A new survey has suggested that business is booming for UK tradesmen, thanks to Britain’s do-it-yourself prowess.

Commissioned by leading business insurance broker, Swinton Commercial, the snap-shot study, which took a sample of 100 tradesmen and women from across the UK, found that 65 per cent of UK builders reported that repairing failed DIY attempts accounted for up to 25% of their workload, while 26% said botched jobs could account for as much as 49% of callouts.

The study showed that 75% of those surveyed felt that most amateur DIY attempts resulted from people believing it would be cheaper to do the jobs themselves rather than hiring a professional, or because they think skilled building jobs are easy (34.8%). They also said people often attempted jobs themselves because they were worried they would get ripped - off by rogue-traders (56.5%), or that home improvement TV programmes were to blame (34%).

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A huge 65% of builders said they were regularly called out to fix DIY mishaps at businesses, while 82.2% said that over ambitious DIY-ers were guilty of putting themselves and others at serious risk.

65% of builders said they thought it was a growing trend.

Botched jobs reported by UK builders, included:

• Walls being removed with no support in place.

• Shoes used to block holes in masonry

• Bay windows at the front of a property built with no lintel in place, resulting in windows bowing!

• Houses reroofed with no membrane, no insulation and numerous leaks.

Commenting on the survey findings, Alastair Denness, National Business Development Manager at Swinton Commercial, said: “The results of the study are troubling showing that UK builders are seeing a growing trend in people undertaking technically demanding and potentially dangerous DIY jobs in order to cut costs.

“Although these jobs might be good news for UK builders, businesses need to be aware that cutting costs by attempting to do the job of a professional is a false economy, often costing a lot more than it would to pay a professional to do the job in the first place.

“Business owners also need to remember that failed DIY attempts can put you and employees at serious risk and result in insurance claims when disaster strikes, leading to increased business insurance premiums. We therefore advise supporting your local tradesmen to provide a professional service which could save you and your business a lot more money in the long run.”

(MH)