Why do I DIY?!

21st March, 2008

So here we are facing the long Easter weekend. For some it’s a welcome break after a fervent start to the new year, to catch a breath and say hello to the Spring.

For others, like me, I’m thinking it’s a chance to get a few odd jobs done around the home. In particular I’m looking at that broken floor tile in the kitchen and the bathroom door that’s rubbing on its sill…

But perhaps I should just put my feet up and not move from the sofa in front of the TV. Because unfortunately, according to a survey of 2000 householders by Allianz Insurance, one in six of us are going to wreck our homes this Easter weekend as a result of over-zealous DIY ambitions!

As a result, the UK insurance industry expects to pay out on the damage caused to the tune of £25million, with claims averaging £600.

Six hundred pounds! That’s more than a bit of bodged decorating or a collapsed shelf. That’s calamity on the Frank Spencer scale.

So what is it about DIY that we abandon our fears of self harm (30% of us admit to having injured ourselves in the course of DIY) to embark on projects where the odds for complete success are not so great?! Let’s face it, there’s every chance that as a result you’re going to end up worse than when you started, completely demoralised, or in hospital.

Too many of us, it seems, bite off far more than we can chew. The survey says a fifth of people admit to having one uncompleted DIY job on the go at the moment, with 6 per cent having five or more jobs unfinished. It probably doesn’t help that 55 per cent start a DIY job without the correct tools and almost half have started a DIY job without really knowing how to do it – including electrical and plumbing jobs.

Still… will this make any difference? Of course! I now know the risks and I have assessed my limitations. And there’s a whole bank holiday weekend ahead of me! See you in Homebase!

Or I could wait until Tuesday and then call in the experts. Happy holidays everyone!