29 Jan 2013
Posted by Miriam O'Neill 
Taking to the roof to replace tiles, getting to grips with a leaking radiator or toilet and tiling the bathroom – these are the DIY jobs that we’re least confident at, results of a poll carried out by the AA’s new Home Rescue division which provides a 24-7 call out service for home emergencies suggest.
During the online poll, conducted late last year, 17 common home maintenance jobs ranging from the very simple to the more challenging were put before a sample of 11,000 people who were asked how confident they would be in their ability to do each one of them.
Just 0.7% of those polled, equating to 78 people, admitted they’d struggle to change a light bulb. This percentage does however creep slightly higher among females and the under 24s. 1.2% of the women polled said they wouldn’t be overly confident at their ability to carry out the task compared to 0.2% of men while 5% of those aged 17-24 said the same.
After changing a light bulb, the AA’s poll suggests that we’re least likely to work up a sweat at the thought of unblocking a sink, painting the walls and changing a fuse. While most would be unfazed at the prospect of applying a lick of paint, a third of poll respondents indicated they’d probably make a hames of wallpapering.
Overall 16% of those polled admitted they wouldn’t know how to turn off their water mains with the figure rising to 27% among females and 30% among 17-24 year olds.
“Turning off your water mains is simple and everyone in your household, young or old, should know how to do it.” Says Conor Faughnan, Director of Consumer Affairs, AA Ireland. “Leaks are the number one home emergency we’re called out to and those who know how to switch off the water at their mains quickly are the ones who see the least damage.”
This pattern of females having less confidence when it comes to home DIY continues right throughout the findings of the AA Home Rescue Poll. In relation to the 17 tasks that respondents were quizzed about, without exception, a higher percentage of females than males felt they wouldn’t have the knowhow to do the job properly.
The AA Home Rescue poll also suggests that there’s no real substitute for experience when it comes to DIY with the older respondents having a far better handle on the more challenging DIY jobs than the younger age groups.
End
Notes to the editor;
Fig. 1 How confident respondents said they were at their ability to do the following DIY/basic home maintenance tasks (Based on 11,090 responses):
| Very confident | Somewhat confident | Neutral | Not very confident | Not at all confident | |
| Change a light bulb | 96.3% | 2.8% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| Unblock a sink | 71.2% | 22.1% | 2.8% | 3.0% | 1.0% |
| Change a fuse | 78.0% | 11.7% | 2.4% | 4.9% | 3.1% |
| Rewire a plug | 73.5% | 11.0% | 2.8% | 6.3% | 6.6% |
| Fit a lock | 38.7% | 21.9% | 9.6% | 17.7% | 12.6% |
| Stop a leaking tap | 28.2% | 23.6% | 11.5% | 22.8% | 14.3% |
| Fix a leaking toilet | 22.5% | 19.3% | 11.9% | 26.3% | 20.3% |
| Fix leaking radiators | 20.1% | 20.0% | 12.5% | 26.8% | 21.0% |
| Turn off your water mains | 62.5% | 18.0% | 5.2% | 8.2% | 6.5% |
| Build flat pack furniture | 62.4% | 21.6% | 4.9% | 6.5% | 5.0% |
| Put up some shelves | 49.5% | 19.6% | 7.6% | 13.5% | 9.9% |
| Bleed a radiator | 70.1% | 14.6% | 4.0% | 6.3% | 5.6% |
