Britons £4.7bn over-budget on home improvement

Tuesday, 15 January 2008 08:30

A quarter of home improvement projects end up going over budget to a total cost of £4.7 billion.

On average homeowners budget for £5,630 of work, but end up having to spend £10,320 - putting them 83 per cent or £4,690 over budget, according to Halifax research.

Quarter of kitchen improvements saw spiralling costs, as did a fifth of bath room projects and a tenth of extensions.

The main reason for inflated costs was upgrading to higher specifications, cited by 53 per cent of people.

For 20 per cent of projects, budgets were broken when building work uncovered further problems.

Martyn Foulds, senior claims manager at Halifax Home Insurance, said: "It's interesting to see that the major reason for spiraling costs is often due to homeowners adding extras to a project half way through.

"Clearly it is all too easy to get carried away with adding more expensive fixtures and fittings as the project unfolds."

Nine per cent of home improvers blamed tradesmen charging more than originally quoted and four per cent said workers hired in caused damage.

"Before embarking on any home improvement project, homeowners should always check tradesmen have the appropriate accreditations and references for their work," said Mr Foulds.

"It is also critical that homeowners check that all tradesmen they employ have adequate insurance to cover for any damage caused to their belongings."

However, opting for professional help is still advised, as £350 million of damage is caused copying DIY shows.

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