Easter is the traditional time for householders to tidy up their gardens and do a few home improvements. Garden centres will be packed with budding Alan Titchmarshes and the DIY stores will be jammed with ‘make-over’ enthusiasts who are determined to turn their semi into a scaled down version of Buckingham Palace.
It looks so simple on the television programmes, so why not have a go? Just think of all the money you will save…or will you? Unfortunately, not everyone is skilled enough to carry out the jobs they attempt to do and end up paying a professional to put everything right. Some jobs should never be tackled by the householder – plumbing is a good example. It’s one thing to change a washer on a tap, but to plumb-in a bathroom suite or central heating system is something else. Just consider the damage that can be caused by water leaking through the ceiling: furnishings could be ruined and if it is bad enough the ceiling itself could collapse. Not everyone has accidental damage cover on their household insurance, which means the entire cost of putting it right is down to the householder.
Also you could be in breach of Water or Building Regulations. This would have a knock-on effect if you wanted to sell your property. So at the end of the day, DIY could turn out to be a very expensive hobby.