Britain’s tradespeople have officially lifted the lid on the worst DIY fails that they’ve been called in to fix – including secret porn rooms, fish ponds made from bin bags, windows held together with Blu Tac, and sex swings that have literally brought the house down.
A survey of more than 800 tradespeople conducted by Scruffs Workwear has revealed the most embarrassing, lazy and downright weird botch jobs carried out by amateurs across the country. And the cost it has taken to fix them! 48% of the DIY disasters revealed by the Scruffs survey cost in excess of £100 to repair.
As many as one in five of the corrective call-outs also came at a cost of more than £200! Joinery proved the most problematic area of trade for amateurs to master though. 15.6% of the reported incidents belonged to this field. This was then followed by building work and home wiring. Both of these accounted for 11.4% of the botch jobs.
One man from Buckinghamshire described how he unknowingly knocked through a supporting wall. This then brought down his bathroom ceiling where his wife was having a bath! One electrician from Kent recalled a laughable attempt at socket installation. He commented: “the customer fitted new sockets to a wall with no cables… I thought it was a prank.”
In Yorkshire, one man had even connected every hot water tap in his home to the gas pipes, while a customer from Surrey coughed up £110 for a professional to rectify his toilet filling up with hot water. The incredulous plumber commented: “It made the toilet seat nice and warm, but the increased temperature also meant it was a perfect breeding ground for germs.”
The survey has also shed light on some of the more secret DIY attempts happening behind closed doors. Four cases of sex swings collapsing were reported. This averaged at a cost of £50 per repair, with one exceptional incident tearing down a significant portion of the homeowner’s ceiling!In another county, one electrician was asked to refit a light ripped off the ceiling by handcuffs.
Head of marketing at Scruffs Workwear, Chris Mellor-Dolman, describes: “The results of the survey are eye opening to say the least.” “We laughed over some of the more ridiculous DIY fails, but it just goes to show the importance and value of bringing in a professional to carry out those tricky jobs around the home.” “Britain’s tradespeople are the unsung masters of their craft and should be treasured.”
10 Funniest DIY Disasters revealed:
- A collapsed ceiling from an ill-fitted sex swing.
- A power socket glued to the wall without wiring behind it.
- A toilet that filled up with hot water.
- A fish pond lined with bin bags.
- A window held together with tape and blu tac.
- A secret porn room in need of a re-skim.
- A leaking roof with hosepipe attached to direct the water out of a window.
- A gutter mended with chewing gum.
- A cat-flap built into roof tiles.
- A power socket submerged into a fish pond.
10 Most Common DIY Fails by Trade:
- Joinery – 15.6%
- Building – 11.4%
- Electrical – wiring – 11.4%
- Plumbing – 10.8%
- Electrical – lighting – 9.9%
- Outdoors/Gardening – 6.3%
- Plastering – 5.3%
- Flooring – 4.7%
- Decorating – 4.1%
- Roofing – 2.4%
So what do you think? Have you had to fix any bodge jobs like this? Share them with us on our social media channels.!
