86% of American homeowners are inspired by watching home renovation shows—on average, about seven hours of remodeling content each week—enough to become armchair experts who want to make changes in their homes.
According to a new survey, almost two-thirds (64%) would be willing to attempt home renovations on their own today, and 35% believe they have the skills and know-how to actually host their own home remodeling show.
The poll of 2,000 homeowners, also revealed that despite their apparent confidence, 48% admit they wouldn’t want to tackle any plumbing or electrical work without a professional.
However, nearly seven in 10 respondents have already done remodeling, with 61% tackling their outdated bathroom, and 42% rehabbing their old kitchens.
A whopping 94% of these DIY homeowners consider their renovations to be successful. Even so, 14% of those respondents wish they’d enlisted help from a professional.
Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of bath and shower remodelers Bath Fitter, results found that of the 31% who haven’t attempted a remodel on their own, nearly half admit that fear got the best of them—leading them to avoid renovations so as not to mess them up.
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Similarly, others believe that they required more skill than they have (43%), and they didn’t know where to start (31%).
But that doesn’t mean Americans haven’t been willing to get their hands dirty — many respondents have experience using tape measures (87%), drills (75%), levels (74%) and even sanders (55%).
“It’s no secret that home renovations can be intimidating but it’s encouraging to see so many American homeowners already attempting to remodel their homes to fit their unique needs and aesthetics,” said Jennifer Dionne, Vice President of Marketing at Bath Fitter.
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Still, half of those polled would rather hire a professional than tackle home renovations on their own.
“The survey results found that of the respondents who have not attempted renovations, the top two rooms they’d feel most comfortable tackling include the bathroom and bedroom.”
“There’s a big myth in the renovation space which leads people to think that they need to gut everything to get what they want. That’s not true,” said Scott McGillivray, HGTV star and renovation expert.
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“You don’t need to create a big disruption demolishing to get what you’re looking for, especially in the bathroom. Oftentimes they have the perfect tub or shower location and size, but it just needs to be refurbished.”