| Wall paper | 32.4% | 22.9% | 12.5% | 17.2% | 15.4% |
| Paint your walls | 68.8% | 19.3% | 5.4% | 4.5% | 2.9% |
| Put up kitchen/bathroom tiles | 24.1% | 18.9% | 11.6% | 22.2% | 23.8% |
| Remove rats/mice from your home | 42.3% | 24.0% | 8.8% | 10.4% | 14.9% |
| Replace roof tiles | 10.1% | 10.8% | 10.1% | 22.3% | 47.2% |
MALES (Based on 7,238 responses):
| Very confident | Somewhat confident | Neutral | Not very confident | Not at all confident | |
| Change a light bulb | 98.6% | 1.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Unblock a sink | 81.3% | 15.5% | 1.6% | 1.3% | 0.3% |
| Change a fuse | 90.6% | 6.7% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 0.5% |
| Rewire a plug | 88.8% | 6.3% | 1.6% | 2.1% | 1.3% |
| Fit a lock | 56.2% | 22.2% | 7.9% | 10.1% | 3.9% |
| Stop a leaking tap | 42.5% | 26.0% | 10.8% | 15.7% | 5.4% |
| Fix a leaking toliet | 35.5% | 24.6% | 12.3% | 19.2% | 8.8% |
| Fix leaking radiators | 31.6% | 24.6% | 13.4% | 20.7% | 9.9% |
| Turn off your water mains | 76.6% | 13.6% | 4.1% | 4.2% | 1.7% |
| Build flat pack furniture | 73.4% | 16.8% | 3.8% | 3.8% | 2.3% |
| Put up some shelves | 66.5% | 17.1% | 5.8% | 7.0% | 3.6% |
| Bleed a radiator | 82.3% | 9.8% | 2.9% | 3.3% | 2.3% |
| Wall paper | 36.1% | 22.9% | 13.8% | 15.8% | 11.7% |
| Paint your walls | 72.7% | 16.7% | 5.8% | 3.6% | 1.9% |
| Put up kitchen/bathroom tiles | 33.1% | 20.6% | 11.5% | 19.2% | 16.0% |
| Remove rats/mice from your home | 53.2% | 25.7% | 9.3% | 7.3% | 4.7% |
| Replace roof tiles | 16.7% | 16.8% | 13.2% | 23.3% | 30.5% |
FEMALES (Based on 4,568 responses):
| Very confident | Somewhat confident | Neutral | Not very confident | Not at all confident | |
| Change a light bulb | 93.3% | 5.1% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 0.5% |
| Unblock a sink | 56.9% | 31.4% | 4.5% | 5.5% | 1.9% |
| Change a fuse | 60.2% | 18.8% | 4.2% | 10.3% | 6.8% |
| Rewire a plug | 51.8% | 17.7% | 4.6% | 12.4% | 14.0% |
| Fit a lock | 13.5% | 21.4% | 12.0% | 28.4% | 24.9% |
| Stop a leaking tap | 7.7% | 20.4% | 12.6% | 32.8% | 26.9% |
| Fix a leaking toliet | 3.9% | 12.0% | 11.4% | 36.4% | 36.5% |
| Fix leaking radiators | 0.6% | 13.4% | 11.2% | 35.4% | 36.8% |
| Turn off your water mains | 42.5% | 24.2% | 6.6% | 13.7% | 13.3% |
| Build flat pack furniture | 46.8% | 28.4% | 6.2% | 10.3% | 8.8% |
| Put up some shelves | 25.2% | 23.2% | 10.1% | 22.7% | 19.0% |
| Bleed a radiator | 52.8% | 21.4% | 5.5% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| Wall paper | 27.0% | 22.8% | 10.7% | 19.1% | 20.7% |
| Paint your walls | 63.2% | 22.9% | 5.0% | 5.8% | 4.3% |
| Put up kitchen/bathroom tiles | 11.1% | 16.5% | 11.6% | 26.5% | 34.9% |
| Remove rats/mice from your home | 26.8% | 21.5% | 8.0% | 14.9% | 29.5% |
| Replace roof tiles | 0.7% | 2.2% | 5.6% | 20.8% | 71.0% |
17-24 year old respondents (Based on 233 responses):
| Very confident | Somewhat confident | Neutral | Not very confident | Not at all confident | |
| Change a light bulb | 82.8% | 9.4% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 1.7% |
| Unblock a sink | 53.4% | 24.6% | 7.8% | 8.2% | 6.0% |
| Change a fuse | 46.8% | 15.0% | 8.6% | 11.6% | 18.5% |
| Rewire a plug | 35.2% | 12.9% | 8.2% | 17.2% | 27.0% |
| Fit a lock | 31.0% | 20.3% | 10.8% | 16.8% | 22.0% |
| Stop a leaking tap | 16.6% | 20.1% | 13.5% | 25.3% | 24.9% |
| Fix a leaking toliet | 10.4% | 13.5% | 13.9% | 28.3% | 33.9% |
