DIY accidents blamed on TV

Mitre 10 DIY Rescue is one of several home improvement programmes on TV. Picture / Reuters

DIY disasters have cost taxpayers more than $20 million in the past financial year - and home improvement shows are partly to blame, according to building industry experts.

Latest figures released by the Accident Compensation Corporation show about 3000 claims were made by DIY enthusiasts between July 2004 and June 2005, at a total cost of $21.5 million. And the figure is on track to exceed that for the new financial year with $18 million spent in the past eight months on 2700 claims.

Building industry and injury prevention experts blame the male Kiwi psyche and home improvement television shows for the rising injury toll.

Mitre 10 Dream Home, DIY Rescue and Hot Property follow ordinary families who undertake drastic renovations- often with spectacular results. However, the shows also encouraged unskilled homeowners to tackle building projects which were beyond them, said Site Safe chief executive Iris Clanachan.

Other experts said one of the other major problems was that men did not have the DIY skills that their fathers did - but still thought they could repair anything.

Falls from ladders were the number one cause of injury in the past financial year with claims of $6.9 million. Gardening was the second most dangerous activity, with accidents involving plants, trees and bushes costing the taxpayer $4.2 million.

Accidents involving fences, railings and walls were the third highest at $3.1 million, while injuries from unpowered hand tools, such as screwdrivers, cost another $1.9 million.

Ms Clanachan said the myth of the great Kiwi handyman convinced many people they could achieve the same results as those on TV - without the expert help of people behind the scenes.

Ms Clanachan said a "she'll be right attitude" often meant safety precautions were ignored.

"People just see the end product, how easy it looks on TV and think it is a doddle," Ms Clanachan said.

Master Builders chief executive Pieter Burghout did not want discourage DIY enthusiasts, but urged commonsense. Major projects were not as easy as they were often portrayed on TV, he said. "People watch the show and think it's a piece of cake. But I flinch when I watch those shows, they are so unsafe."

Glenda Whitehead, of property valuers Quotable Value, said many "wannabe" handymen did not have the skills, time or motivation to do a proper - and safe - job.

"What I've noticed about my bloke friends is that they love their collection of power tools. Whether they know how to use them is another matter," Ms Whitehead said.

While home improvement shows provided good ideas, Ms Whitehead agreed that many people started projects but quickly became out of their depth.

However, this could soon be a thing of the past. New government rules are set to limit the size of projects handymen can tackle. At present, anyone can renovate as long as building inspectors check the work. By 2011, only licensed builders will be able to carry out the work.