One in 8 have seen DIY end in disaster

Nearly 16pc of men said they had caused some damage

Fiona Dillon

One in eight people have admitted their DIY attempt ended in causing some kind of damage to their home.

Being cooped up in the house has offered many the chance to do a bit of work about the house, but the results of a new survey show it does not always end well.

The latest AA Ireland Home Insurance survey found just under 13pc of homeowners have managed to do damage to their property while attempting DIY.

It is now encouraging those doing so to check what is and is not covered by their home insurance before starting on any tasks.

Minor

Men proved to be slightly more likely to have damaged their home while attempting these tasks than women.

Nearly 16pc of men surveyed admitted they had caused at least some minor damage to their home while attempting DIY work compared with just over 9pc of women.

"In the context of the current coronavirus outbreak, there has been anecdotal evidence of increased sales at hardware stores as many people use the additional time at home to carry out some minor tasks that they had been putting on the long finger," said AA director of consumer affairs Conor Faughnan.

"However, before you attempt such work, it can be a good idea to check what is and isn't covered under your home insurance if you accidentally cause damage to your property while attempting repairs or DIY work.

"Homeowners assume that they are automatically covered for this, but it isn't always the case."

Of the homeowners questioned in the survey who admitted causing damage due to DIY, 4pc had to pay for it to be fixed, while 8pc reported no cost in repairing the damage.

A total of 5,879 responses were included in the latest survey.