Self-improvement through DIY home improvement

I know we are all sick of hearing about housing and crazy prices. But one neglected area of the housing discussion relates to the intangible societal benefits of home ownership.

Home-owning gives people a more permanent stake in their community and therefore encourages people to contribute. It gives children stability and a feeling of belonging and naturally strengthens neighbourhood bonds. It makes for better citizens.

Maybe it’s time we got over this obsession with home-owning but I don’t think so.

New Zealand has a strong homeowning culture for good reason. We believe Jack is as good as his master and renting still smacks of that master-servant tradition.

Another part of the homeowning culture in New Zealand is the under-rated do-it-yourself (DIY) tradition.

Many of my parents’ generation had large vegetable gardens and many people built their own homes. The quarter-acre section was in many ways a small farm with the landholders required to do many of the jobs that farmers consider their domain.

Building fences, fixing vehicles and concreting new paths were all in the average person’s repertoire. My father was a mechanic, a pretty good carpenter and grew things for a living. He was possibly at the extreme end of the DIY brigade but it never struck me that his skill set was that unusual.

Those were the days when homeowning was within the grasp of an average-earning couple and expectations about the quality of housing were also lower. Likewise, my generation (the late baby boomers) had an easy run into home-owning, and although I can remember some recessions killing house prices, we benefited from property prices in New Zealand going in only one direction.

The climb up the property ladder utilised many of the DIY skills we somehow picked up along the way. I have renovated three houses and built numerous sheds and put down driveways. Nothing especially complicated - no YouTube videos required or available – and sometimes I look back and think I should have been having more fun. But I thoroughly enjoyed most of it.

The Covid-19 restrictions have sparked a home improvement and renovation frenzy as householders turn their attention to their everyday surroundings and find them wanting.

The figures reinforce the impressions gained from any Saturday morning at the local hardware store and garden centre. Statistics show sales of hardware, building and garden supplies were up $352 million in the September quarter compared to the September quarter in 2019.

I’ve heard it said there is redemption through housework but well-executed DIY home improvements are probably far more life-affirming.

Not everyone is capable of the manual dexterity that is part of DIY, although it’s worth remembering patience and concentration are the key. But the more people that can wield a hammer or a paintbrush, fix machinery and grow vegetables, the more resilient our society will be.

DIY skills save money but the real benefit, I suspect, is the enhancement of self-esteem.

Things might not make you happy, but making them yourself will.

The great tragedy of the housing crisis is that a whole generation will be deprived of selfimprovement through home improvement.