Craig Phillips on a surge in DIY activity in lockdown

National Home Improvement Month is here, and many Brits took to DIY during lockdown, making the most of their time indoors to make home improvements.

Before lockdown, a quarter (24%) of us rarely improved our homes. Only 10% of us felt confident enough in our own abilities to undergo all DIY by ourselves, whilst 21% feel that they don’t have the skills, and 27% don’t have the time.

During lockdown, many more people had the time and money available to focus on their house interiors and their gardens – and a whole new generation of DIY-ers was born.

39% of the UK have been directly prompted to do some DIY as a result of the lockdown, with London leading the way with 49% of residents digging out their tool kits, and those from the West (44%) and East Midlands (43%) not far behind.

Throughout the next four weeks, National Home Improvement Month will be encouraging people to get more involved in their homes – from DIY to smart tech – and then share these improvements online.

Aston spoke to Craig Phillips, 1st ever Big Brother winner and TV builder and Stephen Robinson, marketing manager of the British Home Enhancement Trade Association to discuss more about the research and also about the #makeachange challenge that is running throughout September.

Photo by Eugen Str on Unsplash