairs that gradually escalate and worsen. Also, there is the risk of underlying issues that might in the long run deteriorate and gradually impact your home value on the market. An example is a crack in a brick pillar that isn’t handled well can result in foundation damage. Foundational damage is one of the major factors considered in property devaluation.
Hiring a competent construction company also rids you of the headache of striving to adhere to construction and quality assurance laws in whatever state/province you find yourself as opposed to “winging it” and taking to DIY videos. Before attempting to deal with a construction problem yourself, it’s important to note that there are laws and rules that guide the integrity of whatever property or building that is erected in every state.
Given this, it’s better to leave all masonry work to professional masons and let them do a good job for you. Though DIY videos can be a great help sometimes(mostly when tackling minor issues), they don’t always cut it when it comes to masonry. Leave it to the professionals in nassau county for masonry and suffolk county for masonry.