Experts have issued warnings to anyone thinking of attempting a DIY project at home this summer, listing some of the most common mishaps that can leave you out of pocket. Thousands of people across the country will be attempting DIY projects in the coming months, but things can often go wrong.
Tackling your home improvements without the necessary research, tools or knowledge can quickly derail, leaving you with a ruined plan and sometimes a financial burden. Beth Beth Boulton, Marketing Director for Leading Home Improvement Specialists Eurocellhas listed some of the most common DIY mistakes that can leave you out of pocket.
“While doing DIY home renovations and improvements can be incredibly rewarding and profitable, it’s important to be aware of the risks involved,” Beth said. “While some home improvements can be easily tackled with a hammer and drill, it’s often not the equipment that lets DIYers down, but the knowledge that takes professionals years to learn and develop.
“Having professional expertise ensures that projects are completed safely and can ultimately save you a lot of money in the long run.”
Breaking down walls
Open spaces with plenty of natural light have been shown to be beneficial for our physical and mental health, and it’s no wonder many of us stare at walls thinking about knocking them down to create a larger room. Typically, knocking down a wall to create an open space costs around £2,500, or less if you add a smaller door.
But it’s important to remember that not all walls can be torn down, at least not without proper structural considerations and support. Removing a load-bearing wall can lead to dangerous roof collapses and render a home completely uninhabitable.
Repairing this damage can be extremely expensive and renovations can cost £10,000 or more.
A DIY extension
Building your own extension may seem like a good way to save on builders’ fees, but in reality, you’ll need to have a thorough knowledge of construction, building regulations, electrical and plumbing systems to create a safe new space in your home – something that usually requires several different tradespeople with various specialties.
Failing to create a safe, insulated space with good structural integrity can be incredibly costly. Homeowners are faced with the prospect of knocking down their extension and hiring experts to properly rebuild it – depending on the size of the extension, this could cost between £20,000 and £50,000 and render their home completely uninhabitable until the work is completed.
Tackling your own groundwork
Laying foundations and ensuring proper drainage is incredibly important to ensure the structural integrity and longevity of your garden extension or improvement work, and getting it wrong can lead to costly repairs down the road.
If proper grading and drainage are not ensured, foundations can fill with water and crack, which can cost thousands of pounds to repair. In the worst cases, it can lead to foundations sinking, which can cost upwards of £20,000 to repair, plus months of inspections and visits from structural engineers.
Ignoring planning rules
Ignoring planning rules can get you into serious trouble. Not all projects require planning permission, but it is always advisable to check before you start the project, not after.
If you go ahead without planning permission and it later turns out that you needed it, you can apply for retrospective approval. The planning officer could require you to change your plans, even if you have already completed construction. If you are refused retrospective planning permission, you will face the possibility of knocking down the entire project.
Obviously, this can be costly. However, failure to comply with an enforcement order is a criminal offence and, in the most extreme cases, may result in criminal prosecution.
In this case, you may face criminal prosecution in a magistrates’ or Crown court. The maximum fine in a magistrates’ court is £20,000, but there is no limit to the maximum fine that a Crown court can impose.
Eliminating health risks
Homes built before the 1980s were sometimes built with dangerous materials, even though they were thought to be safe at the time.
The best known of these is asbestos, which releases small fibres into the air when handled. Inhaling these fibres can cause a number of serious diseases, including asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer.
If you need to remove asbestos, it should always be done by a professional. Otherwise, you risk developing the serious health conditions mentioned above.
The first step is to hire an asbestos surveyor, who will be able to identify where the asbestos is in your home and also the amount. Then it is a matter of hiring an asbestos removal expert to safely remove it from the home. This can cost between £1500 and £5000.
