Tradespeople in the UK have been found to have more than twice the number of household repairs and home improvement jobs on their to-do list as the rest of the UK population.
A new study of 2,000 people by Draper Tools found those who worked in a trade such as construction, plumbing or electrics had on average of 18 DIY and maintenance due, whereas the average person had just eight.
Tradespeople will spend an average of five weeks each year on their own home improvements, whereas the rest of the public will spend around three weeks a year getting their DIY jobs done, the study found.
Among the most common tasks needing to be done were cleaning the car, painting walls, bleeding the radiator and cleaning the patio. Other neglected jobs included checking tyre pressure, building flat pack furniture, hanging a picture frame, weeding and clearing out the shed.
Clive Richardson, marketing director at Draper Tools, said: “When you consider that the UK’s tradespeople often spend their working lives coming to the rescue in other people’s homes and sorting out the general public’s DIY dramas, it’s easy to see why they may not always have the energy to take on their own home improvements. And, once the list of jobs start to build up, it understandably becomes overwhelming, even for a seasoned professional.
“However, with the right tools and some dedication to getting the job done, these tasks don’t have to take over anyone’s life. It can even be very rewarding. More than 85% of the tradespeople we surveyed actually said that nothing beats the satisfaction of a getting a job done – so it can be incredibly worthwhile when you finally tackle those put off jobs.”
Despite the number of jobs on their list, tradespeople have a better attitude towards home improvements than the general public, with nearly half of them saying they enjoy DIY and repair jobs, compared with just 15% of the general public.