| Fix leaking radiators | 11.3% | 14.3% | 14.7% | 26.8% | 33.3% |
| Turn off your water mains | 41.9% | 20.5% | 7.4% | 13.5% | 16.6% |
| Build flat pack furniture | 57.3% | 28.9% | 5.6% | 3.9% | 4.3% |
| Put up some shelves | 46.1% | 26.7% | 8.6% | 12.1% | 6.9% |
| Bleed a radiator | 40.4% | 20.4% | 8.3% | 16.5% | 15.2% |
| Wall paper | 23.3% | 31.5% | 11.6% | 18.1% | 15.5% |
| Paint your walls | 68.8% | 22.5% | 3.9% | 3.0% | 1.7% |
| Put up kitchen/bathroom tiles | 10.8% | 16.5% | 18.2% | 25.1% | 30.7% |
| Remove rats/mice from your home | 30.3% | 20.3% | 8.2% | 10.4% | 30.7% |
| Replace roof tiles | 5.2% | 8.3% | 11.7% | 21.7% | 54.3% |
25-35 year olds (Based on 2,067 responses):
| Very confident | Somewhat confident | Neutral | Not very confident | Not at all confident | |
| Change a light bulb | 93.7% | 5.1% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.2% |
| Unblock a sink | 65.4% | 25.9% | 3.6% | 4.0% | 1.2% |
| Change a fuse | 61.2% | 18.1% | 4.4% | 9.9% | 6.6% |
| Rewire a plug | 52.5% | 17.3% | 5.3% | 13.3% | 12.0% |
| Fit a lock | 30.5% | 22.8% | 10.5% | 22.5% | 14.2% |
| Stop a leaking tap | 19.7% | 23.3% | 13.6% | 27.4% | 16.5% |
| Fix a leaking toliet | 14.9% | 17.0% | 12.0% | 32.6% | 23.6% |
| Fix leaking radiators | 13.5% | 18.5% | 12.7% | 31.1% | 24.3% |
| Turn off your water mains | 47.3% | 21.6% | 7.9% | 13.2% | 10.3% |
| Build flat pack furniture | 66.5% | 21.0% | 4.7% | 4.9% | 3.2% |
| Put up some shelves | 46.9% | 22.4% | 8.7% | 14.1% | 8.1% |
| Bleed a radiator | 56.1% | 19.1% | 6.6% | 11.0% | 7.6% |
| Wall paper | 22.2% | 26.9% | 14.6% | 22.2% | 14.9% |
| Paint your walls | 65.5% | 23.4% | 5.8% | 4.1% | 2.0% |
| Put up kitchen/bathroom tiles | 15.6% | 18.4% | 13.5% | 28.0% | 25.2% |
| Remove rats/mice from your home | 33.5% | 23.3% | 11.3% | 13.4% | 19.0% |
| Replace roof tiles | 6.9% | 8.4% | 8.8% | 26.2% | 50.6% |
36-45 year olds (Based on 2,836 responses):
| Very confident | Somewhat confident | Neutral | Not very confident | Not at all confident | |
| Change a light bulb | 96.8% | 2.5% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Unblock a sink | 68.7% | 23.9% | 3.6% | 3.1% | 0.9% |
| Change a fuse | 76.2% | 12.8% | 2.5% | 5.6% | 3.0% |
| Rewire a plug | 71.0% | 13.1% | 3.1% | 6.2% | 6.8% |
| Fit a lock | 35.4% | 22.2% | 10.5% | 19.6% | 12.6% |
| Stop a leaking tap | 23.9% | 24.5% | 13.0% | 24.5% | 14.3% |
| Fix a leaking toilet | 19.2% | 19.1% | 13.1% | 28.1% | 20.9% |
| Fix leaking radiators | 17.0% | 20.6% | 13.1% | 28.7% | 21.1% |
| Turn off your water mains | 57.2% | 19.5% | 7.1% | 9.3% | 7.0% |
| Build flat pack furniture | 65.1% | 21.2% | 4.3% | 5.8% | 4.0% |
| Put up some shelves | 48.9% | 19.2% | 8.0% | 14.4% | 9.8% |
| Bleed a radiator | 68.2% | 15.7% | 4.0% | 6.6% | 5.9% |
| Wall paper | 24.5% | 23.6% | 14.5% | 19.2% | 18.4% |
| Paint your walls | 68.5% | 20.0% | 5.0% | 4.7% | 2.5% |
| Put up kitchen/bathroom tiles | 20.7% | 18.9% | 12.0% | 23.3% | 25.5% |
| Remove rats/mice from your home | 39.8% | 24.3% | 8.8% | 11.5% | 16.0% |
| Replace roof tiles | 8.7% | 10.6% | 10.7% | 23.1% | 47.4% |
46 – 55 year olds (Based on 3,040 responses):
| Very confident | Somewhat confident | Neutral | Not very confident | Not at all confident | |
| Change a light bulb | 98.2% | 1.5% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Unblock a sink | 73.9% | 20.7% | 2.0% | 2.8% | 0.6% |
