More than 430 million DIY jobs currently need attention in Britain’s homes, a new study by leading tool firm Draper Tools has found. 

The Draper Tools ‘Job Done’ study looked at the nation’s attitudes to some of life’s essential but often put off jobs. From everyday home, garden and car maintenance, right through to DIY and household repairs, the research polled 2,000 adults with the aim of exploring how Britain gets the job done.

Lack of time and hectic lifestyles are partly to blame for the weighty list of home improvements on the nation’s to do lists. Giving their houses a lick of paint, putting up shelves and wallpapering are among the tasks they are yet to finish. Other nagging jobs include inflating car tyres, changing light bulbs, fixing dodgy toilet flushes and cleaning the patio.  

The Draper Tools research found three quarters agree if a job’s worth doing it’s worth doing well – otherwise it’s simply not worth doing at all. This might explain why 44 per cent have started a task only to leave it half-finished for prolonged period – because they realised part-way through they didn’t have the tools for the job.

Clive Richardson, maketing director at Draper Tools said: “Motivating yourself to get jobs done or finding the time to do them isn’t easy – especially when there are so many tasks on our to-do lists.

“The key is to focus on one thing at a time and gradually chip away at your to-do lists otherwise the mounting number of DIY jobs can become overwhelming. We find that with the right tools and a bit of determination to get the job done, these tasks don’t have to take over your life.”

The study also found 7 in 10 ‘long’ to cross off DIY jobs from their to-do list - including bleeding radiators, repairing fencing and clearing out the shed. Other long outstanding tasks on the list were building flat pack furniture, fixing squeaky doors and tightening loose screws. Raking up leaves, changing fuses and boarding up the attic also remain incomplete for many of those polled.

It seems that Britain’s busy tradespeople are no better than the rest of the population either, with the average tradesperson having more than double the household repairs and home improvement jobs on their list than the rest of the UK. The research found that those who worked in a trade such as construction, plumbing or electrics had on average 18 DIY and maintenance jobs currently on their list to do at home. By comparison the average person had just eight.