It’s a trend that has home owners excited to pick up their tools and get working on their houses.

The do-it-yourself ethos that has been enjoying a renaissance over the past few years, inspiring a new generation of home owners to put their own sweat equity into their homes.

Rob Hart, an IT professional, began renovating his home four years ago.  After realizing that his contractors were not as interested as him in the renovations, he fired them and began doing work on the house himself and is pleased with the results.

“It’s been good, it’s been rewarding because it matters to you,” Hart said.

“I mean, I spend a lot of time on YouTube and I have bought a library full of books and it’s taken a long time but I’ve learned a lot and I think I’ve made the house better than I think if we bought it like that.”

The DIY crowd, not surprisingly, has had a noticable impact on the bottom lines of big chain stores such as Lowes.

Stephen Wilson, the Merchandising Director of building products at Lowes explained that  business has been good as a result.

“Overall it’s positive. Obviously, we’re in a home improvement sector, so we want people to be working on their houses,” Wilson said.  “In the past, it’s been mostly contractors who would come into a store like Lowes.”

With no background in contracting or plumbing, Hart’s renovation project met with some criticism but in the end, he says that you have to trust in yourself to do a good job.

“I would say, to believe in yourself that you can do it.  Four years ago when we started this, everyone told me that I couldn’t do this and then when I was watching the contractors, I realized that I care more than they do.

“So I got some books, did some practice and realized that I can do it.”