My husband and I are Mr. and Mrs. DIY. This is now our fourth huge renovation project and we’re both kind of hoping it’s our last. We usually have skilled subcontractors helping out, but normally it’s my hubby, in the construction management field, acting as project manager.

Well, this time it’s me. With Hubby working down in Brooklyn all week, I’m the one dealing with the Beacon house. I have two guys here doing most of the work while I concentrate on the finishing touches and seeing that things run smoothly.

So, what’s it all about, this being your own general contractor thing? Do YOU have what it takes?

1. Know your stuff. 8 out of 10 times, we end up tweaking our sub-contractors’ work. Are we overly fussy perfectionists? Well, ye-ah! It’s one thing to do it yourself and screw up, it’s another thing for someone to call himself a professional and take big money for a shoddy job. Know what you’re looking at. People complain about contractors finding more work to do when they rip down a wall. We love those contractors! The last thing you want is someone covering up a problem that should be brought to your attention. You don’t want to get ripped off, so do your homework.

2. Planning. Before you start, go through the house and make a list of things that need to be done. If you’re the GC, it’s your job to make sure that the work takes place in the proper time line. For instance, you want to run electric and plumbing while the walls are down, not after. Duh!

3. Budget. I’m not one to talk about budget since I can’t follow one, but I do know my bargains! So let me talk about finding those. Before running out to Home Depot or your local lumber yard for material, try finding overstock and second hand from the internet, salvage yards and ReStores.

4. DIY. A lot of your time will be spent making phone calls, picking up materials and keeping the worker bees happy, but if this is your full time gig for the moment, there will be plenty of time to do your own work. Choose your skill wisely. Are you strong? Demo. Got a steady hand? Paint. Green thumb? There’s always the garden. Come on, you can’t be that much of a loser. There must be something you’re good at! Unskilled day laborers earn about $125-150 per day in New York. If you’re capable of working full days, that’s what you’ll save. Skilled contractors start at around $200-250. Of course, prices vary from low to high end.

5. Keep the work going. This is part of planning, but I’m talking about the day to day stuff. If you have a crew, you have to make sure there’s enough work to keep them busy. Have all of your materials ready in advance. If they are working on an outside project (like my porch), see to it that there’s inside work to do when it rains (I screwed myself a little with that this week. No biggie because there’s plenty to do, but it didn’t feel 100% productive.)

6. Answering to The Man. Does your job require building permits? What is the code? If you don’t know this stuff, you better learn fast or hire an architect. The Man doesn’t mess around. The good news is, if you’re just making your interior look real purdy, you don’t need permits.

7. Trucks and Tools. It’s not necessary if you have sub-contractors bringing their own stuff, but in my case, I find that I’m using the van and our tools nearly every day. Why, just yesterday I picked up our porch floor (yay!) with the van. Ok, so places deliver, but I’m cheap. If you are doing DIY work, you should have tools. At least a friggin tape measure and drill!

Ok, the list could go on forever, but I have to get to work. The final thing I should mention is this: Keep in mind that you will not have a life while the renovation is going on.

Good luck!

Now that the snow is melting, basements will get flooded. Well, mine anyway. There is no one quick fix. It could be a number of maintenance issues causing the problem. The best way to figure it out is take a good look around when it’s damp. Like right now.

Let’s look at small and easy DIY repairs first.

1. Start outside. Make sure your gutters are all connected and direct water away from the house. It seems so simple, but do you know how many people don’t realize they have lovely waterfalls flowing down their homes?

2. Ok, downstairs. Check your bricks and block work. Do they need repointing? Concrete sealers such as ThoroSeal or Drylok are never a bad idea. In fact, it’s a good idea.

3. Something you might want as a “just-in-case” even if your basement is bone dry is a sump pump. You will need to dig a small hole for the unit. Definitely install one if you’ve given up and let it flood every now and then. It trumps a wet/dry vac, trust me.

4. While we’re still on small stuff, treat yourself to a dehumidifier for the dampness. This one was way obvious, right?

5. Still flooding? Ok, now it’s getting more complicated. Go back outside. Check the slope of your landscape. The water should flow away from the house, not towards it.

6. While your at it playing with the pitch of your landscape, might as well install a french drain. DIY? Maybe with difficulty if it’s all soil. If your house is surrounded by concrete, that’s an even bigger job. Now it’s time to think about calling in the pros.

7. There’s another way if you don’t want to dig around your house, but it ain’t pretty. Professional systems such as B-Dry are installed on the inside. The cost is as much as a brand new inexpensive automobile. On the other hand, we did a DIY alternative in one of our homes and it worked like a charm.

If you have any dampness issues at all, DO NOT store stuff that will get moldy. I lost all of my cherished record albums that way. Every one of them.