We asked regions across the UK what DIY tasks they have successfully completed. Wales came out fourth in having completed the most DIY tasks successfully.
- North-East
- South-West
- North-West
- Wales
- Eastern
- Northern Ireland
- South-East
- Yorkshire & Humberside
- Scotland
- East Midlands
- West Midlands
- London
The Welsh are the best at these DIY tasks
Below are the Top 10 DIY tasks that men and women in Wales are the best at. The percentage indicates how many people have successfully completed that task.
- Painting a room: 86%
- Changing a light bulb: 85%
- Assembling furniture: 82%
- Putting up pictures: 81%
- Putting up curtains 79%
- Replacing a fuse: 75%
- Filling holes or cracks in plaster: 75%
- Changing a plug: 70%
- Unclogging a blocked sink or drain: 70%
- Bleeding a radiator: 64%
The Welsh can’t do these DIY tasks
Below are the 10 DIY tasks that the Welsh cannot do. The percentage indicates how many people cannot do that task.
- Installing window panes: 89%
- Fitting a kitchen: 89%
- Plastering: 87%
- Laying wooden flooring: 84%
- Hanging a door: 76%
- Fixing a leaking toilet flush: 75%
- Fitting a carpet: 73%
- Stopping a leaky tap: 69%
- Changing door lock: 68%
- Fixing a ceiling light fixture: 68%
Why does the UK struggle at DIY?
A popular idea as to why the later generations are losing valuable DIY skills is due to the increase in renting in the UK. It is estimated that millennial’s will have spent £44,000 more on rent by the time they reach 30 compared to baby boomers. Furthermore, if the growth of home ownership imitates the pattern of the 2000s, up to half of millennials could be renting in their 40s, and a third could still be renting by the time they claim their pensions.
Lindsay Judge, Senior Policy Analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said:
“Britain’s housing problems have developed into a full-blown crisis over recent decades and young people are bearing the brunt – paying a record share of their income on housing in return for living in smaller, rented accommodation.
“While there have been some steps recently to support housebuilding and first time buyers, up to a third of millennials still face the prospect of renting from cradle to grave.”
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