You can find tutorial videos online to do basically anything yourself, from cutting or coloring your own hair to tiling your bathroom. With entire TV networks dedicated to home design and renovations, home DIY (do-it-yourself) projects are increasingly popular.
As I wrote in a blog post at the beginning of the lockdown in the spring, we’re all spending more time at home, staring incessantly at the issues in our homes that we could never find the time to fix. So, no better time than the present, right?
This all resulted in an acceleration of the DIY trend, and a boon for retailers like Home Depot. According to Reuters “Home Depot reported its biggest rise in quarterly same-store sales in at least two decades [August 2020]”
A study recently conducted by Sears found that 60% of homeowners have taken on one or more home projects since the beginning of the pandemic in March. They cite the primary driver for people to do the work themselves as opposed to hiring a professional is to save money (81% of responses). But the question is, did they really save?
According to Sears, 46% of those surveyed who tried to DIY wound up having to call a professional to fix the problem that ensued. The most common issues that arose from projects gone wrong included underestimating the amount of time it takes to do the work (57%) and misjudging the cost of the project (40%). Work quality was another concern: 42% either weren’t happy with the final product or had to re-do it several times. Additionally, 27% of the respondents did major damage to their homes. The average price tag? $1,600 to fix it!
Another recent study by insurance company Clovered found that while over 80% take a project upon themselves as a way to save money, another 38% attempt DIY projects simply because they find them fun, 23% feel they help them express themselves and offer a creative outlet and almost 22% derive joy from doing projects themselves. However, that same study also found that 1 in 4 DIY’ers suffer injuries while trying to do the work, with the top injuries being lacerations and fractures.
Without real experience, it’s difficult to know the amount of work and money a project will entail. You should also be realistic about your skills and ability to take on certain tasks.
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Without real experience, it’s difficult to know the amount of work and money a project will entail. You should also be realistic about your skills and ability to take on certain tasks
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