also, at least in our area, you need to get permits to do certain kinds of renovation, and we needed to get a building permit so needed a licensed contractor. YMMV but it’d be hard to sell a house without a permitting history.
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I don’t know. What is easy or intuitive for one person is not so for another. I myself have zero mechanical ability. Anything like that completely mystifies me, though I can understand many other things. Fortunately I married a man who is an engineer by profession and also grew up learning all kinds of building skills from his dad (who was similarly inclined).
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Agree. In my neck of the woods, certain projects that require permits do not require a licensed contractor; a homeowner can apply and get a permit, for example, to build a deck or to put up a shed, but the homeowner needs to know what hey are doing to pass the inspection. Other projects like electrical work are best left to a licensed contractor.
My husband is very good at fixing/doing things. He is working on the dishwasher right now. He does a lot around our home but he had no interest in redoing the bathroom and I have no design talent. So we paid to have it done. I’m ok with that.
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My husband jumps at any chance to do electrical work but hates plumbing. Our bath remodel will involve a lot of the latter… so it will be all contracted out.
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My H is able to do a lot of the work around our place. He demo’d the master bath including taking out a cast iron tub! He will work on electrical, painting and drywall, but leaves plumbing to the experts.
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Are our husbands separated at birth brothers? 
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Maybe triplets. My DH is the same. He does EVERYTHING but plumbing himself and is on a first-name basis with the permit office in the town our cabin is in. Right now, his BF in MA is refurbishing a 1946 Boice-Crane thickness planer that he will haul up to the cabin after we arrive in June, and the two of them will knock themselves out building a full woodshop in the garage we had built last summer. Because DH has already finished the projects inside the cabin, I have no idea what he plans to do in this elaborate space, but I’m sure there is plenty of sawdust in the future.
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My hub does it all too (incl plumbing) - but with a super demanding job including lots of travel the when of getting it done is a challenge (with the concomitant disinclination to hire someone cause he can do it - and do it better)!
I won’t complain, through, as I feel much safer living in a house with his diagnostic skills (vs being at the mercy of contractors if I lived alone…)
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@Jolynne_Smyth I could have written your post verbatim!
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I say that my husband is that unlicensed contractor who fixes the mistakes made by licensed contractors. He once caught a giant “oops” missed by the city inspector - without knowing what the code said, just relying on science.
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@FallGirl is absolutely correct. Construction comes easily for me, partly because I helped my father with hundreds of projects in my youth and also because I have a tendency to break things down into their components and then find them less daunting.
But I’m helpless in other areas. Embarrassingly so.
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We don’t let my husband do anything related to plumbing!!
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My wife and I are a pretty good team with electrical. I do the bulk of the work but she has more nimble fingers for connecting the wiring in electrical boxes.
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I hate helping my husband with electrical stuff. It feels like soo much riding on it (even if I’m just the one calling downstairs “Lights are off! Now they are back on!”).
I feel like any error on my part could cause him to be electrocuted. I know this is not necessarily logical but I hate things involving possible death/injury, even remotely!
(clearly I’m not the calm, useful helper others are!) lol
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Husband thinks he knows electrical because his father owned an electrical wholesale supply house. So I always let him try.
I am very good at finding the right specialist video on YouTube to show what is likely wrong with stuff, especially plumbing. That doesn’t mean we can always do the fix!
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Marilyn - you are braver (and more resourceful) than me! Electric terrifies me … much happier when he does plumbing - which just seems annoying (always multiple Home Depot runs for those!).
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This discussion reminds me of a story from a few years ago which I recounted on a prior thread and will repeat here.
I was in Lowe’s buying fencing materials and a woman started asking for all kinds of advice about building a fence. I was flattered to be consulted and, as she explained what she was trying to accomplish I listened intently, helped her figure out all the details, and developed a materials list for her. Finally, she asked if I’d be willing to come out to her place to give her a bid to build the fence. Confused, I told her I was just a homeowner like her and didn’t do that kind of thing, at which point she pointed to my t-shirt. Then it began to make more sense. I was wearing a “Duke Fencing” t-shirt that DD, the team captain, had given me.
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That’s so funny, sherpa! Not an unreasonable construction on her part I guess lol.
My son did fencing for many years. It’s a hard sport - but in a whole different way than the construction of an actual fence! 
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I think if we redid our whole kitchen including knocking out a wall and relocating everything…with all high end appliances, new wood floors, counters, cabinets, lights, new windows and patio door…etc. it would be close to $100,000. Oh…and our heat would need to be relocated too.
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