DIY DUNCES
Modern men can’t carry out simple DIY tasks such as rewiring plugs or bleeding radiators, it was revealed yesterday (Sun).
More intent on pursuing a career than becoming a dab-hand at DIY means that younger British men are more likely to employ professionals to do menial jobs around the home.
But this is in stark contrast to thirty years ago, where dads were expected to do everything in the home themselves and carried the jobs out with ease.
The study of 3000 blokes shows that 51 per cent of those in their twenties are incapable of rewiring a plug, compared to just 15 per cent of men over the age of 50.
Changing a light bulb also leaves 13 per cent of young men stumped, compared to only three per cent of the last generation.
And when it comes to bleeding a radiator – half of all men in their twenties would call in professional help, compared to 17 per cent of older men.
But unsurprisingly, the one task modern men can do better than their fathers is building flat pack furniture – with only 11 per cent being unsure of what to do.
A spokesman for Screwfix, which conducted the poll, said: ”Our research shows that some young men struggle to live up to the expectations of previous generations.
”The good news is that there are tradesmen on hand to assist with all manor of tasks, so at least the DIY jobs don’t get left undone.
”The funny thing is that tasks such as putting up shelves and hanging pictures are so easy – if only men had the time to learn how to do them.”
The poll shows that 49 per cent wouldn’t know what to do if their kettle plug needed tending to, whilst 31 per cent would be left in the dark if a fuse needed changing.
Four in 10 modern men would know how to unblock a sink or loo, and even painting a wall baffles 44 per cent of men in their twenties.
Only 43 per cent of men truly believe they are handy around the home, and 48 per cent don’t even own a tool box.
Six in 10 blokes hold their hands up and claim to HATE DIY – with lack of knowledge, motivation and time being the main reasons.
Over two thirds of blokes wouldn’t even try to tackle electrical or plumbing tasks if they didn’t know what they are doing.
But for some plucky chaps, turning their hand to DIY has only led to disaster.
One in 10 has hit an electrical pipe or water pipe when wielding a drill at home, whilst 50 per cent have splashed paint on the carpet when trying to redecorate.
A fifth of men have tried putting up a shelf only to stand back and find it is wonky, whilst 32 per cent have damaged a wall trying to hang a picture.
The Screwfix spokesman added: ”This poll gives some very good reasons to hire tradesmen if you’re not sure how to go about home improvements.
”It is perfectly understandable that modern men don’t know how to do electrical, plumbing and carpentry tasks, and there are plenty of affordable and reliable tradesmen who can step in at short notice.”
Research conducted by global market research company www.onepoll.com