If you’ve ever aspired to be the next Tommy Walsh, then that may be fine depending on your level of expertise within the DIY field however, most people think they’re better than they actually are, and as I’ve had the pleasure of seeing many of these “attempts” fail, I want to share with you one particular property that I would definitely not recommend they give up their day job.
I was called out to give a price assessment on a villa by German clients, where my first impression was “oh my goodness, this is an interesting design.” As I went inside, the general layout of the home was fine apart from the awful smell, of which I repeatedly had to go outside to breathe in some fresh air. When they finally finished escorting me around the main house, they were very excited to show me, in their words “a fabulous extension that they’d done themselves!”
They took me to the back of the house, and when I looked up, they had extended the property to make a second floor. Sounds good right? Wrong! Although the extension wasn’t to the best quality, the worst of it was how the access was gained. Instead of a regular staircase ascending to the newest part of the property, the homeowner had actually designed and built his own lift to take you upstairs. No, not a stair-lift… It was an actual lift that you stood in, and with the press of a button, it shuddered as it took you to the higher level. All I can say is, what a death-trap!
Yes the homeowner was very proud of what he’d accomplished, but believe me, this DIY project was a definite failure.
So unless you live in a multi-storey building, lifts do not add value, least of all homemade ones!