During the past 12 months DIY Britons spent nearly 160 hours of their own time on home improvement saving themselves an average £2,892 each. When compared to the money spent on DIY goods and products this equivalent labour cost saving works out to be seven times more than the £384 that they spent in DIY and gardening retail outlets last year.

Commenting on the research, Paul Morrish, director for personal customers at Barclays said: “It seems that the phrase ‘time is money’ doesn’t apply to DIY, with saving money rather than time being our main priority. DIY fans are clearly making use of the tips and advice given in TV programmes and magazines on how simple projects such as decorating, which topped our DIY league table, can make a tangible difference to the value of their homes.

Top money saving DIY activities

Each home improver spent up to 53 hours throughout the year on decorating projects such as tiling, wallpapering and installing new flooring adding up to nearly £820 worth of savings.

• Simple plumbing projects such as replacing taps or installing a new shower took up nearly 19 hours of each home improver – adding up to an annual saving of £663.
• Each person doing carpentry tasks - installing kitchens, sanding and putting up shelves spent up to 29 hours last year - this would usually cost around £660.
• On average, last year green-fingered projects such as planting, installing new fences, water features and decking in the garden took up 43 hours per person – an annual saving of £585.
• Basic electrical jobs such as installing new lighting or replacing switches took up over 15 hours of a home improver’s time last year– equivalent to £168 in costs.