- 60% of adults saved money for home renovations during pandemic lockdown
- 1 in 5 people believe the standard of their homes suffered as a result of lockdowns
- More than half of Irish people are nervous about letting tradespeople into their homes due to Covid-19 fears
20 May 2021 – New research from leading DIY, builders’ merchants, and homeware group – Homevalue highlights the true extent to which people have focussed on upgrading their homes since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic with as many as 60 per cent of Irish adults saving money specifically for home renovations as a result of working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This trend comes as little surprise with 73 per cent of people noticing more upgrade and maintenance work that needs to be done around the house due to spending more time at home, and a further one in five people (22 per cent) saying that the standard of their home has suffered as a direct result of not being able to undertake upgrade works during the recent lockdowns.
However, Covid-19 remains a significant sticking point for many people despite the recent return to work of tradespeople as more than half of Irish people (54 per cent) are nervous about letting people into their homes for building works due to fear of contracting the virus.
Lockdown SOS: This nervousness, combined with the recent lockdown which resulted in the temporary suspension of nearly all construction activity, meant that 59 per cent of Irish people were forced to undertake DIY (Do It Yourself) projects at home which they would not have attempted otherwise. 43 per cent of the tasks undertaken by home DIY’ers were considered successful among a new cohort of DIY enthusiasts and home improvers. While many picked up new skills, tips and tricks for home decorating, renovating and improving, 16 per cent of all those surveyed, said that their home renovation attempts were unsuccessful, making a mess in the process.
Online DIY: Those aged between 18-24 (72 per cent) are most likely to try new DIY tasks at home, with a significant proportion of the same cohort turning to the internet for inspiration and to learn how to do basic DIY tasks around the house.
In total, one-third (33percent) of all lockdown DIY’ers have turned to the internet for inspiration and instructions on how to do basic tasks and have used Google or YouTube tutorials online. 21 per cent of those aged over 65 have also used Google or YouTube for tutorials to complete DIY projects around the house, highlighting that more and more, people are turning online for help.
Male V Female: When it comes to home improvements, women are significantly more likely to notice issues around the house which need fixing when compared to men. 80 percent of women said that they have noticed jobs that need to be completed as a result of spending more time at home, compared to 66 percent of men.
Both men and women say that they have picked up some new skills around the house, with half of all males (50 percent) and over a third (37 percent) of all females, confirming they’ve got hands-on at home as a direct result of lockdowns and not being able to access tradesmen.
Paul Candon, CEO United Hardware, who trade under Homevalue commented: “With much of the population having adjusted to remote working, there has been a significant shift in the needs and requirements of our homes, as evidenced by so many people building up savings over the last year to spend on household upgrades. This dynamic has been made all the more difficult as a result of tradespeople not being as accessible as in the past due to successive lockdowns and pent-up demand, meaning many people have taken to DIY as a stop gap.
“We expect the DIY phenomenon to remain long after the pandemic as Irish people have discovered a newfound love for home improvement projects with online tutorials proving a key enabler. From our perspective in Homevalue, this has attracted a new cohort of customers, resulting in record sales of items such as hand and power tools, particularly over the Christmas period where surprisingly many people chose tools and hardware as presents instead of more traditional gifts.”
The nationally representative research, of over 1,000 adults was conducted by Empathy Research on behalf of Homevalue.
