MOST COMMON HOME DIY FAUX PAS TO AVOID
Home renovations have been somewhat romanticised since the 2020 Coronavirus lockdown. When the nation was ordered to stay home, we all grew tired of our own four walls quickly, resorting to a surge in interest around ‘DIY hacks’. The scale of some of these hacks differed dramatically, varying from small paint jobs to attempting to build small home extensions single handedly. While some projects are certainly foolproof, others can result in some costly consequences; as we know many homeowners will already be aware of.
We’ve rounded up some of the most common faux-pas that we have encountered from homeowners, as well as some real life stories from the Reddit thread, ‘r/DIYUK’; showing you how some expert knowledge could be the difference between an end result that you’re happy with, and one that ends up resulting in an unsightly expense. We’ve also ranked each faux-pas, based on rectifying your error and costliness - read on, and take note if you’re considering taking matters into your own hands…
Ordering the wrong colour paint
Hear us out on this one - it sounds like a minor error, but it could be both costly and extremely annoying to fix. Imagine painstakingly covering an entire wall, only to step back and realise it’s not the exact shade you wanted, or worse, the lighting changes it completely, and your interior design plans are thrown back into debate.
Repainting an entire room can also eat up both time and money, especially when you’ve already gone through multiple layers of the wrong colour - and this will only prolong your project timeline.
When we begin the decorating stage of any renovation project, we pay a lot of attention to detail, and your paint will be ordered in the exact shade and finish that you’d hoped for.
Difficulty to fix rating: ⭐️
It’ll mean some extra work, project delays, and another visit to your chosen paint supplier, but overall it’s nothing too tragic.
Costliness rating: ⭐️
Paint isn’t the most expensive (depending on the brand and quantity that you choose), but redoing the job and ordering the replacement shades can quickly add up. One r/DIYUK contributor even shared how they ordered the wrong paint shade not once, but twice, adding insult to injury.
Dropping your new fixtures/appliances
This one is as painful as it sounds, and it’s so much more likely to happen when you aren’t working with labourers who are more than accustomed to carrying units in (and out) of tricky spaces. Whether it’s a brand new sink or an ultra-modern, high-end light fixture, accidentally dropping your new item could result in immediate, irreversible damage. Plus, having to reorder or repair what you’ve just broken makes this mistake even worse!
Our team takes a lot of care when it comes to lifting your new appliances and fixtures into your renovated space, and take care to do so at the right time. We won’t ever find ourselves dodging layers of wet paint with a bulky oven, and your boutique mirror will find itself up all of the stairs in your home in pristine condition!
Difficulty to fix rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fixing or replacing large items can be tedious and tricky, especially if it causes damage to surrounding areas, as we’ve explained.
Costliness rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Depending on what you drop, it could get very expensive, very fast!
Hiring professional equipment to do the job yourself
We’ve all been tempted to rent a power tool or two, thinking we’ll feel like pros in no time. The truth? Some of that equipment requires a skill set that can’t be picked up from watching one YouTube tutorial, and in attempting to carry out the work, you’re risking serious injury.
Non-safety-related consequences include sloppy finishes and accidental damage to your home — but we’d all surely rather avoid this in the first place. Our experts know their way around the equipment that they’re using, and they do so in a way that adheres to all of our own internal safety standards, as well as general good practice.
While sanding and re-varnishing oak floorboards using hired equipment, one Reddit contributor realised the job was too much to manage: “After getting halfway down the downstairs [...] I got the professionals in. 1000x worth getting them to do it”.
Difficulty to fix rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
While it really depends on what went wrong, damage caused by powerful tools can take serious time to rectify.
Costliness rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Shelling out for tool rental could set you back hundreds, and that’s before we’ve tackled amending any mishaps that you might’ve made in your DIY pursuit! All the lost time will leave you wishing you hired a pro in the first place. In the eventuality that an injury was sustained, this is an entirely different ‘cost’ to account for - your wellbeing simply isn’t worth taking any shortcuts for!
Making changes to any kind of plumbing system
Bathrooms and toilets are dangerous territories to be in if you’re not a contractor, and nobody wants to learn the hard way. Even minor plumbing tweaks can go wrong in so many ways; a simple mistake in connecting pipes could lead to leaks, flooding, or water damage, and these outcomes will need a timely solution. A Reddit DIYer shared an experience of a pipe connector popping, most likely due to incorrect installation — unsurprisingly, the result was a flooded kitchen!
Difficulty to fix rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Water damage can spread quickly, and plumbing systems aren’t always easy to get to.
Costliness rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fixing these issues often means tearing up walls or floors — a nightmare for any homeowner, and additional labourer costs could turn this into a very expensive ordeal.
Taking old paint off a wall
This sounds simple enough, right? Unfortunately, stripping old paint can turn into a huge mess if not done correctly. Uneven removal can damage walls, and sometimes, the chemicals or tools used for this process create a bigger headache than the old paint itself.
Difficulty to fix rating: ⭐️⭐️
It can be labour-intensive, but it’s mostly about patience and technique.
Costliness rating: ⭐️⭐️
You might need to invest in new tools or materials if things go wrong.
Nailing through your electrical sockets
This one is every DIY enthusiast’s worst nightmare, and it’s a hazard that you could be completely blind to unless you know exactly where wiring starts and ends. You’re dealing with potential electrical fires or expensive wiring repairs, and the consequence could take a lot of rectifying, as one unfortunate contributor shared: “nailed through just below a socket, managed to get the incoming and outgoing cables of the ring main”.
Difficulty to fix rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fixing electrical issues is always best left to the professionals.
Costliness rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
You’re looking at electrician fees and potential damage repairs.
Replacing loft insulation
Loft insulation might seem like an easy DIY task, but it’s more complicated than it looks. The placement of insulation is critical, and if done poorly, it can lead to cold spots, draughts, and an overall inefficient heating system in your home. Plus, handling insulation material can be tricky and irritating without the proper safety equipment.
Difficulty to fix rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
You might need to redo the entire loft, and that’s no easy task - one novice decorator even managed to cause a flood after trying to replace their insulation: “I replaced the loft insulation on a buy-to-let and dislodged a mains pipe in the loft [...] got a call from the police as the water was literally pouring out of the (closed) front door!”.
Costliness rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The materials themselves are costly, and bad insulation affects your energy bills long-term.
Fitting hot water tap valves
Much like plumbing, working with hot water systems isn’t a job for the faint-hearted. Incorrect installation could lead to a severe scalding hazard or even burst pipes.
Difficulty to fix rating: ⭐ ⭐ ️⭐ ️⭐
Getting it wrong means bringing in a professional and possibly replacing more than just the valve.
Costliness rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Repairs on this can escalate quickly if there’s water damage involved.
Rewiring after decorating
There’s nothing more disheartening than finishing up a beautifully decorated room, only to realise you forgot a key piece of rewiring. Taking a drill to that freshly painted wall or newly installed wallpaper? Devastating. Not to mention, rewiring is a job for the pros — so it’s best to have a plan before picking up that paintbrush.
Difficulty to fix rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
You’ll have to undo all your hard work and call in a qualified electrician.
Costliness rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s not just the electrical work — you’ll be paying to redo the aesthetic touches you just finished.
Want to update your home without running into any unanticipated problems? Our best piece of advice is to work with a professional! As a team of experienced contractors in London, we cover a whole range of different specialist disciplines - from joiners and flooring experts, to painters and decorators. Take a look at some of our latest residential renovation projects online now, and simply contact us to share your project ideas with our team. Got a bigger renovation project in mind? Consider our home renovation consultation, and get a clear idea of the costs that you’ll need to cover before your vision comes to life!
