2 | AUGUST 2019
News
Installer News is
sponsored by FENSA
THE RISE OF DIY
According to the 2018 Hiscox Renovations and Extensions Report,
the number of people who chose to improve their home, rather than
relocate, reached 26 per cent, compared to just three per cent in
2013. But how has this increase of at home renovators changed
the building supplies industry? Here, Nick Cowley, managing
director of PVCu windows and doors supplier, Euramax Solutions,
discusses the rise of ’DIYers’ and the position of the industry.
Nowadays, people want
to do it themselves. The rise
of ‘DIY’ or ‘do it yourself’
has been heavily influenced
by DIY video tutorials and
home renovation pro-
grammes, along with the
difficulty some face getting
onto the property ladder
and the increasing availa-
bility and scope of builder’s
merchants.
Taking it online
From learning a foreign
language to learning how
to build a table or remodel
a bathroom, the internet
offers an outlet to learn new
things. This is particularly
apparent, as searches for
‘how to’ videos on YouTube
are growing by 70 per cent,
year on year.
Traditionally, consumers
would have had to rely on
instruction manuals or hire
a professional tradesperson
to complete a home im-
provement job. Nowadays,
many homeowners turn to
their nearest device and are
beginning to take it upon
themselves to learn how
to do home improvement
tasks.
As a result, many home
improvement stores, par-
ticularly across the USA, are
adding their own content
to platforms like YouTube
to help inspire, educate and
guide consumers in their
DIY journey.
The screen
influence
With popular DIY and
home improvement tele-
vision programmes like
Grand Designs and DIY
SOS attracting millions of
viewers each week, it’s not
surprising that consumer
confidence in DIY is on the
rise. Home improvement
programmes showcase the
endless possibilities that can
be created, and the personal
satisfaction and rewards that
can be achieved from ‘doing
it yourself’.
The worldwide appeal
of real estate reality pro-
grammes can also be re-
sponsible for home design
trends spreading across the
globe, whether that be col-
ours, materials or furniture
styles. From glamourous
expansive panes of glass to
rustic and farmhouse style
colour options, it’s clear to
see the impact.
Materials matter
But what does all this
mean for the industry?
DIY, trade and builders
merchant stores offer af-
fordable products and are
becoming an increasingly
convenient and popular
option for ‘DIYers’. It’s not
just businesses that can
use builders’ merchants,
now they are opening their
doors to individual ‘DIYers’
who are looking to reno-
vate their homes.
With well recognised
suppliers opening their
doors to trade and con-
sumers alike, it means that
at-home DIYers can have
access to industry leading
products, such as those
from Euramax. Making
these types of products
more accessible is further
supporting the growth of
the DIY market.
As the way people learn
to do their own home im-
provements changes, televi-
sion programmes continue
to influence design trends
and trade stores offer more
choice to consumers, it’s
easy to understand the rise
of DIY.
With a 23 per cent in-
crease in people that chose
to improve their home rath-
er than move in the short
space of five years, it’s only
likely that this number
will continue to increase.
We’ll all be installing new
windows, knocking down
walls for patio doors and
renovating bathrooms be-
fore you know it.
www.euramax.co.uk
GGFI WORKS
TOWARDS
PAPERLESS
GGFi, the glazing industry’s
leading insurance broker and
Insurance Backed Guarantee
(IBG) provider, has further
improved its customer service
offer with the introduction of
a paperless option, with policy
documents delivered via email to.
GGFi sends out more
than 200,000 policies per
year and moving to an
online model will have a
significant, positive envi-
ronmental effect for the
business. GGFi Head of
Operations, Frank Allain,
explains: “GGFi strives to
be as sustainable a business
as possible. Moving to an
online model provides us
with the perfect opportu-
nity to do just that whilst
simultaneously improving
service levels for our policy
holders and customers
alike.”
The online function is a
secure process for everyone
involved and requires the
policyholder to validate
their email address by click-
ing on a secure link, fol-
lowing which their policy
documents will be emailed
to them automatically (or
sent via post should home-
owners prefer it).
www.ggfi.org.uk
Issue 77 | August 2019
www.proinstaller.co.uk
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