Hi mattylad. I know just what you mean, of course, and I agree so long as we are talking about DIY.
I mean that I would trust myself to re-wire a house, after a few months' study preparation for the project, but I would not trust myself to do anything more technically ambitious, partly because it would take too long.
But then, it's a matter of judgement as to what would be too ambitious.
For instance, when we moved here I decided to buy a more powerful PC for my writing project.
Then I happened to come across an article about DIY PC self build, made possible by a website, still going, that lists in detail which components are compatible with others, so that you know which make and model to buy.
I loved building the PC and it was a great success, but I could not have done it without that components compatibility site.
It turned out, by the way, to be no cheaper than off-the-shelf, but that was not the point.
Speaking of which, I'm rambling a bit.
So, to answer your post, shoddy work by those in the trade, whether electrical or whatever, is just one part of it.
To be fair, another difference between trade and DIY concerns time and money.
When your trade is your livelihood, you have to speed up if you are to earn a living, and you have to keep the costs down if you are to be competitive.
People expect a lot for a little, and that's always the complaint made by tradespeople.
I speak from experience, having worked as a builders' labourer and then on my own as a landscaper.
I've just spent four years constructing my garden from scratch, and my standards were higher than when I was doing the same kind of work for other people.
I hasten to add that I was never a cowboy, and in fact I gave it all up and got educated partly because I could not make much money without lowering my standards too much.
What have I learned from that experience about landscaping?
Employ brickies if you can afford it and if you are willing, unlike me, to forfeit the joy and satisfaction of doing it yourself.
But never, in ordinary circumstances, pay a builder to lay slabs for a patio, because when time and money is of prime importance it cannot be done in such a way that it lasts.
For that you have to do it yourself and pay more, and for all sorts of reasons to do with preparing the base, choosing the bedding material, using or not using lines, jointing between the slabs so that it lasts for years as opposed to falling out after the first winter, installing or not installing drainage, and so on.
And here, as proof of the pudding, is the finished garden if you click on the link.
