It’s time for me to come clean.  My DVR, once the proud home of manly shows like Deadliest Catch, SportsCenter, Lost and Jeopardy (okay … those last two are more dorky than manly), has been taken over by shows on home design and remodeling.

But what is so appealing about these shows is also what’s so dangerous about them: they make you believe that home improvement is super-easy. It isn’t.  As general contractor Victoria Stepanov points out in a recent Ridgewood News article:

“There are all these shows on TV making the whole thing look like a piece of cake … What [viewers] are forgetting is that there are teams of professional designers involved in each of those projects. If you don’t do this every day of your life, it may become an intimidating and confusing experience.”

While homeowners are sometimes tempted to coordinate a remodeling project themselves because they’d like to save the money and put it toward better appliances or floors, a qualified contractor can actually save you money by passing along supplier discounts.  Not to mention, a professional contractor has connections with electricians, architects, designers and other subcontractors, relationships that you probably don’t have yourself. The general contractor sees to it that these other workers perform their jobs well and on time.

Perhaps what I wrote earlier isn’t true.  Home improvement is super-easy, if you hire a seasoned general contractor to manage the project.  How do you know which contractor is right for the job? You read the DexKnows guide on the subject, that’s how.