Healing

Dad doubles the worth of his home with DIY efforts and saves £75,000 in tradesmen charges

Posted on by admin
20
Feb

A homeowner has told of how he has managed to double the value of his property with his remarkable DIY efforts – saving himself £75,000 on tradesmen fees.

NHS-worker Alex Dodman says he has built himself a dream home by watching how-to videos on YouTube.

The 36-year-old secured a secret, trendy fold-down bed for his office, has created a family-sized cinema space, and his back garden even comes with its own gym.

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Alex bought the home in Saffron Walden, Essex, which he shares with his partner and two young children, in 2018 for £250,000.

But he has since been told his improvements have helped it more than double in value, to £525,000.

Alex first got into DIY when he bought his first home in 2014, fitting a kitchen and laying a patio.

But after purchasing his current house, his DIY instincts went into overdrive after watching a tradesman put up a stud wall – and realising he could be doing it himself.

Alex watched YouTube videos to learn how to do projects around the house

He said: “We had the house valued in 2020 and were told it was now worth £525,000, which I put down to the work I’ve done.

“It went from a run-down two-bed, to a four-bedroom house with a nice big garden.

“I estimate I’ve saved about £75,000 in the last few years, simply by not calling in tradesmen and attempting things myself.”

His most recent project was turning a little-used spare bedroom into a sleek and modern office – that could still be called into bedroom service if needed.

After having a brainwave to install a space-saving folding down bed, Alex was dismayed to find a professional carpenter would charge thousands – and he would face a substantial wait.

So, he rolled up his sleeves and got to work himself.

He’s saved thousands doing the work himself

He said: “Since I’ve been working from home I’ve wanted a home office, and I was thinking about doing it for ages before I found out how much it would cost to have someone in.

“In the end, just using pine boards from B&Q, the bed itself cost me about £250 – and then another £160 on the mattress.

“I spent probably two or three weeks on it in total, and it’s great – when it’s up, you wouldn’t think it was a bedroom at all.

“Getting the paint, lighting and flooring bits from B&Q as well helped bring my whole vision to life.”

But his favourite build is what he calls the ‘Superbed’ – two king-sized beds connected in the master bedroom, with a huge projector screen on the wall.

Alex reckons this is perfect for family movie nights, and it also means that when his kids – aged five and two – drop off to sleep with mum and dad, they don’t spend all night kicking each other under the sheets.

The hidden bed folded down

His exploits have even gained him a following on Instagram – where 122,000 people and counting can check out his home-builds in detail.

In the garden, Alex’s home gym stands at 6m by 6m, contains enough gear for a full workout – and, at one point, even had its own sauna.

He said: “I’ve got rid of the sauna now and plan on building an outside one next to the swimming pool – which is my current project.

“I watched a YouTube video of a woman in Holland who built her own pool in her garden, and as soon as I’d watched that I rang up and hired a digger.

“I’d never driven a digger before, so I’d dug this massive hole and then there was no going back.

“In general, the hardest thing to learn from a DIY perspective was plumbing – that’s quite annoying. If you do it wrong, you get drips and stuff.

“But it’s not as hard as I thought it was going to be – it really is kind of like water LEGO.

“I wasn’t confident in DIY, but the best way to learn is just by giving it a go. I’ve made mistakes and stuff doesn’t always turn out how you think but giving it a go is the best way.

“I learned almost everything from YouTube, and there are a lot of builders’ forums online where you can find help on loads of projects – any problem you come across, it’s likely someone else has in the past and has written about it online.”

Susie Spence, Interiors Director at B&Q said after seeing Alex’s home transformations: “We love seeing the results of customers home improvement projects, little or big, and Alex’s is such a unique transformation, which is why we reached out to work with him on our Changemaker campaign.

“Making little changes to improve your living space can make a big difference, and we encourage everyone to get stuck into their homes and see what they can do to make their homes and life better.”

Alex’s five tips for beginners

1 – Don’t be afraid

The first step is always the hardest, just have a go at anything which may seem intimidating – it’s almost always easier than you think.

2 – Get professionals where needed

When it comes to things like electrics or plumbing, that need signing off and certificating, you should always leave it to experts.

3 – Measure twice, cut once

I’ve learned this lesson myself a few times! The extra time spent making sure everything is measured just right will save you a lot of frustration – although I don’t always live by this myself even now.

4 – Get the right tools

A mitre saw, a decent power drill with good drill bits, and a box of various sized screws and rawlplugs will get you through most of your beginner DIY projects. I got my mitre saw from B&Q for about £60 and I use it almost every day.

5 – Don’t take on too much at once

It’s easy to get bored of a project and start something new – my advice is to take one thing at a time, and do it properly. It’s something I don’t always live by either – my swimming pool is a perfect example!

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