DIY Disasters
Are you a DIY hero or do you prefer to leave your home improvements to the experts?
Either way, when it comes to completing maintenance around the house, us Brits are spending a fortune. Recent data from the Office of National Statistics shows that the average household spends £ £1,150.24 every year on home DIY projects. That’s a mind-blowing £ £31,229,016,000 spent annually in the UK on putting up shelves, refitting kitchens and hanging picture frames!
While it’s great to know that we are a house-proud nation, always striving for better, it’s not great to know that quite often our efforts end in disaster. The latest data from NHS Digital shows that 4% of all hospital admissions are caused by DIY debacles. Ouch!
The inherent dangers of maintenance mishaps, it seems, are not just to our wallets, but to our health too.
Therefore, here at Burton Roofing, we set out to find the worst cases of DIY disasters in the UK. Let these be warning signals for all you budding homemakers…
1. Crash. Bang. Wallop. By Donna Newbury
When Donna’s husband tried to hang up their sparkly new light fitting above the TV, little did he know that moments later it would come crashing down, taking out both the TV and the glass cabinet in the process. Note to self – move all delicate (and expensive) items out of the way before you start your DIY.
2. Wonky wallpaper. By Suzanne Walton
To save the pennies, Suzanne decided she didn’t need a decorator to help her put up her trendy brick-inspired wallpaper. With hindsight though, she probably should have invested in a tape measure to help line up the sheets a little straighter!
3. Ceiling chaos. By Kate Turner
Kate’s husband thought he had accomplished great things when he carried out a DIY ceiling repair using a bit of old ply board and some white gauze. Unfortunately, his family don’t feel the same and are terrified for it to come crashing down onto their dining table. Remind us not to go around there for dinner anytime soon.
4. Estimation gone wrong. By Kerry Copp Chapman
Sometimes it’s hard to estimate just how big a hole we need to make to be able to carry out the task in hand. On this occasion we think it’s safe to say that Kerry Copp Champman’s partner erred on the side of caution when he went to investigate the pipes above their boiler! Let’s hope he is better at filling in holes than he is at making them.
5. Rodent revelation. By Alex Byford-Scott.
When Alex bought her first house she dreamt of creating her perfect, dream master bedroom. Unfortunately, her dreams turned into a nightmare when she discovered a giant rat family living behind the fitted wardrobes. This meant that all the ceilings had to come down and floors had to be taken up to get rid of her unwanted visitors.
6. A kitchen catastrophe. By Dawn Kumar
When Dawn was promised a new bespoke kitchen, this wasn’t exactly what she had in mind. I mean, it is bespoke, but the kind of bespoke that you definitely don’t want! Let this be a lesson to all those amateurs looking to save cash by buying a discontinued kitchen range and trying to fit it themselves.
7. The florals that fell off. By Caroline Tinsley
Caroline was really impressed with her new floral wallpaper that looked beautiful in her cosy bedroom. That was until her chimney leaked and the wallpaper turned a nasty shade of yellow and peeled off piece by piece. Now it’s not looking so blooming good.
8. Under the hammer. By Claire Taylor Hughes.
Hammers are heavy objects. Claire discovered this when one came crashing through her ceiling into her bathroom, smashing through her wallpaper and destroying the cistern lid. To make things worse, the toilet set was discontinued, meaning a painful two-month-long search to find a replacement.
9. Ceiling casualty. By Amanda Wilde
Some days we feel like the sky is caving in on us. Unfortunately for Amanda, this was a reality when her kitchen ceiling gave up hope and decided to crash down onto the floor. Luckily, she managed to dodge it in time but was left with an almighty and costly mess to fix up.
10. Beware of the washing machine. By Lindsey Clark
Lindsey was looking forward to the satisfaction of plumbing in her own washing machine to the newly fitted utility room. However, she failed to read the part of the manual where it told her to release the bolts holding the drum inside and also to securely connect the hoses that attached the machine to the water mains. The outcome – a huge flood, damaged units, fried electrics and a call out for the Fire Brigade!
It is very tempting to do those DIY tasks yourself to save on costs and gain some respect from friends and family members. However, it is always best to do your research thoroughly, purchase all the correct protective equipment and check with a professional first to ensure you limit the risk of dangerous accidents and costly emergency repairs.
