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Everyone in the UK is addicted to DIY TV. Any ideas why? DIY is quoted as being the new Rock and Roll, why has everybody suddenly taken to caring about their homes in such a big way? Please reply as I am still in search of answers for my thesis.
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it's cheaper than drugs and requires less effort than sex. (do i get a footnote in the thesis?)
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give bullet the footnote
*Some quick, random thoughts:Don't know the demographics in the UK, but in my part of the US, the Boomers are settling in, they don't want any more high mortgages, and they find it more economical and sensible to fix up and/or renovate what they have than to buy new. Add to that the perception (somewhat deserved) that contractors are a royal pain to many homeowners and that they're expensive, and you get more DIY interest. Sometimes they aren't even available -- fourth biggest advertising lie: "No job too small." Tools and materials in the pro quality level are more readily available and affordable, so DIYers have the fun of buying and owning them. DIY was going on big time as early as the fifties, but its coverage was relegated to the likes of Popular Mechanics magazine. Media attention to DIY may have grown more than the actual practice has -- worth a study.
*DIY programs also take the mystery out of how things are done. They provide the confidence to begin tackling jobs around one's own home. As people gain experience, they begin attempting more ambitious projects. I second the other comments above. Tools and materials are more available and cost less than ever. Also, it's becoming increasing difficult to find tradesmen willing to work on small jobs. I wanted to have a storage shed built, but no contractor would return my calls. I finally bit the bullet and did it myself with only the information I learned on these programs.I don't know if Norm Abrams has been imported to the UK yet, but for me he reawakened a dormant interest in woodworking that I had forgotten about since high-school. I felt that I could make better furniture myself than what I saw for sale at even the high-end retailers. I don't believe one saves much money over purchasing furniture with the cost of tools and buying lumber at retail prices, but one can build exactly the sort of piece that one requires.Now friends and neighbors are asking me to do work for them, see "pricing a fence" below. I've avoided that as much as possible and try to get them to be DIYers also. That way I can just give advice - free.
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Pam,
I don't know that I'd compare DIY TV to Rock-n-Roll; I'm not listening to it on my radio yet and it doesn't fit in my Walkman. I'd have to agree it has to do with the age of Baby Boomers. Much of Western population is getting into middle age, has more disposable income, may not be very athletically involved in outside activities (many of us are "couch potatoes") and we're somewhat stingy when paying others to do something. The fact that there are now great numbers of materials and tools available at increasingly larger "home centers" has fueled the growth, too.
Another thing to keep in mind is how much a tradesperson is billed out at by the hour. I work as an architect/designer and know several tradesmen that are making more than I am. I don't really want to pay the plumber $50.00 to come over and change a seal on my toilet, if I can get the part for $2.99 and have it done in half an hour.
It's become a matter of economics as well as a matter of accomplishment, ability and pride for me.
As for the TV connection, I enjoy some of the shows for the ideas and methods they present. Though some need to get a grip on who is actually doing it themselves (i.e., have they ever had budget restraints?). Other shows are so simplistic that they seem to cater to person that need to read the instructions on how to use a screwdriver! There seems to be a show for most levels of experience between PBS, TLC, HGTV and the others on American TV.
Hope I've helped in your quest for knowledge.
ChadS.
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On the renovate versus buy issue, my two cents. I'm fifty-one. My house is early 1930's, and I'll take its solid, old pine rafters and joists any day to modern trussed roofs and attics. This quality superiority extends thoughout the house, so renovating it and keeping it up is the better choice than buying a new one. I've found that most tradesmen prefer new work to old work. New work is cleaner, faster, and takes less skill -- perfect for the current generations W, X, and Y. So there're fewer tradesmen around who can or will do old work. In fact, it seems you can't find a local contractor in the spring around here until after the annual parade of homes is over. So, I do what I can on my own, occasionally calling in the tradesman for stuff over my head or requiring permit and licensing (certain plumbing and electrical). I also believe that I'm more imaginative in some areas than the contractors, particularly plumbers, and I save money by buying fixtures at discount and installing them myself. I don't find the TV shows particularly informative, especially since they repeat themselves so often. It seems that Joanne Liebler has done only four Home Savvy segments in the past three years -- one on an ugly home facade, one on skylights, one on her basement home entertainment system -- okay, maybe a few more. I read a lot, subscribing to a number of good periodicals, like this board's sponsor, and spend time in the library. I also pick the brains of professional suppliers. I distrust most answers from the Internet until I've checked them out and pity anyone who doesn't. There, one half of the thesis written from six responses, two of which don't count.
