Top 5 Free DIY Jobs Around the House on a Budget
- All five jobs cost nothing in labour. You are doing them yourself, which is the entire point. The tools needed cost under £30 total.
- Bleeding radiators saves real money. Up to £100 a year on heating bills, and it takes 5 minutes per radiator with a £3 key.
- Unclogging drains avoids the biggest rip-off. A plumber charges £100+ for a 10-minute job that a £12 drain snake handles easily.
- Most jobs take under 15 minutes. The longest on this list is unclogging a drain, and even that rarely takes more than 20 minutes.
Suggested reading: Free House Jobs You Can Do Instead of Paying a Tradesman · How to Hang Shelves on Plasterboard · Best Cordless Drills UK
Every homeowner hits the same wall at some point. Something needs fixing, you get a quote, and the number is absurdly high for what looks like a 10-minute job. That is because it IS a 10-minute job. The tradesman is not charging you for the work. They are charging you for the callout, the minimum fee, and the assumption that you will not do it yourself.
Here are five jobs that cost absolutely nothing in labour, need tools most people already own, and take under 15 minutes each. For each one, we include the product you need if you do not already have it, and the typical tradesman charge you are avoiding. For a more detailed breakdown of tradesman costs, see our guide to free house jobs you can do yourself instead of paying a tradesman.
1. Bleeding a Radiator
Tradesman charge: £50-80 · Your cost: £0-3 · Time: 5 minutes per radiator
A radiator that is cold at the top but warm at the bottom has air trapped inside. That air stops hot water from filling the radiator properly, which means your boiler works harder to heat the same room. Bleeding a radiator releases that air, restores full heat, and can cut your heating bill by up to £100 a year.
You need a radiator bleed key, which costs about £3 from any hardware shop. An OX Pro Spirit Level helps check the radiator is seated properly afterwards. Insert the key into the bleed valve (the small square fitting at the top corner of the radiator), turn anti-clockwise until you hear hissing, and close it as soon as water appears. Put a cloth underneath to catch drips. Start with the radiator furthest from the boiler and work forward.
Check the boiler pressure gauge afterwards. If it has dropped below 1 bar, top up the system via the filling loop. Most people ignore this job because it seems too simple to matter. That is exactly why it saves so much money.
2. Re-sealing Baths and Showers
Tradesman charge: £60-100 · Your cost: £10-15 · Time: 20 minutes
Old, cracked, or black sealant around a bath or shower is not just ugly. It lets water seep behind tiles and into the wall, where it causes rot and mould that can cost hundreds to repair. A plumber or handyman charges £60-100 to re-caulk. The job takes 20 minutes.
Cut out the old sealant with a craft knife. Pull it out completely. Clean the gap with white spirit and let it dry. Apply bathroom silicone sealant in a steady bead using a caulk gun, smooth with a wet finger, and leave it for 24 hours before getting it wet. The biggest mistake people make is applying new sealant on top of old. It will peel away within months.
For a full step-by-step walkthrough, see our guide to free house jobs you can do yourself, which covers sealing in detail alongside four other jobs.
3. Unclogging a Drain
Tradesman charge: £100-150 · Your cost: £10-15 · Time: 10-20 minutes
A slow-draining sink or shower is almost always hair, soap scum, or grease buildup in the trap or pipe. A plumber will charge £100+ just to show up, then another £30-50 for the privilege of watching them use a drain snake you could have bought yourself.
Try the plunger first. Fill the sink or basin with a few inches of water, place the plunger over the drain, and pump vigorously 10-15 times. If that does not clear it, buy a flexible drain snake (about £8-12). Feed it down the drain until you feel resistance, twist and push through the blockage, then pull it back out. The gunk it brings with it is disgusting but satisfying.
Prevention is easier. Hair catchers in shower drains, not pouring cooking oil down the kitchen sink, and running hot water through the drain after doing dishes will stop most blockages before they start.
4. Fixing Loose Door Handles and Hinges
Tradesman charge: £50-80 · Your cost: £0-10 · Time: 5-10 minutes per door
Rattling doors, drooping handles, and squeaky hinges are the kind of thing that slowly drives you mad while a tradesman charges £50-80 to tighten a few screws. The fix is almost always a screwdriver and nothing else.
For loose handles, remove the screw covers (usually a small plastic cap on the handle plate), tighten the screws underneath with a Phillips screwdriver, and replace the caps. If the screw holes have stripped and the screws spin freely, push a matchstick or toothpick coated in wood glue into the hole, let it dry for 30 minutes, then re-drive the screw. The wood fills the gap and gives the screw something to bite into.
For squeaky hinges, spray a small amount of WD-40 or rub a candle along the hinge pin. Open and close the door a few times to work it in. If a hinge is loose from the frame, remove the screws, fill the holes with wooden cocktail sticks and PVA glue, let dry, and re-screw.
You need a screwdriver set for this, which you should own anyway. If you do not, a basic set costs under £10 and you will use it for dozens of other jobs around the house.
5. Filling and Painting Wall Holes
Tradesman charge: £40-80 per room · Your cost: £8-12 · Time: 10 minutes active, 2-4 hours drying
Moved a picture hook? Pulled out a rawl plug? Got cracks from the house settling? A decorator charges £40-80 per room to fill and touch up these marks, mostly because they bundle it with a bigger paint job. On its own, filling a hole is a 10-minute job.
Buy a tub of lightweight filler (about £5) and a filling knife (about £5). Dampen the hole, press filler in with the knife, scrape level, let dry for 2-4 hours, sand smooth, and touch up with matching paint. For cracks, push filler into the crack rather than just skimming over the top. Two thin coats beat one thick one.
This is the kind of job that makes a room look freshly decorated for almost nothing. When you are doing it, check if any shelves need rehanging while you have the wall plugs and drill out. Our guide to hanging shelves on plasterboard covers the fixing choices in detail.
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Sarah Mitchell writes about crafting, DIY and home projects for MakerUK, breaking complex techniques into clear steps.
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Last reviewed: September 7, 2026 · Evidence-based content · Contains affiliate links