DIY and Health and Safety – What Do You Need to Know?

Whether you are a new homeowner or a veteran on the housing market, you’ll be no stranger to the idea of approaching your property from a DIY perspective. DIY can be an inexpensive way to achieve strong results – but taking charge of any project, however small, can present health and safety risks. How can you effectively manage those risks?

Regulations and Permissions

For limited and localised DIY tasks, from painting rooms to erecting or knocking down stud walls, there are no regulations or permissions you need to be mindful of before beginning. However, larger projects may require oversight, and permission from your local authority. A key example would be in the building of an extension to your home, which would require planning permission from your local council before you could proceed.

In the event that you undertake larger-scale works on a DIY basis, your worksite and construction will need to adhere to national building regulations, which stipulate the safe and correct way to carry on. Building regulations define safety procedures onsite, best practice for construction and installation and standards for finished products. Failure to adhere to such regulations can lead to enforced destruction or another attempt at the work.

Key Safety Tips

DIY presents more risk to you as a casual worker than it does to a professional contractor – and even professional contractors follow stringent health and safety protocols in order to avoid the possibility of injury while at work. As such, you should be taking especial care when undertaking DIY projects around the home, whatever the level of difficulty.

PPE is an important way you can protect yourself while at work, with numerous applications depending on the task at hand. Wearing goggles protects your face and eyes from flying debris and flying objects, of which there is a high risk while drilling, cutting or grinding with power tools. Even re-painting a room can present risk in the form of toxic fumes; wearing a mask can filter out harmful substances from the air, alongside good ventilation of the space.

Managing Risk

Of course, there are wider ways in which you can approach health and safety ahead of beginning a project, whatever the scale. Appropriately managing risk ahead of, and during, work can help you control outcomes and remain safe, both personally and financially.

Home renovation insurance can be taken out ahead of carrying out extensive work, and enable you to manage a number of risks in one. A project might take longer than you expected, costing you more in labour fees if you have hired help. Natural disaster in the form of a flood or fire could destroy progress or valuable materials. Insurance coverage means you can afford to get back on your feet much quicker.

Planning is ultimately the most effective way to manage risk, as you retain full control of the timeline for work done. Ensuring work is done at a steady and safe rate, and managing the volume of materials out at any one time, can help prevent accident and injury.