No Toolbox? No Problem — How Brits Use Rolling Pins and Credit Cards for DIY
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ROLLING PINS FOR HAMMERS, BROOMSTICKS TO CLEAR GUTTERS AND CREDIT CARDS TO SPREAD GROUT – MODERN BRITS ARE ATTEMPTING DIY JOBS WITHOUT ANY TOOLS
As many as four in ten Brits under the age of 40 don’t even own a toolbox, while three quarters (74 percent) admit that they regularly attempt practical projects without the proper equipment.
A further 65 percent have used an object from around the home to get the job done.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, 72 percent have had a DIY disaster (five in the last year) which has resulted in half (51 percent) having to call out a professional tradesperson to fix the problem.
Three quarters (74 percent) ended up spending more money to fix the problem than the original cost of the work with the average cost coming in at £1,555 per disaster – adding up to a massive £7,775 last year on cleaning up their DIY disasters.
The research from Premierline, found a hapless 71 percent have used a kitchen knife as a screwdriver, while 63 percent frequently use scissors to trim plants and hedges.
Credit cards to spread grout (40 percent), kitchen bowls to mix wallpaper paste (37 percent), and Sellotape to fix leaking pipes (36 percent), also emerged among the wrong tools for jobs.
Other household items that have aided the nation’s DIY jobs include broomsticks to clear gutters (33 percent), Tupperware dishes to mix filler (32 percent), rolling pins as hammers (31 percent) and spoons to dig out weeds (31 percent).
And two thirds (66 percent) have even tried to guess if a shelf or picture is level using JUST their eye, rather than a proper spirit level, with 72 percent adamant that it was straight despite missing the right tools.
On average, modern Brits take on nine DIY jobs a year, despite just 67 percent owning a toolbox, full of an average of 12 tools in total.
One in four (23 percent) say they are ‘rubbish’ and ‘terrible’ at DIY, with 13 percent admitting they end up watching internet tutorials when they want to learn how to do something.
It’s no surprise that as a result, three quarters (74 percent) were put off doing DIY.
Says Rebecca Leversidge from Premierline, “While innovation and initiative in the home is admirable, DIY is often a risky substitute for calling in a professional who will have the right skills and tools for the job – especially when it comes at an average cost of £1,555 per fix.
According to the 500 professional tradespeople interviewed as part of the survey, 43 percent have noticed a decline in DIY skills in recent years with 30 percent going a step further and claiming that there has been a significant drop.
One in ten (10 percent) say they are being called out at least once a week to fix ‘botched’ jobs with poorly fitted shelves and cabinets (40 percent), electrical wiring issues (37 percent), burst pipes (35 percent), damaged walls (31 percent) and poor paintwork and wallpapering (26 percent) the main problems.
However, that doesn’t stop us, as Brits take on nine do-it-yourself projects a year, despite one in ten (10 percent) worrying about doing a bad job and a further seven percent panicking about damaging their property and themselves (six percent).
Regionally, Leicester is the DIY Disaster capital with residents experiencing six last year, followed by London (six), Sunderland (six) and Glasgow (five).
TEN TOOLS YOU SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE IN YOUR HOME, ACCORDING TO PROFESSIONALS
1. Impact Screwdriver
2. Multi tool
3. Grinder
4. Power Saws (Circular saw, Jigsaw, Reciprocating saw)
5. Power Drills (Combi drill, SDS drill)
6. Tape measure
7. Spirit level
8. Set square
9. Pencil
10. Hoover
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