Brits spend on average £5BILLION to repair dodgy DIY disasters according to new research
Brits spend on average £5BILLION to repair dodgy DIY disasters according to new research.
More time on our hands has led to more hammers on walls for Brits during COVID-19, as they convert their homes to fit their new lifestyles. Half (48%) are doing so to improve working from home, resulting in do-it-yourself fails.
The majority of screw ups come from Millennials, with close to a third (31%) suffering a home improvement blunder and having to call in the experts. Over lockdown, this has risen sharply with 47% of Millennials having tradespeople complete work on their homes, 60% of which was to fix a DIY disaster. This follows a recent report which found Millennials are planning the most and biggest renovation jobs in 2020 and aren’t afraid of rolling up their sleeves to create their dream homes.
According to the poll of 2,000 homeowners by tradespeople finding service Rated People, the top offenders come from the capital, with 30% of Londoners doing more DIY damage than good on their homes, costing on average over £1,000 to fix.
The research asked respondents to disclose their most memorable screw ups, including:
- Fitted a new bathroom which caused the kitchen ceiling to leak
- Dodgy shelving pulled the plaster off the wall
- Put foot through ceiling while hitting a water pipe
- Brother in law went through the roof
- Caused a fire
- Fitted the hot and cold supply the wrong way around
- Had to fill in a hole in the wall which ended up becoming bigger
- Cut through an electrical wire, was electrocuted and needed medical assistance
- Changed a large radiator which spilled out black fluid all onto the cream carpet
- A jet of water hit me in the face when I screwed through a floorboard into a water pipe
87% of those that have had DIY gone wrong will now get a trades specialist in to get the job done rather than having a go themselves, after their experience.
CEO of Rated People, Adrienne Minster said:
“DIY is one of those things that people always want to try but unfortunately it can easily go wrong. And when it does, these mistakes can be very expensive. We urge anyone who wants to make home improvements themselves to think carefully about how qualified they are to complete the job. Be it putting up bookshelves or fitting a kitchen cupboard, an easy job can always become more complicated than it first seems.”
Tradespeople have been called in through Rated People to rectify fails, including one by a wife looking to fix her husband’s tiling, and others to correct dodgy, at-home electrical jobs and plastering disasters.
Minster continues, “Tradespeople are specialists and they know when a seemingly small job might lead to a whole host of issues if not done correctly, as we’ve seen through our research. If you’ve not done the work before, or it involves gas, electrics or plumbing, it’s best to bring in a professional.”
