‘Living room dunny’: Block stars’ huge DIY warning

As a new study reveals just how overboard Aussies are going with their DIY home renovations, The Block Stars Kyal and Kara Demmrich have owned up on a disaster of their own making.

Our have-a-go mentality has bred a nation of DIY-ers and millions of Aussies are rolling up their sleeves to renovate. But, a national survey by hipages has uncovered the downside to home makeovers.

A whopping 43 per cent of Australians surveyed admitted to attempting a DIY job that took a turn for the worse; 43 per cent were painting-related, 33 per cent connected to landscaping, 26 per cent were for plumbing, and 21 per cent related to carpentry issues.

hipages marketing president Nick Ellery says the data revealed unexpected results.

“Seeing the scale of DIY disasters across the country was extremely surprising. Nearly half of the nation’s homeowners have experienced a DIY job gone wrong – that’s equivalent to over 4.2 million households,” he says.

Kyal and Kara Demmrich have revealed some of the mistakes they made during their first ever renovation. Picture: Facebook.

REVEALING HOME TRUTHS

Rookie renovators can misjudge the extent of work involved in achieving a polished result.

“Painting was by far the job most likely to have a mishap according to homeowners. It can be deceivingly difficult to get a proper finish without years of experience – especially when painting ceilings and bathrooms,” Ellery says.

The survey also showed Australians were cutting corners.

“Many homeowners have attempted the jobs of specialist trades like plumbing and tiling. Not only are these jobs extremely detail-oriented, but there’s an element of safety that needs to be considered that only a qualified tradie will recognise.

“Another highlight was that 21 per cent of homeowners are still living with their DIY mistakes. This shows many of us don’t know what to do once a mishap has occurred.”

And, Ellery says, rising household expenses are likely to lead to more missteps.

Some jobs are better left to the professionals. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Simon Bullard.

DIY DO-OVERS

Even professional renovators start with a little trial and error. Kyal and Kara Demmrich, former contestants on The Block and serial professional renovators, remember their first project.

“To open up the living space to the yard we decided to start work on the back of the house, which involved demolishing the toilet and laundry,” Kara says.

It meant relocating the toilet to their living room – a temporary fix that lasted 10 months.

“And once, Kara changed her mind on the location of our kitchen sink – after we had already poured the slab and laid out the plumbing,” Kyal says.

“This essentially meant we had to cut the slab to pieces and relocate all of the pipes.”

The hipages data showed 43 per cent of DIY disasters were painting-related.

Seemingly simple fixes can end up being the most problematic, with Kara noting they had heard horror stories of small jobs becoming expensive problems.

“Our friend wanted to paint their kitchen and didn’t prepare the surface correctly so the finished paint peeled off over time. In the end, that cost them more money – having to restrip the cupboard paint and start from scratch.”

A carpenter by trade, Kyal says many Aussies fall into the trap of assuming they can do everything.

Common mistakes they have seen include failed waterproofing, which could cause damage and cost thousands to remedy.

DIY mistakes aren’t always easy to fix.

AVOIDING MORE MISTAKES

The Hipages study shows DIY mistakes are taking an emotional toll with 42 per cent of respondents reporting they’re annoyed at wasting time and 28 per cent for wasting money.

Additionally, 30 per cent were embarrassed at their lack of knowledge and ability.

“Not only are people putting themselves at risk by completing this work, but many of these can require proper licensing to comply with local regulations,” Ellery says.