DIY efforts leading to property damage, survey finds

Just under 13 per cent of Irish homeowners have managed to do some sort of damage to their property while attempting DIY, according to the results of the latest AA Ireland Home Insurance survey. 

With many people taking advantage of the time at home during the Covid-19 outbreak to carry out some DIY work, the AA is encouraging those doing so to check what is and isn't covered by their home insurance before starting on any tasks.

The survey found that just over one in eight admitted that their attempt at DIY had ended in some form of damage, with men proving to be slightly more likely to have damaged their home while attempting DIY work than women. 

Of the responses given, nearly 16 per cent of men surveyed admitted that they had caused at least minor damage to their home while attempting DIY work in the past, in comparison to just over nine per cent of women admitting the same.

Conor Faughnan, Director of Consumer Affairs at the AA, said: “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."

"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 13 per cent who admitted to causing damage due to DIY, four per cent had to pay for the damage to be fixed themselves, while eight per cent reported no cost in repairing the damage.