The Common DIY Home Upgrade HGTV's Mike Holmes Warns To Avoid

Whether you're an avid DIY-er or just getting into the game, you've likely got a list of projects that you're aiming to tackle around the house with your very own hands. It can be empowering to destroy and build things all by yourself, and can also save you lots of money. However, not every home renovation task is suitable for the "do it yourself" treatment. There are many home DIY projects you should avoid at all costs so you don't create quite a headache for yourself in the long run. HGTV star Mike Holmes, from the hit show "Holmes Family Rescue," said that the one project you shouldn't try doing yourself is tiling. 

This piece of advice is one of a few blunt statements that Holmes has made about the DIY culture. On his site, "Make It Right," Holmes writes a series of blog posts called "Mike's Advice" directed at his loyal fanbase. In the series, Holmes has outlined a few other home upgrades that aren't worth the money, which include replacing a bathtub with a newly renovated shower, which could lower the value of your home; designing one's own basement bathroom, as Holmes says he often has to fix people's mistakes, raising costs; and focusing on cosmetic projects like painting when your home really needs a new foundation.

Holmes has several reasons he recommends that homeowners pay a professional rather than doing tile renovations on their own. "Installing tile requires experience and skill, not to mention the materials, supplies, and tools it takes to complete the job," the HGTV home expert wrote. "The cost of every tool you'd need could potentially exceed the cost of labor."

Indeed, the list of necessary tools for tile installation include grout, mortar, trowels, tile cutters or wet saws, caulk and caulk dispensers, and many more niche items that you're unlikely to have lying around the house. A wet saw alone (which is necessary for many hardy tiles) costs over $200 and takes a lot of expertise. 

Plus, while you can certainly research and find some must-know tips for a perfect tile floor installation, it's hard to complete every single step of the complicated process with confidence. "Professional tile setters have spent years perfecting their art," says Mike Holmes. The intricacies of spacing tiles and laying them completely flat is difficult to learn, especially for newcomers. He warned that this will take a very long time, and makes homeowners prone to mistakes that professionals are experienced at avoiding. "Tiling is also time-consuming, and for amateurs, it will take that much longer —that's not including correcting your mistakes which includes tiles cracking," he writes. "That's why it's best to leave it to the pros."

For some people, DIY projects aren't just a hobby. Homeowners often choose to take on projects without professional help due to the rising costs of labor and the associated wait times, and struggle to find the right contractors for the job. If you simply cannot afford to hire someone for your tiling or there's nobody qualified and available in your area, there are still some helpful tips and tricks for getting the job done all on your own. One piece of advice that HGTV's Mike Holmes gave in his blog is to make sure the surface is completely even. You can use a leveling product like the SikaLevel from Home Depot to level the floors, and might even need to replace some parts of your drywall in order to ensure level walls. 

Other common tiling mistakes include poor spacing, which can lead to cracking. In order to space your tiles correctly, you'll need to use tile spacers that coordinate with the thickness and pattern of your tiles. Place the spaces between tiles on the mortar before it dries, then remove them to begin the grouting process, and you'll avoid having tiles that are too close together or at inconsistent distances from each other.