Almost half the people surveyed admitted they don't actually like DIY and 75 per cent said they are fed-up with watching makeover/DIY programmes.
The main reasons listed for the lack of enthusiasm with DIY is not having the time (40 per cent), likely to botch it (37 per cent) and 22 per cent believing it’s a chore that eats into leisure time.
Instead seven in 10 of the nation’s homeowners would rather get somebody in, or at least consider it before undertaking any DIY, with tiling, painting and decorating making the top 10 list of jobs where people feel they should employ an expert:
Jobs to be Done For You Rather than DIY
1. Electrics (65 per cent)
2. Plumbing (63 per cent)
3. Extension (59 per cent)
4. Installing a new kitchen and bathroom (58 per cent)
5. Carpeting (53 per cent)
6. Tiling or flooring (48 per cent)
7. Replacing a fire (47 per cent)
8. Landscaping the garden (43 per cent)
9. Putting up sheds (38 per cent)
10. Painting and decorating (35 per cent)
The research also looked at the percentage of DIY tasks which go unfinished and revealed that a fifth of painting and decorating jobs don’t get completed, followed by landscaping the garden at 14 per cent.
Andy Gray, head of mortgages for Woolwich, said: "It seems that the phrase 'time is money' applies to the UK’s new DFYers. People think their own time is precious and with the added concern that they are not going to do a good job, people are increasingly turning to experts to get the job done.
“Home improvements can make a tangible difference to the value of peoples homes, but a bad standard of work can drag the price down. Savvy buyers can often see through botched DIY jobs, meaning that sellers will either need to drop the price or employ an expert to re-do the task.
“In order to get the home improvements done properly people are increasingly looking to use their mortgage to fund them. With competition so high in the market place we are often able to reduce customers outgoings considerably on a monthly basis by remortgaging, which will help them afford to get the home improvement experts in.”
Regional highlights:
- Homeowners in the East and West Midlands are the most likely to opt for the new DFY type of home improvements with 82 per cent considering or actually getting somebody. Nearly seven in ten people decide to do this due to lack of time or an unwillingness to allow DIY to eat into their leisure time. However, in London this time aspect reduces to the UK low of 56 per cent.
- When it comes to unfinished painting and decorating jobs, London is the most likely region to not complete (25 per cent)
- 17 per cent of people in the North West are put off doing DIY due to potential injuries
- 80 per cent of people in the North West are fed up with DIY / makeover TV programmes
