A third of homeowners wish they'd used a tradesman after DIY bodges

35 per cent of UK homeowners are less than pleased with the results of their own DIY projects, a new survey has found.

The bodged jobs have left their embarrassed owners wishing that they had called in a professional.

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Millennials have most difficulty with DIY projects

The survey examined how different age groups cope when taking on home improvement projects and found that half of homeowners under the age of 34 wish they’d left it to the professionals.

Baby boomers, on the other hand, are the most confident in their DIY skills, with only three per cent saying they’d made more than a couple of regrettable choices in that department.

Trade opportunities in Norwich and Newcastle

Although most tradesmen think fixing other people’s mistakes is the worst part of the job, if you’re in Norwich or Newcastle it could prove to be a lucrative opportunity.

45 percent of homeowners in Norwich and 47 per cent in Newcastle regret the DIY they’ve undertaken themselves, creating an opportunity for skilled professionals to swoop in and save the day.

And while Londoners on average aren’t quite so unhappy with their own handiwork, those who work on multiple DIY projects are almost three times as likely to regret doing so than everyone else.

What does this mean for tradesmen?

Despite plenty of people wishing they hadn’t taken on their own repair and improvement work, it could still be hard for tradesmen to secure their business - nine out of 10 UK homeowners are reluctant to hire a professional for such jobs, most of them citing trust as the main issue.

This means tradesmen may find they need to turn to alternative methods of advertising their services. Home services marketplaces such as Plentific, who conducted the survey, offer to verify any tradesmen who takes on work through their platform, which could help homeowners feel more secure in their decision to hire in outside help.

What’s the worst bodge job you’ve seen? Let us know in the comments