"We’re not telling people to avoid all DIY projects in the home. Putting up shelves, painting walls, hanging pictures and so on - that’s no problem. But if you’re scaling tall ladders or using powerful tools that you’ve never used before, you need to be incredibly cautious."
- Ettan Bazil, Help me Fix chief executive and founder
In 2020/21, NHS England treated 8,000 patients with DIY-related injuries. 5,600 were injured while using power hand tools and 2,700 injured themselves using manual tools such as hammers and saws.
Additional data collected by Quittance law services revealed that around 70 people die each year as a result of DIY accidents while thousands more face injuries after, for example, slipping on spillages, falling from ladders, or trying to lift or move heavy objects.
Consequently, Help me Fix has now warned homeowners not to tackle DIY jobs instead of professionals regardless of how enticing the financial savings are. Help me Fix prefaced that a lot of common DIY tasks can end up costing homeowners severe injuries and even death.
Whilst Help me Fix acknowledged that the cost of living crisis has impacted household finances, the company has warned that while it’s tempting to save on costs, many DIY jobs have become increasingly complicated and dangerous.
Help me Fix claims these surprisingly dangerous DIY jobs include:
Wiring a socket
UK homeowners often attempt to tackle electrics and wiring jobs themselves, despite having no training and little experience; this often results in electrocutions.
Help me Fix says that the most a homeowner should do with electrics is change a lightbulb, the rest should be left to a professional.
Stripping old paintwork
Stripping old paintwork can be dangerous because of the harmful chemicals that are released, especially if the paint dates from the 1970s or before since this is when paint was still lead-based. Even brief and low exposure to lead can cause significant health problems.
Sanding large surface areas
Big surfaces, such as floors and patio decking, pose more risk. Wood dust can contain high levels of silica/crystalline silica which can cause breathing difficulties and potentially lung disease.
Roof repairs
Often people attempting to make roof repairs end up falling either from the rooftop or the ladder resulting in broken bones and head injuries.
Knocking down internal walls
To achieve open-plan living, homeowners often decide to knock down internal walls. However, when people decide to do the work themselves without professional guidance on the structural integrity of the property, it can start to collapse
Gas
Nobody should ever do any sort of DIY job that involves working with or close to the home’s gas supply. A trained, certified professional must always be the only person to complete this work.
Fitting floors
Fitting a new floor requires a lot of skill to cut floorboards to the correct shape, angle, and size. Likewise, the power tools required cause frequent and sometimes life-changing injuries when not used properly.
Felling trees
Cutting down trees or high branches requires using dangerous tools at great heights. If not done safely, the risk of injury is too high to justify not hiring a professional tree surgeon.
Commenting on this warning, Ettan Bazil, Help me Fix chief executive and founder has said:
“We’re all feeling the squeeze financially and so the thought of forking out for that expensive home repair probably isn’t that appealing for many homeowners right now. The danger, of course, is that they may turn to the do it yourself approach with the help of Google or YouTube tutorials, taking on jobs that could be dangerous for those without the proper professional knowledge.
“It’s all about common sense. If you’re an experienced hobbyist carpenter, familiar with using saws and drills, then you can probably take on more jobs than someone who doesn’t know a bandsaw from an orbital sander. Know yourself, know your skill level, and always call a professional if you don’t absolutely know what you’re doing.”