*I have nothing but contempt for such shows ( if they are anything like the drivel we get here in Australia ). They trivialize the skills required and simplisticaly demonstrate projects that make Homeowners think they can do it as good as a tradesman in half the time!!As to the reason?Commerce?The prevailing spirit of Independance ( do your own thing )?Add this to the comments above.
*I'll second that, Mark. Try teaching cabinetmaking to a bunch of apprentices, all of them saying'Norm doesn't do it like that' and 'that's not the way I saw it on the tee-vee last week'. There is a reason carpentry and cabinetmaking apprenticeships were traditionally four or five years; it takes at least that long to get hands and brain working together to make a competent job. Don't get me wrong; DIY is fine, I enjoy people working on their own house and all. But I think most of the smart ones either come away from a project with some newfound respect for people who make it look easy, or they just aren't looking too hard at their own work. As to the rates charged by tradesmen, as noted above, ask most guys what they are putting in the bank at the end of the week. i think you would be surprised. Final gripe: suppliers who sell to DIY's at the same price as they do to the trade, or better. Jeez, that ticks me off.
*Pam, personally I have no problem with "do-it-yourself" people. I'm glad to give free advice to anyone who needs to DIY. If I can help someone who can't afford to hire me...so be it. They need help, and I'll never get rich anyway.I do have a problem with people who want to do it themselves because they're too cheap to pay for what they can afford. If I walk into a situation where someone has totally screwed something up by trying to do it themselves, I'll try to help them with good advice. ( I hope my advice is good. )If I see someone just too cheap to pay a pro, and I have seen this before, well...they get what they get. DIY beware....we are not here to save you a few bucks. Good luck to anyone trying to DIY, but don't try to do what you really need a pro for.Ed. Williams
*GACCThis is kinda off thread but...Don't you just love it when you think you are there to work on a quote and the customer thinks you are there to provide a free consulting and measuring service?I too like to help those who need it or want it, but if all they want is advice I wish they would say so.Scott
*DSOBDon't you just like doing all the leg work for free? I used to do a lot of deck design for the deck work. Then one day I was in the local supplier and saw a guy doing "sidework" with my deck design in his hand. Couldn't miss it. In big letters at the bottom it say's that the drawing is the property of Curry Construction. When I asked the guy about the drawing he said that he did design work for all his work and if I was looking for a good sub then we could work something out.
*What I also run into is people who are totally bored or very stressed out from their work-a-day lives for whom DIY projects are therapy. Just as I can dive into Breaktime, or fiddling/fighting with this computer after a day on site instead of unpacking the tools and having at all the stuff that needs doin around my house ( see topic from wives without baseboards). Some of i theseDIYers slowly put together masterful looking jobs, be they decks, or basement or attic finishing, others, of course do barely adequate looking work, but the end result is the same. . . they feel good about it and who the hell are we to rain on their parade. It probably cuts down on roadrage, and wife beating, if nothing else!!!-pm
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Pam, I'll throw in another couple of ideas. It seems so much has gotten beyond the DIYer (or are disposable in nature)that perhaps we have concentrated them into the home arena. As an example, consider cars, in my teen years hoods were lifted and we could all locate the functional parts. Now when I lift a hood most of what is visible is plastic shrouding or ??? I had an Olds. Cutless with a V6 a few years ago, never saw that sixth spark plug. I also think it's in the make up of the individual. As an example consider the person who takes great pride in their ability to write the check for a gourmet dinner versus the one who gets their satisfaction from planning and preparing the dinner. I've seen small children bursting with pride over something they have made. Perhaps that element disappears after a few years in a marginally rewarding job. Leading folks to get there satisfaction elsewhere. Without a doubt material advances come into play as well. The days of hand cutting and threading galvanized pipe for sprinkler systems can hardly be imagined by those who now use scarcely more then scissers and glue. Maybe some of the blame ought to be placed on the "childhood" trauma inflicted upon us by tinker toys,Lego's,lincoln logs, erecter sets etc. Seems like psycholigists like to bring things back to the early years. Sorry if I rambled too long.
