Tiscali Money - Take Care When Doing DIY

The research also found that as well as being ignorant in the event of an emergency, people weren't taking basic precautions to prevent home emergencies happening in the first place, so Norwich Union has put together a few simple tips to help you protect your home:

• Find the off switch - locate your mains water stopcock, gas and electricity switches. Try looking under your kitchen sink, in a downstairs toilet or possibly in the garage. And once you find the switch, check it works - try it out to make sure it does what it's supposed to
• Simple maintenance - regularly maintain your guttering, plastering etc. Simple maintenance now will save costly repairs in the future
• Err on the side of caution - make sure you double check that appliances are switched off at the socket when you leave your house for a prolonged period of time - but don't turn supplies off at the mains. Turning your heating off in the winter could lead to burst pipes
• Get to know your neighbours - our research shows that only 4% of us would get our neighbour to check up on our property if we went away. In an emergency, your neighbour could be essential to damage limitation by keeping a spare key and checking up on your property. If they live in a similar building they may be able to forewarn you of any problems they have suffered in the past
• Don't get DIY dippy and start knocking out large holes in your walls without being certain that you know there are no pipes behind the wall. Look at your plugs and sockets, radiator pipe-work, could the supply be behind the plaster? Check by tapping on the wall and listening for a hollow sound