Avoiding DIY Disasters
Have an idea in your head, but dread starting a new project, does that sound familiar?
We have put together some DIY tips to help save these common DIY disasters with the following 6 steps.
- Painting - When it comes to painting preparation is key! As well as prepping your walls, you also need to protect your surroundings. Knocking over a 5 litre tin of paint? No thank you! Always make sure you cover sofas, tables, chairs, beds - anything that could get paint on. Don’t forget to protect your flooring by putting a sheet down. Best to check there are no gaps before you start as you don’t want green paint on your cream carpet!
- Pipes - There is nothing worse than wanting to hang a picture on the wall and finding you’ve drilled through a mains water pipe and now there is water leaking from the walls. Investing in a good pipe detector can really help as this will pick up pipes in your walls and help avoid putting a hole through them.
- Security - You may think that if you’re doing a renovation project you wouldn’t need to secure your home if you’re not living there, however, you would still need to protect any materials or tools that may still be in the property. It’s best to check with your insurance to see if any contents are covered when renovating. Remember if you have a freshly painted room to close all doors and windows when you leave the property.
- Electrics- This isn’t usually something that can be done swiftly and easily. Anything from rewiring to changing a light switch can have its challenges, this is why it’s always best to speak to someone who is professionally trained such as an electrician as improper use can cause harm cause fires and harm to yourself or others.
- Surroundings - Check around you when starting works, you want to make sure no damages are made to any new items, you don’t want to saw through your new flooring!
- Tell your insurer - Although it’s not a legal requirement, your home should be insured. If you are planning a renovation, its best to tell them as some insurers may have different measures they put in place, there is no need to tell your insurer if you are just planning to decorate a room.
DIY disasters happen to the best of us, but taking a few extra minutes to prep before hand can save you in the long run. You can also add on extended accidental damage to most home insurance policies, this may help you if you were to have a DIY accident. Being an RCN member includes discounts on both LV= Car and Home Insurance cover.
Always be cautious when undertaking any DIY task that you aren’t familiar with, seek professional help where needed.
Always be cautious when undertaking any DIY task that you aren’t familiar with, seek professional help where needed.