The True Cost of DIY Decorators Doing Bodged Jobs

A study by professional paint brand, Armstead Trade of more than 2,000 homeowners, has revealed that three quarters of Brits have experienced DIY painting and improvement disasters that have cost them hundreds of pounds to put right, leaving professional decorators to pick up the pieces. Sound familiar?

Despite the evidence showing that the British decorating community is being kept exceptionally busy this year with jobs booked well in advance, Armstead Trade is urging consumers to think twice and make the 'smart choice - by calling in the professionals for jobs that need a professional finish, to save valuable time and money.

According to the survey, the nation's inability to complete basic DIY tasks to a decent standard, including painting a wall or a ceiling or putting up wallpaper means Brits spend £244 on average correcting their mistakes.

Armstead Trade additionally polled 45 professional decorators to confirm how often they are called in to fix a mangled DIY decorating disaster and the results are startling. Here are the nation's top bodge-job facts:

1 Decorators are likely to be called out six times per year to fix customers' DIY decorating messes.

2 69% of decorators spend between one to two days per job fixing their customers' decorating mistakes

3 a further 31% spend between three to six days per job on corrections.

4 83% of decorators have to charge up to £500 to fix their customers' worst decorating nightmares

5 5% find their customers' DIY decorating skills are so poor that they have to charge an average of £1,500 to put right their customers' botched attempt.

6 36% of the nation admit that they simply don't have the skills to do the decorating themselves

7 There are now 31,767,600 unfinished decorating jobs across the country

Jason Duggan, Senior Brand Manager at Armstead paints, explains: 'Every decorator recognises that familiar cry for help at short notice due to customers getting way out of their depth with a decorating task. People think they may be saving money by taking on improvement tasks themselves but the jobs can often take longer and cause inconvenience with whole rooms being out of use for some time. The tasks themselves are more difficult because of a lack of knowledge or appropriate tools. We are advising consumers to make the smart choice and to employ a decorator who knows their trade. The amount of potential decorating jobs that are out there is astounding and decorators are uniquely placed to advise customers to simply call them in first rather than erroneously attempting to tackle the task themselves.'

The survey of decorators found that 67% report that a lack of time is the biggest challenge they face daily in their jobs. With many decorators having back to back jobs throughout the year, the survey found that despite their knowledge, skills and expertise as professional decorators, 33% don’t have the time to complete an average of one to two decorating or DIY jobs in their own home.

In an effort to help decorators face up to their own time limitations, decorators were also asked to pick out the 'shortcut product solutions', (which in reality are perhaps wishful thinking) that could help them attain smarter working practices that save them valuable time on jobs and therefore money. The Bodge It Shop, a spoof 'shop' that claims to be 'Britain's first online decorating shop providing everyday solutions for cutting corners' opens to decorators and is attempting to fill the gap left by other retailers including Armstead Trade, for products that provide 'smart' (or not so smart) solutions enabling them to save time on the job. Products include 'ceiling reacher' shoes to help cut down on time climbing ladders, and a 'tea helmet' to cut out valuable moments spent waiting for the kettle to boil.

The Bodge It Shop has a serious message, however. Decorators are urged not to miss out on making 'the smart choice' by selecting some of the fantastic products that Armstead Trade has to offer.

Find out more about Armstead offers and the Bodge It spoof website on the Dulux Trade Paint Expert Armstead page.