Zoe Hunter: If I wasn't a journalist, I'd be a tradie

Zoe Hunter says if she wasn't a journalist, she'd be a tradie. Photo / Getty Images

I love my job, but right now I wish I learned a new skill.

If I wasn't a journalist, I'd be a tradie. It certainly would have come in handy right now, with the renovation boom that's hit the Bay.

We reported last week that homeowners in the region are splurging on renos, some spending up to $1 million gutting their homes.

But it's meant some tradies are struggling to meet demand. They say they're busier than ever and some businesses are looking at hiring extra staff to help ease the stress.

If I'd studied to become a tradie of some sort, I would be one extra body and an extra pair of hands for the industry.

Or I could get my hands on the tools and do some renovations myself - a bit of DIY if you will.

Bay industry experts say the building boom is mostly due to people spending overseas travel budgets on home renovations.

Others had spent too much time at home in lockdown writing down all the things that need to be fixed, updated, or remodelled.

People say you should live in your new home for a year, experience the four seasons, before starting to renovate.

Come February, my partner and I will have been in our home for 12 whole months.

I've definitely made a list - a big one. We'll start with the bathrooms, before moving to the kitchen and the lounge.

Next, we plan to re-clad the entire home and landscape the front and backyards. It's going to be a big job.

I'm lucky to have a DIY dad who is always around with the right tools and the know-how to get the small jobs done.

He's tried to teach me - but I'm more of the "stand there and look pretty" type. Well, I try my best.

If only, I learned how to do it myself.

I wouldn't have to call on the tradies who are flat tack right now.

I could have been an electrician, plumber, or even a builder.

Either trade would have been ideal right now in this renovation boom.