According to research from LV= home insurance.two million have damaged their property as a result.
The most commonly ‘botched’ DIY tasks are painting and decorating, applying bath sealant and tiling and home owners have paid out £67 million to put right their DIY disasters...
They survey found that one in 10 had to claim on their home insurance as a result of damaging their property doing DIY and 5% have to call in professionals to repair damage caused by their own botched attempts, a figure which has increased year on year since 2010.
The jobs most likely to go wrong include painting and decorating, 32%, applying sealant around a bath or shower 18%, tiling 16%, plastering 13% and filling a hole or crack in the wall 12%.
Some 49% said they have caused cosmetic damage such as spilling paint, 26% water damage and a further 16% resulted in electrical faults. Some 16% have also damaged the fabric of their property by, for example, putting their foot through the loft floor or smashing a hammer through a wall.
Most amateur DIY attempts start from a desire to save money. In total, 85% who attempted DIY did so because they thought it would be cheaper to do the jobs themselves rather than hiring a professional, while 22% thought the job would be relatively easy to complete.
Over ambition and lack of knowledge are among the main causes of DIY disasters. Among all those that caused damage in their home, 36% didn’t know what they were doing, 18% found the job was just too complicated and 24% blamed their tools for the job going awry.
The rise of online tutorial videos has exacerbated the problem, with complicated do it yourself looking too easy. Some 8% did the work after watching an online tutorial video as it gave them the confidence to have a go. And 29% have attempted to have a go at potentially dangerous tasks such as electrical repairs, 8% roofing work and 4% knocking through a wall. Some 3% have even attempted gas appliance repairs without professional help.
The firm pointed out that for specialist jobs involving gas, electrical, plumbing or structural work, it is essential to call in the professionals to ensure the work meets current safety and building regulations, otherwise home owners risk invalidating their home insurance policy if things go wrong.
It also explained that in the past five years 10% have made a claim on their insurance policy as a result of damaging their home through botched DIY and want to remind people it is important that they know what they are doing before they start a job.
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