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Pam:
Here's a theory or two to partially explain the DIY craze:
People these days are getting married later in life and therefore having fewer children. What to do with the excess earnings but making the humble abode not quite so humble? I saw an extreme example of this while visiting Atlanta this past summer… while driving a quiet suburban street, I remarked to the native Georgian who was with me that "this is a really nice neighborhood - what with all these older homes fixed up so nicely…" The native informed me that this particularly area was inhabited by a higher than normal percentage of "alternate lifestylers" (how's that for politically correct), and that they take great pride in their homes - obviously no kids to spend their cash on!!
Further, with a larger percentage of people having office/desk/computer jobs, what do they want to do when they get off work - not be a mouse potato, but something different - perhaps create something with their hands.
As far as those DIY TV shows, I used to watch some of those, but just got kinda bored with most of it. Throw in Joanne Liebler (gag) and the Furniture F*gs (oh well, so much for politically correct) and the boredom started turning to disgust!
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Great Point Matt:
Though I would love to see the DIY program. Home Improvement seems to fester on the Jonses..or the folks up the street that have a better looking home and the fact home improvement has become a thing that most homewoners "can do" I see alot of catching up with the Jones'es.
Furthermore, from the financial side of this topic the english speaking world or financial markets are awash with cash leading to continued spending on anything related to improving ones appearance. Now I get it...it's the American programs that Pam is speaking of? Have any good Brit home improvement programs we are missing? Please inform
*Pam, It seems like your mixing things up a bit. DIY spirit in terms of remodelling has been around since the post WWII era, what with the whole movement toward owning your own little plot with your own little 1 acre worth of grass and being able to upgrade/maintain it. You can find old postcards with mom & pop hanging insulation, 50's style and smiling (dad with pipe). DIY in terms of the Rock N' Roll pertains to an entirely differen (but somehow similar) attitude. I'm not sure I'm familiar with U.K. shows but diy in the music industry is something that came out of the early post-Sex Pistols punk era of punk rock: the Major labels snatched up all the early innovative acts, used them and threw them aside; the bands, after making millions and playing coluseums filled with fraternity types turned into the Def Leppard reunion tour- pathetic. So, with Iggy Pop, a new strand of punk rock was born- self-produced, intentionally kept on the grass roots level, and held nothing but contempt for the diseased soul-eating corporate route (pardon the dogma) that top forty bands would take. I guess BOTH versions of DIY ethic are alive and well, although I personally won't come in after many a reno-diy project. It's being marketed these days by the big lumber stores- LOWES, Home Despot,- in what I think is a manipulative fashion. You get the homeowners in, consult them on how they can buy the video tapes there, the materials there, the $160 tools that will sit out in the basement after the project is over, etc. etc..
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Everyone in the UK is addicted to DIY TV. Any ideas why? DIY is quoted as being the new Rock and Roll, why has everybody suddenly taken to caring about their homes in such a big way? Please reply as I am still in search of answers for my thesis.
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Pam
Worst case scenario, prospective client concieves of project in old issue of Architectural
Digest at doctors office, prices alternative materials at Home Desperate, then question your bid when they say "We saw something "similar" on a DIYer and they only gave it half a hammer."
By the way, these people have no intention of actually doing the "work" themselves, but use such programs to determine cost. To which I have to agree with Mark. I wish I had some of these DIY gurus home phone number, I'd give them a few referrals. I've got no problem with a home owner working on his home, it makes sense. But you must know your limitations. And here's one for Bill, run into a fellow tradesman and he ask if you want to bid on something he thinks is right up your alley. Gives you a set of prints and says the price you have to beat is on the upper right hand corner. It's your print and your price!