No more excuses, it’s time to take care of all those DIY jobs
IN the Coolock branch of Woodie’s DIY shop on Monday, there was just one forlorn looking paint roller left on the shelf by close of business.
Finished with stripping the supermarkets bare of toilet roll and dried goods, the hordes had clearly descended here too.
And their mission? DIY. Coronavirus may have been the kiss of death for many businesses but, in an unexpected twist, its a boon for a handful of others.
‘Basically husbands no longer have any excuse,’ says Simon Roberts, manager of the
Crown Paint shop on Dublin’s North Strand.
‘That dirty spot on the ceiling that they’ve been putting off doing for years because they’re always too busy?
Well they’re not too busy any more.
‘We’re largely a trade store here but in the last few days we’ve had couple after couple going in looking for small pots of paint – 2.5 or 5 litres. Small jobs that have been on the long finger for years.
‘It started last Friday and it’s just been growing ever since. We literally have never been busier,’ he said.
Anne Hughes of Fairview is one such customer.
‘I’m sick of looking at the doors in my house, they’re filthy and they’ve needed painting for ages,’ she said.
Her husband had driven her to the shop but couldn’t be enticed in the door and was sitting in his car outside.
‘That’s about as much as I’ll get him to do. I’ll have to do the painting myself,’ Ms Hughes said.
Kellys Homevalue Hardware shop is offering home deliveries of paint to customers during the crisis.
Laura de Barra, author of the current bestseller in the Irish book charts, Gaff Goddess: Simple Tips And Tricks To Help You Run Your Home, says she is not surprised by the current run on DIY stores.
‘Look, we’ve all this time now and the human instinct is to nest,’ she said.
‘We know now we’re going to be spending a lot more time in our homes over the next few months and we want to make them as nice as possible.
‘People do DIY because their home isn’t working for them.
‘The way we’ll be using our homes over the next few months has already changed and people need to make provision for working from home or having the kids home or whatever, so it’s really no surprise that they’re making adjustments already.’
At the Woodie’s, shop the staff there promised that the shelves would be replenished the next day.
And other DIY shops have been reporting brisk business too. Chadwicks builders suppliers cater mostly for trade but they too have been seen an increase in their domestic business of late. The store conducted a survey last year, which found that
39% of people have something on their DIY to-do list for more than a year. And more than 50% have six things or more on their to-do list.
As well as that 48% of those polled admitted to letting odd jobs build up around the home rather than tackling them straight away.
More than one in five have had something on the to-do list for six months.
A lack of time (41%) and not having the right tools for the job (34%) are cited as the main stumbling blocks to getting the task done.
But with coronavirus isolation measures likely to get more stringent, those excuses are now no longer valid.
‘Look if you don’t do it now, you’ll never do it,’ said Ms De Barra.
‘Set out what you want to do, get the right equipment, make a plan,’ she advised.
She added: ‘It’s like making a cake, you need to read the whole recipe before you start. Not just the first line.’
However, she advises leaving anything to do with electrics or gas, or complicated plumbing to the professionals.
‘But other than that, off you go. There’s nothing to stop you,’ she said.
‘Dirty ceiling? You’re not too busy now!’