Wilko Asks DIY Doctor's Opinion on Their DIY Disaster Findings

DIY ignorance leads to DIY Disasters — DIY Disasters are Caused by a Lack of Knowledge and Practice

Wilko says DIY disasters are costing you nearly £140 a year – DIY Doctor looks at the solution.

DIY Doctor has been committed to helping people with their DIY and Home Improvement tasks since 1999. In that time we have received tens of thousands of emails and forum questions about how to do various jobs, solve problems, find tradesmen and how to put things right when DIY goes wrong.

With us being around for so long we have become something of an ‘industry expert’, and are often asked to present at trade shows and to take part in TV and Radio programmes. This month we were approached by the HOMESTORE Wilko to comment on their research into DIY Trends.

Wilko Studied What Makes the UK DIY Enthusiast Tick

What they found was perhaps not surprising, that most people who embark on a DIY task start out being very confident, but as the job goes on their confidence wanes as the task becomes more complicated.

Their findings showed that nearly a quarter of British people admitted to having some form of DIY Disaster. Admittedly these ranged from minor problems like spilling paint but they also included more serious issues like falling through a ceiling. Not surprisingly these DIY Disasters come with a price tag. Estimated, by Wilko, to be over £3 billion annually in the UK.

“Such DIY blunders are not merely inconvenient but also very expensive, with the average cost of mishaps amounting to £138.70 every year – a whopping £3.05 billion across the UK annually.”
Source – Wilko 2013

That’s a lot of money wasted, but if you are thinking of doing DIY you should not be put off by these findings. You should just be aware that to do anything you need some information and practice. Anyone who has watched a professional decorator at work will be able to see how ‘easy’ it is – well, they make it look that that way!

As Mike Edwards of DIY Doctor said in his interview with Wilko

“At DIY Doctor we have received thousands of emails from people who think DIY is simple but have ended up ruining part of their house. Celebrities and TV shows make DIY out to be simple when, to a large degree, it is not.
Wallpapering for example may appear simple – but doing it properly is not easy at all. Different wallpapers need different treatments, and papering round windows, doors and arches requires considerable skill. Putting up ‘simple’ shelves without checking for water pipes and cables in the wall leads to very dangerous and expensive disasters indeed.”

A good tradesman will have trained for years, and of course they have been honing their skills for years too, so they are good at what they do, take pride in their work and get an excellent finish. A first-time DIYer cannot expect to get the same results, at the same pace.

DIY Doctor Offers The Solution

What DIY Doctor aims to do is to give you all the resources you need, to get a good professional quality job at a reasonable price. We have hundreds of DIY Projects, and we are currently working on building up our range of instructional videos, which we include on the project pages when they are available. There is a forum for our users to share information which we moderate to ensure it is safe and appropriate advice. We are also introducing a new DIY Superstore which is stocked full of tools and materials that we are happy to recommend as being professional grade products. Using the right tool for the job helps you to get that professional finish you want.

To get an idea of some of the DIY problems we have been asked about over the years we filmed Mike Edwards from DIY Doctor giving his DIY Disasters Presentation at Grand Designs Live.