The five big DIY mistakes that could end up costing you £50,000 to fix – and risk landing you with a criminal record

THE cost of living crisis means households nationwide are feeling the pinch, with more people than ever considering sprucing up their homes without paying for a professional.

But taking on your own home improvements without an understanding of the risks at hand could easily backfire.

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If you’re considering taking on certain jobs yourself, you could even end up with a criminal record, if you ignore planning rules.

Similarly, knocking down walls, tackling your own groundwork, building an extension, and removing health risks like asbestos, all need careful consideration.

Beth Boulton, marketing director at leading home improvement specialists, Eurocell, explained: “While doing your own home renovations and improvements can be incredibly rewarding and cost-efficient, it’s important to account for the risks involved. 

“While some home improvements can be easily tackled with a hammer and drill, it often isn’t the equipment that lets DIYers down, but the knowledge that tradespeople take years to learn and build on. 

“Bringing in professional expertise ensures that projects are completed safely and can ultimately save you a lot of money in the long run.”

Here are the five DIY mistakes you should avoid, according to the experts.

Knocking through walls

Many Brits have become fans of open-plan living and open spaces provide plenty of natural light which has been proven to be beneficial to our mental and physical health.

It can be tempting to want to knock through walls, to create a bigger space.

This normally costs £2,500, or less, if you are adding in a smaller doorway.

However, it’s a risky undertaking because not every wall can be knocked through, at least not without the proper structural considerations and support.

Removing a load-bearing wall can result in dangerous ceiling collapses and make a home completely unlivable. 

It can be extremely costly to repair this damage, and renovations can cost £10,000 or more.

A DIY extension

Extensions are popular and building your own might seem like a good way to save on builders’ fees.

But to do so you’d need to have an in-depth knowledge of construction, building regulations, and electrical and plumbing systems to make sure it’s a safe space.

Typically this requires several different tradespeople with different specialisms.

The inability to create a safe, insulated space with solid structural integrity can be costly – and you might face the prospect of ripping down the extension and calling in the experts to rebuild it entirely.

Depending on the size of your extension, this could cost between £20,000 and £50,000 and make your home completely uninhabitable until work is completed. 

A more affordable option is to look to add more usable space to the home, including a replacement conservatory, which involves replacing your existing conservatory with something like a modern home extension.

Tackling your own groundwork

DIY enthusiasts often underestimate the work necessary to complete proper groundwork, which can lead to expensive repairs down the road. 

Laying foundations and ensuring proper drainage is incredibly important for ensuring the structural integrity and longevity of extension work or garden improvements. 

Failing to ensure proper levelling and drainage can cause foundations to fill with water and crack, costing thousands of pounds to fix.

In the worst cases, it can cause your foundation to subside, which can cost over £20,000 to fix, as well as months of surveys and visits from structural engineers. 

Ignoring planning rules

Ignoring planning regulations can mean you end up in hot water.

Whilst not all DIY projects will require planning permission, it’s wise to check before you begin your project and not after.

If you proceed without planning permission, and later find out it’s not needed, you can apply for retrospective approval.

The planning officer might need you to change your plans, even if you’ve already undertaken construction.

If retrospective planning permission is refused, you’ll be faced with knocking down the entire project. 

This can obviously be expensive. However, failure to comply with an enforcement notice is a criminal offence and you can face prosecution in the most extreme cases in a Magistrates’ or Crown Court.

The maximum fine in a magistrates court is £20,000, but there is no limit on the maximum fine a Crown Court could impose. 

Removing health risks 

Homes constructed before the 1980s were sometimes built with hazardous materials – even though they were deemed to be safe at the time. 

The most notorious of these is asbestos, which when disturbed releases tiny fibres into the air. Inhaling these fibres can cause several severe health conditions, such as asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer.

If you need to remove asbestos, this always has to be done by a professional. Failure to do so leaves you at risk of developing the serious health conditions listed above. 

The first step is to bring in an asbestos surveyor, who can identify where asbestos is located in your home and also how much there is.

Then, it’s a case of bringing in an asbestos removal expert to safely remove it from the home. This can cost anywhere between £1,500 and £5,000. 

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