| Change a fuse | 84.2% | 9.9% | 1.7% | 2.9% | 1.4% |
| Rewire a plug | 81.8% | 8.9% | 2.0% | 3.5% | 3.9% |
| Fit a lock | 40.6% | 20.8% | 9.4% | 17.4% | 12.1% |
| Stop a leaking tap | 29.7% | 24.9% | 10.5% | 21.6% | 13.7% |
| Fix a leaking toilet | 24.3% | 20.7% | 11.4% | 25.0% | 19.0% |
| Fix leaking radiators | 22.1% | 20.6% | 12.4% | 25.8% | 19.5% |
| Turn off your water mains | 66.9% | 18.4% | 4.0% | 6.1% | 4.9% |
| Build flat pack furniture | 61.9% | 21.4% | 4.8% | 7.0% | 5.2% |
| Put up some shelves | 50.4% | 18.9% | 6.9% | 13.4% | 10.6% |
| Bleed a radiator | 76.0% | 12.9% | 3.2% | 4.0% | 4.5% |
| Wall paper | 36.2% | 20.8% | 11.6% | 16.4% | 15.2% |
| Paint your walls | 71.4% | 17.0% | 4.9% | 4.4% | 3.3% |
| Put up kitchen/bathroom tiles | 26.2% | 19.4% | 11.2% | 20.9% | 23.1% |
| Remove rats/mice from your home | 45.5% | 23.5% | 8.0% | 9.8% | 13.6% |
| Replace roof tiles | 11.1% | 11.7% | 10.6% | 22.3% | 44.7% |
56 – 65 year olds (Based on 1,898 responses):
| Very confident | Somewhat confident | Neutral | Not very confident | Not at all confident | |
| Change a light bulb | 97.1% | 1.8% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| Unblock a sink | 76.8% | 18.6% | 1.9% | 1.9% | 0.7% |
| Change a fuse | 88.6% | 6.8% | 1.1% | 2.3% | 1.3% |
| Rewire a plug | 86.6% | 5.9% | 1.2% | 2.9% | 3.6% |
| Fit a lock | 45.3% | 23.2% | 8.0% | 12.2% | 11.4% |
| Stop a leaking tap | 37.6% | 22.1% | 8.9% | 19.6% | 12.3% |
| Fix a leaking toilet | 30.4% | 20.5% | 10.5% | 21.0% | 17.7% |
| Fix leaking radiators | 26.9% | 21.3% | 10.6% | 22.3% | 19.3% |
| Turn off your water mains | 75.4% | 13.1% | 2.0% | 5.3% | 4.6% |
| Build flat pack furniture | 59.3% | 22.3% | 4.6% | 7.3% | 6.7% |
| Put up some shelves | 51.2% | 19.0% | 6.2% | 12.6% | 11.0% |
| Bleed a radiator | 79.6% | 10.3% | 2.2% | 4.4% | 4.4% |
| Wall paper | 45.5% | 19.9% | 9.7% | 11.8% | 13.5% |
| Paint your walls | 70.4% | 17.0% | 5.8% | 4.8% | 3.2% |
| Put up kitchen/bathroom tiles | 31.8% | 18.3% | 9.9% | 18.6% | 21.4% |
| Remove rats/mice from your home | 50.6% | 23.7% | 7.2% | 7.8% | 10.8% |
| Replace roof tiles | 13.8% | 13.2% | 9.7% | 18.6% | 44.8% |
65 years of age and above (Based on 942 resps.)
| Very confident | Somewhat confident | Neutral | Not very confident | Not at all confident | |
| Change a light bulb | 96.8% | 2.3% | 0.1% | 0.5% | 0.4% |
| Unblock a sink | 75.5% | 19.3% | 1.8% | 2.2% | 1.2% |
| Change a fuse | 87.7% | 8.4% | 1.1% | 1.5% | 1.3% |
| Rewire a plug | 84.4% | 6.7% | 1.2% | 4.5% | 3.5% |
| Fit a lock | 49.1% | 19.6% | 8.5% | 13.0% | 10.1% |
| Stop a leaking tap | 38.9% | 21.9% | 10.7% | 16.4% | 12.4% |
| Fix a leaking toilet | 30.6% | 20.7% | 11.6% | 21.1% | 16.5% |
| Fix leaking radiators | 26.7% | 19.4% | 13.6% | 22.5% | 18.4% |
| Turn off your water mains | 77.5% | 12.5% | 2.9% | 4.6% | 2.6% |
| Build flat pack furniture | 55.2% | 21.7% | 7.0% | 8.6% | 8.0% |
| Put up some shelves | 52.9% | 17.1% | 8.3% | 11.0% | 11.0% |
| Bleed a radiator | 76.3% | 13.3% | 3.3% | 4.2% | 3.7% |
| Wall paper | 42.2% | 22.1% | 10.5% | 13.1% | 12.3% |
| Paint your walls | 65.2% | 19.0% | 7.7% | 4.8% | 4.2% |
| Put up kitchen/bathroom tiles | 34.4% | 20.2% | 8.8% | 16.6% | 20.7% |
| Remove rats/mice from your home | 46.4% | 26.8% | 8.4% | 8.0% | 10.8% |
| Replace roof tiles | 12.1% | 10.3% | 10.2% | 18.5% | 49.0% |
