●英字新聞社ジャパンタイムズによる英語学習サイト。英語のニュース、よみもの、リスニングなどのコンテンツを無料で提供。無料見本紙はこちら
英語学習サイト ジャパンタイムズ 週刊STオンライン
『The Japan Times ST』オンライン版 | UPDATED: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 | 毎週水曜日更新!   
  • 英語のニュース
  • 英語とエンタメ
  • リスニング・発音
  • ことわざ・フレーズ
  • 英語とお仕事
  • キッズ英語
  • クイズ・パズル
  • 留学・海外生活
  • 英語のものがたり
  • 会話・文法
  • 週刊ST購読申し込み
     時事用語検索辞典BuzzWordsの詳しい使い方はこちら!
カスタム検索
 

Inside U.K.

Making your home to DIY for

By Richard Payne


日曜大工に入れ込むイギリス人

イギリスでは今、DIY (日曜大工)が大人気だ。テレビは連日のように DIY の番組を流し、大学にも初級者向けの DIY コースが設けられた。長い時間とお金をかけて自分好みの家に改装していくプロセスに、イギリスの人たちは「楽しい我が家」を気分を味わっているのかもしれない。

There's very little my friend Rob Murphy hasn't done to his flat. He's ripped out the old bathroom and put in a new one, plastered most of the walls in every room, rewired the lights and electric points, and painted the woodwork. And still he's not finished!

He bought his home in a district of our home city, Bristol, in south-west England four years ago. At 25 years of age, he didn't have a lot of money but he wanted to live in a decent area. The only way he could do this was to buy a property that needed a lot of time and money spent on it.

He couldn't afford to let professional builders take over the job, and he knew that to make this his dream home, he would have to do it himself. His project was ambitious by anyone's standards, but not unique. More and more people in Britain are attempting some sort of Do-It-Yourself, or DIY, but usually it stops at painting a room or putting up some shelves. Only the brave completely convert their home.

"It was scary at first," says Rob who, like me, is a journalist. "But I knew I didn't want to rent a flat. That's money down the drain. I wanted to buy, albeit on a limited budget. I figured I'd get more for my money by getting somewhere that needed doing up.

"Some people wouldn't attempt to do what I've done, but my view is, 'What's the worst that can happen?' If it all goes wrong, you just start again."

DIY is one of the biggest growth industries in the United Kingdom. The most recognized and biggest provider of DIY products is B&Q, which now boasts stores all over the world. Here in the United Kingdom, they have 320 stores, but they recently announced plans to create 4,000 new jobs over the next year by opening 17 new outlets at a total cost of 200 million pounds (¥38 billion). The company already employs 33,000 people and attracts 3 million customers a week. It's not surprising, then, that the so-called Repair, Maintenance and Improvement market was valued at a huge 22 billion pounds (¥4,180 billion) last year.

Fuelling the public's fascination for DIY are the numerous TV programs on all channels at some point nearly every night. In one, neighbors swap houses for a weekend and convert a room in a style they think their friends would like. Most of the time it works, but sometimes it doesn't, with the 'victims' complaining their home has been ruined!

There are horror stories connected to DIY. Some 3,700 people a week seek hospital treatment of some kind after accidents with tools. For the less capable, some bigger cities are offering college courses in how to hang that picture correctly without putting a hammer through the wall.

Most people aren't put off and some are even prepared to make it a living. There was a recent story of a woman who, having graduated from Oxford University, was giving up her stockbroker job in the City of London to become a full-time plumber. She didn't expect a drop in salary, however, with her new career expecting to earn her 100,000 pounds (¥19 million) a year.

Others are going even further and making their living from converting run-down flats and houses. They buy cheap and, after spending anything up to £50,000 (¥9.5 billion) on improvements, they can sell for a big profit, which enables them to go out and look for another property to improve.

Another friend of mine, Andy Fox, is doing up a whole house in his spare time. "It's a long-term project and I wouldn't be brave enough to give up my regular job," he explains. "But they say property is always a good, long-term investment. Prices have doubled in some areas in the last five years or so, and I'm confident I can make a good profit come the end. You just have to have the courage to spend quite a lot of money at the beginning - if you can borrow it from the bank, of course!"

My friend Rob is happy simply to live in the flat he's been working on. He adds: "It's taken me so long and so much effort doing this one, the thought of selling it and starting all over again fills me with dread. There's only so muchDIY one man can take!"



Shukan ST: March 14, 2003

(C) All rights reserved



英語のニュース |  英語とエンタメ |  リスニング・発音 |  ことわざ・フレーズ |  英語とお仕事 |  キッズ英語 |  クイズ・パズル
留学・海外就職 |  英語のものがたり |  会話・文法 |  執筆者リスト |  読者の声 |  広告掲載
お問い合わせ |  会社概要 |  プライバシーポリシー |  リンクポリシー |  著作権 |  サイトマップ