Take DIY care

If you're planning some DIY don't end up a statistic. Every year there are around 70 deaths and 250,000 serious injuries related to DIY work, with many of them taking place over the summer, on bank holiday weekends or during school holidays.

B&Q or A&E?

The summer months are popular times for DIYers to put home improvement plans into action - the trouble is that hundreds of over-ambitious and ill-prepared enthusiasts could be making trips not only to DIY stores, but also to hospital.

Halifax General Insurance has prepared some timely guidance for avoiding with special notes for DIYers with children or pets. Halifax receives claims ranging from botched electrics, unsafe shelving and other building projects that collapse, bathroom floods, paint spills, not to mention accidents caused by distractions from either children or pets.

Men over-estimate their DIY abilities

Analysis from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) shows that the main reason for DIY injuries is that people tackle jobs which are beyond their capability and for which they have inadequate tools and safety equipment.

Research has also shown that, although women know less about DIY than men and are therefore more at risk of accidents, it is men who over-estimate their abilities and under-estimate the work involved. Problems inevitably arise when they are determined not to be beaten by a job and end up in trouble, instead of admitting that they need more knowledge, better tools and, more often than not, someone else to help.

More people are killed or injured using ladders than any other piece of DIY equipment, with more than 30,000 needing hospital treatment each year. This is confirmed by research from Halifax General Insurance, which shows that damage to the home caused by people falling off ladders is one of the most common claims made on its household insurance policy.

Unlike the office environment, where employers conform to Health & Safety work regulations, ensure staff receive proper training and use well-maintained equipment, there are no such rules governing what people do in their own home.

DIY guidelines

It's really important to follow some simple guidelines when starting a DIY project:

Plan the job in advance
Have the correct safety gear such as goggles, masks and gloves and use at all times
Keep pets and young children safe and secure - for both their sake and yours
Use the right tools (which should be properly maintained) for the job
Take your time
If using electrical equipment make sure you fit a RCD (residual current device) first. If you accidentally cut through a flex or cable the RCD will cut off the power supply to the equipment, reducing the risk of electrocution.
Always place electrical cables behind you while you work and don't allow them to become kinked or frayed.
If hiring tools, make sure you are given an operational demonstration, that you receive proper instructions and that you read these carefully before use. Look for a tag on the equipment which confirms that it has been checked and serviced since it was last returned to the hire shop.
Remember the 'one out, four up' rule when using a ladder, i.e. match every single measure from the wall with four vertical measures to get the safest ladder angle.
Only ever place ladders on firm ground and install non-slip covers.
Never over-reach whilst up a ladder - take the time to descend and move the ladder instead.
When lifting loads, stand close to the object, feet spread either side of the object to give stability, bend the knees and avoid stooping.
Finally, don't be over ambitious and attempt jobs that are beyond your capabilities - using an expert can save money, not to mention pain, in the long run.

Avoid DIY on Friday 13th - the warnings do not end there

Anyone considering home improvement work in the summer should also probably avoid mid-June. According to further statistics from the Halifax, people are twice as likely to make a claim after having an accident in or around the home on Friday 13th opposed to Fridays in general.

Check your insurance

As well as making sure of personal safety to yourself, family and pets when starting a DIY project, it is worth checking out your household insurance, as accidents do happen. Accidental damage to some parts of your home eg baths, sinks, ceramic hobs and fixed glass in doors, is included as standard in buildings insurance policies.

Howard Posner, Managing Director of Halifax General Insurance, says: "We know that the cause of the vast majority of DIY mistakes and mishaps are as a result of either a simple lack of job preparation or substandard tools and equipment. However, although insurance claims for home improvement accidents - the foot through the ceiling, the severed water pipe - occur at all times of the year, numbers increase around bank holiday weekends and during the summer holiday months when those must-do home improvements finally get tackled."

"At these times of year children will be at home, playing in the house and garden, and the statistics suggest that a percentage of summer DIY disasters are as a result of children, the family pet - or a combination of the two - distracting the worker."