A quarter of young adults rely on YouTube for DIY advice, according to a new survey, but one in five have to call in experts to fix DIY disasters, costing them £5,000.
Young adults are paying a hefty price for relying on YouTube for DIY advice, with new research from Towergate Insurance revealing that a 24% of adults under the age of 24 are now turning to the video sharing site for DIY help. However, their home improvement tasks have not always gone to plan, as 22% have had to call in an expert to fix a DIY disaster, at a price tag of £5,000 - double the national average in the UK.
The survey, which was conducted among 2,000 adults between March 30 and April 1 this year revealed that it's not just the younger generation looking to YouTube videos for DIY inspiration and guidance, with 28% of people across all ages turning to the site for home renovation help. In fact people, are now more likely to consult a YouTube video than a qualified friend or family member (25%), a DIY store or DIY TV show (12%).
But there's a price to pay for not getting it right, says the report, with nearly £2,500 spent on average per person fixing DIY disasters.
The large sums paid by young adults in particular may be the result of 4 in 5 people under 24 having received no formal training or qualifications in home renovation - a figure which increases to nearly three quarters of people between 25 and 34.
Despite a distinct lack of formal training, young adults are still attempting more ambitious, large-scale or more complicated DIY work, including flooring (31%) bathroom refitting (17%), house extensions (11%), roofing (10%) and electrical or plumbing work (9%).
The recent warm weather has kick started the DIY season, with 63% of Brits expected to carry out DIY projects over the next three months.
Towergate Insurance Drew Wotherspoon commented: "With the emergence of YouTube as a key educational resource, it's understandable that people are naturally turning to video tutorials for guidance on DIY work. However, as our research shows, undertaking ambitious projects with little to no formal training can have serious repercussions financially."