As rates for plumbers and handymen continue to soar, it is obvious to see the attraction of doing it yourself (DIY). Laying carpet, building kitchen cabinets, or painting the walls yourself could be a fun activity and save you thousands of pounds, but not all DIY projects go to plan.

According to one recent survey nearly 80 per cent of home-owners make a mistake when they attempt a DIY project themselves, with these blunders sometimes ending with serious injury, property damage, or even a complete home disaster. There is nothing wrong with calling in an expert, but if you want to take on DIY tasks yourself then it is worth making sure you know what you are doing and have the right tools and protective equipment for the job to get it done right the first time and avoid any costly personal injuries or property calamities. Here are some of the biggest DIY mistakes home-owners make and how you can avoid them.

1. Taking on too much

Nearly half of people say that they find DIY tasks more complex and difficult to finish than they had expected when they started. If you take on a task that requires more time, money, or expertise than you can manage will only result in an expensive mess. It can be more expensive for professionals to undo the poor-quality work of amateur DIYers than had they started form scratch, and that cost comes after the expense of the materials and buying or renting the tools you wasted first.

To obtain the best results, you should approach DIY tasks as more than just a way to save money – they should be a way for you to learn and enjoy working with your hands. If your only motivation is money you are unlikely to spend the time needed to learn the skills properly or spend the sums needed for the right tools and materials to finish the job to a high standard. Think carefully about why you want to start a project and plan out how long it may realistically take and how much it may cost – and then add 50 per cent – before starting to make sure you will complete it on time and within budget.

2. Using the wrong tools

If you are trying to save money with some DIY it is easy to fall into the tap of also trying to save money by using the tools you have available rather than the right tools for the job. Maybe you have the wrong type of sander to scrub up those floorboards or the wrong type of drill bit to make a whole in that stone wall. If you use the wrong tools you are more likely to cause damage to both yourself and your property as well as ending up with an unfinished project.

You do not always need to buy tools for a project, and renting them may be a more cost effective way to get the right tools for the task. If you are not sure which tools you will need then there are plenty of forums and discussion groups online that can help, or you can always ask an expert for help to make sure you know you are starting right.

3. Not focusing on safety

Power tools and chemicals can be dangerous, especially if you are not experienced. Safety should be paramount when completing any DIY project, and planning for the worst and protecting yourself could save you from the embarrassment of having covered yourself in paint or glue or worse a trip to hospital. Always learn how to use a tool before switching it on, and always use the correct personal protective equipment, from eye goggle to gloves and masks to steel-toed boots, to help protect yourself from harm.

4. Getting measurements wrong

Measure twice and cut once. It is too easy to get complacent and accidentally make a mistake when measuring materials, and getting it wrong can mean wasted time and money. Whenever possible you should measure, make a mark, measure again to check before starting any task to make sure you get it right first time.

Beyond the obvious human errors with measuring, you should also only use one tape measure or ruler for a project wherever possible as if one tape measure is just a few millimetres different to another over a 10m length that could cause you issues in the build, and always try to measure flat and at right-angles.

5. Jumping ahead and missing steps

Patience is a virtue and that is certainly true with DIY. If you are putting together a new wardrobe or TV cabinet from Ikea, then it feel like you should be able to skip ahead through the “easy parts”, but if you jump ahead you may well miss a step and end up having to start again.

If you are completing a more complex DIY task such as creating a new wooden counter-top for your kitchen, then it is easy to miss steps like cleaning and preparing the wood before varnishing, which may sound small, but will make a big difference to the finished product when done right. Preparation is key to getting any DIY job done right.

6. Failing to clean up properly

You have not really completed a task until the clean up is finished. This could be as simple as properly putting away your toolbox and the cardboard packaging after assembling some flatpack furniture, or it could hoovering all the dust up, putting away the floor coverings, and unsticking your fingers you have accidentally glued together after some complex carpentry and joinery. Whatever needs to be cleared up, cleaned, and put away before you can use the room or furniture item as intended needs to be done before thinking the task is finished or it might take you weeks to get the motivation back to finish up properly!

If you have laid out a drop cloth or plastic sheeting across the floor and covered up where is needed before you started the task, then cleaning up should be a breeze, but be careful not to spill any of the dust or paint on the floor as you bundle it up. If you did not put the right protections down before starting, however, then it’s a good learning experience of how to do better next time and remember not to jump ahead and miss any steps in the future.

The article 6 biggest Mistakes Diy Enthusiasts make and how to avoid them appeared first on Descrier.