Brits Waste Millions on DIY
| Published: 13th June 2007 14:55 |
Brits Waste Millions on DIY
Before you embark on a big DIY project this summer, consider all the basics you need to know, or you will become another DIY-disaster statistic.
Though summer should be a time for rest and relaxation, it is also the time when homeowners take up their tools for some big DIY projects. While many home improvements pay dividends, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) reveals that every year UK homeowners waste £500 million on dodgy DIY and disastrous building projects. If you are about to embark on a big DIY project this summer, don't be one of the many that get things wrong.
According to independent research commissioned by FMB, we spend far longer sorting out a holiday, on average 35 days, or buying a car, on average 99 days, than planning home improvement work, which barely tots up 24 days.
UK homeowners have confessed that as a result of poor planning and trying to do it all themselves, over a third of DIYers say their home improvement work takes far longer than they thought it would. Seventeen per cent say that it ended up costing more than they bargained for and they didn't get what they wanted in the end.
Despite this, we are a nation of stubborn DIYers, still far too keen to do the work ourselves rather than get a tradesperson in. Of those researched by FMB, 40 per cent said that they plan to embark on major building projects themselves. Only one in three homeowners said they would hire a tradesperson.
People had definitely learnt from their experiences, however. After the problems of their last building project, 34 per cent said they would now always use a competent tradesperson for any building work and 47 per cent said they would use a competent builder for larger jobs and continue to do smaller jobs themselves. A stubborn 16 per cent said they would continue to do all jobs themselves.
"Of course we can blame home improvement programmes and celebrity developers for making the whole thing look far too quick and easy to do yourself," says Ian Davis, director general of FMB.
Ian Davis director general of FMB says "It's important to remember that most home improvement disasters are down to poor planning from the outset and also knowing your limits.
"Many of our members are called in to sort out half finished DIY jobs, which end up costing homeowners far more than they bargained for."
To help with that vital research and planning, the FMB has produced a free booklet with Channel 4 Property Ladder presenter, Sarah Beeny, outlining all the basics you need to consider before embarking on home improvement work. The booklet, Practical Tips for Building Success, can be downloaded for free from FMB's website at www.findabuilder.co.uk.
