There’s a particular type of regret that comes from attempting a job you had no business attempting. Ask me about the bathroom tap incident of 2019.
But there’s an equal and opposite regret: paying someone £180 for forty minutes of work you could have managed with a YouTube video and a bit of patience.
The trick is knowing which is which. Not every DIY job saves money, and some cost you far more than the quote you turned down. Here’s where the genuine savings hide.
Jobs where DIY almost always wins
Some jobs cost much more in labour than materials, so doing them yourself can save you a fair bit.
Painting and decorating
A decorator might charge £150 to £300 a day, and painting the inside of a three-bedroom house can easily cost £2,000 or more. The actual paint? Maybe £250 if you’re buying mid-range.
You’re paying for time and skill, and while a pro will get neater lines faster, painting is a learnable skill. Buy decent brushes, mask properly, and accept that your first room will take a whole weekend.
There are more ideas in our DIY on a budget tips.
Flat-pack and shelving
Assembly services charge £40 to £80 to put together a wardrobe.
Floating shelves fitted by a handyman might be £100 for a couple of hours. It’s fairly straightforward work, but check for hidden pipes and cables before drilling, and use fixings that suit your wall.
A stud finder can help, but it won’t spot every hazard.
Sealant and grout replacement
Mouldy bathroom sealant makes a room look twenty years older. Removing and replacing it costs about £8 for silicone and an afternoon of fiddly work.
A tradesperson might charge £120 or more because it’s barely worth their callout. This is one of the highest-return jobs in the house.
Where the real savings live: built-in storage
This is the big one. Fitted wardrobes, alcove shelving, understairs cupboards, window seats with storage underneath.
Quotes for bespoke joinery start around £1,500 for a single alcove and climb steeply from there. A full wall of fitted wardrobes can hit £5,000.
The material cost can be a fraction of that. A sheet of 18mm MDF runs roughly £35 to £55 depending on grade, and most alcove projects need two or three sheets.
Add hinges, screws, paint and a bit of trim, and you’re looking at £200 to £350 in materials for a simple project that could cost much more to have made and fitted.
Quality matters here, though. Standard MDF in a bathroom or utility room can swell or blister when exposed to moisture.
Moisture-resistant Medite MDF sheets cope better with occasional moisture, although they aren’t waterproof.
That can make them worth the extra cost in a utility room or similar space, provided you seal the cut edges properly.
Many suppliers will also cut sheets to size for a few pounds, which solves the problem of fitting an 8×4 board into a Corsa.
Why MDF suits amateur joinery
Unlike timber, MDF doesn’t have a grain to fight you. It cuts cleanly, takes paint beautifully with a primer, and is less likely to twist than natural wood when it’s kept dry.
If your measuring is slightly off, filler and sanding will hide a multitude of sins. That forgiveness is exactly what you want on a first project.
Jobs worth paying for
Now the other side. Some jobs are false economies, and a few are genuinely dangerous.
Anything gas related. Non-negotiable. Gas work should be left to a Gas Safe registered engineer. Getting it wrong can be illegal as well as potentially fatal.
New electrical circuits. Even replacing a light fitting needs care. For new circuits, major rewiring or work on the consumer unit, use a qualified electrician. Some work must be notified under Part P of the building regulations, and you may need the paperwork when you sell.
Roofing. Falls from height are the leading cause of death in UK construction. A roofer’s quote includes scaffolding for a reason.
Plastering large areas. Patching a hole is achievable. Skimming a full ceiling is a genuine craft, and a bad job shows under every light in the room for years.
Structural alterations. Removing walls, fitting beams, anything requiring building regulations approval. Get a professional and get the paperwork.
The hidden costs people forget
DIY isn’t free. Before you turn down a quote, add up the tools you don’t own.
A decent mitre saw might cost £150. A track saw for cutting sheet material neatly can cost more.
Hiring is often smarter: tool hire shops might charge £25 to £40 a day for something you’ll use once. If you are planning a bigger project, make room for the costs in your household budget.
Factor in your time honestly, too. A job a tradesman does in a day might take you three weekends. If those weekends matter to you, that’s a real cost even if it never shows on a receipt.
Then there’s the mistake budget. Allow 15% extra on materials in case you cut something wrong. It happens to everyone.
A simple rule of thumb
If the job is mostly labour, mostly reversible, and won’t flood, electrocute or collapse anything when you get it wrong, it may be worth trying yourself.
If failure means a call to an emergency plumber at 11pm on a Sunday, pay someone.
Start small. Fix the sealant, paint a bedroom, build one alcove cupboard. Confidence compounds, and so do the savings.
