Given the choice, no one really wants builders and plumbers careering through their home - they often leave a trail of mess in their wake, put a serious dent in the biscuit supplies and have an inherent tendency to turn up when they like.

What's more, with paying for someone to come in and carry out quick jobs like fixing leaky bath taps hardly the top priority for many in the current financial climate, taking steps to hire a tradesperson is not a decision that the majority of us would take lightly.

And given that little things like covering small cracks in plaster and changing door handles don't take a lot of work, one expert believes that we could all try our hand at a bit of DIY to save unnecessarily calling out builders for jobs we could do ourselves.

"I think there's a massive tendency for people to bring in outside tradespeople to do jobs they could be doing themselves," said Julia Kendell, TV presenter and interior designer.

"I think people should start off with jobs that are fairly straightforward, and build up their confidence."

Rather than going crazy with the sledgehammer, tearing out the cabinets and trying to install a new set of cupboards from scratch, doing something as easy as tightening the nut at the base of a loose kitchen tap could be the sort of activity that saves us time and money. It can also avoid the disruption that occurs once we decide to call in an expert.

By starting small and remembering not to take on anything too drastic if you haven't got a particularly strong background in DIY, there's a whole host of odd jobs that all of us could carry out with minimal fuss - and who knows, there's always the possibility that you'll get the taste for the fix-it bug and start taking on bigger projects in the future.