The economic doom and gloom has had an effect on us all, but it has had a rather unusual effect on the DIY culture.
When cash is tight and your house needs fixing what do you do? You do-it-yourself, or so you may have thought. However, according to new statistics, many cash strapped homeowners are leaving their house in ruins rather than fixing it up themselves.
Over in the UK sales of tools and materials such as paint, wallpaper, plaster and tiles has slumped by 17 per cent in the last year. In total, only €9.6 billion (£7.8bn) was spent on DIY in the UK which works out to be around €370 (£300) per household.
This is the lowest total since records began way back in 1996 and about half of the €19.2 billion (£15.5bn) which was spent during the boom times, most notably in 2004. In fairness, that was around the time that everyone was hanging chandeliers in the jacks.
With people spending less on DIY these days you might think tradesmen are finally being called back for small nixers and odd-jobs. Sadly, they’re not.
Households spent 10 per cent more on DIY tools and equipment then they did on tradesmen in 2011.When we compare this to the 2001 figure, which saw households spending slightly more on tradesmen then DIY equipment, we can see that we’re all in the same boat. A DIY Ark of the Covenant, of sorts.
There is a slight silver lining to the dark DIY cloud, as online DIY retailers enjoyed a 29 per cent sales growth over the last year.
So if you’re looking for a quick way to boost the economy (even if it’s only slight) then crack out a tub of elbow grease and get working on some DIY around the house.
