A Tradie Trends Report by online portal Gumtree shows that three out of four homeowners have attempted their own repairs or renovations, but a fifth have botched the job.
The report also reveals that dodgy DIY jobs remain a lucrative source of customers for tradies, who have collectively netted $380m for fixing poorly executed repairs over the last year.
Renovating For Profit founder Cherie Barber said that many homeowners do repairs themselves to save money, but the irony is that this can eventually cost them more.
“It may seem like a good idea at the time, but it can result in a more costly project and devalued property if work is not carried out correctly,” Barber said.
Gumtree further reports that Aussie households pay tradies a total of roughly $3.8bn on home repairs and renovations each year, but homeowners who source comparative quotes save an average $561 per job.
Significant too, was that nine in 10 households who had racked up recent tradie bills reported that they didn’t think a hefty price tag always equated to quality work.
Despite this, the majority of Aussies (64%) said they trust their tradies and many reported forming a relationship with a contracted tradie following the completion of a job – although more men (25%) than women (18%) formed friendships with their tradies.
Electricians and plumbers were the trades most in demand, while carpenters and tilers are the most expensive. Seldom used trades such at refrigeration repairers and locksmiths are the cheapest in average yearly cost.
Most expensive trades and their average charges: Carpenter ($1,070), Tiler ($1,019), Plumber ($549), Gardener ($547) and Electrician ($531).
