DIY and home insurance: what you need to know
Today, DIY and interior design are an integral part of our daily lives. Whether it's to give our interiors a personal touch or simply to set ourselves a creative challenge, DIY (Do It Yourself) is winning over more and more enthusiasts. Among the popular projects, lamp-making catches the eye with its multiple possibilities. From unique designs to salvaged materials, this type of DIY lets the imagination run wild. However, handling electricity involves risks that shouldn't be overlooked, both for your safety and to be covered by your home insurance. We explain everything.
What does your home insurance say about DIY lighting?
When you're carrying out work in your home, it's possible to do some of it yourself, like painting walls or wallpapering, for example.
Do-it-yourself and do-it-yourself renovation work can pose certain risks in terms of home insurance. It's therefore important to understand the implications before taking the plunge.
First of all, most standard home insurance contracts cover damage accidentally caused by the homeowner or his household during minor DIY work. However, as soon as the work becomes more extensive or complex, it is generally necessary to take out a specific extension of cover.
While DIY lamp-making may seem like a harmless project, it's worth remaining cautious about the insurance aspects. Indeed, any intervention on your home's electrical network, however minor, carries certain risks in the event of mishandling. A short-circuit or fire outbreak linked to a faulty installation of a homemade light fixture may not be covered. Ask your insurer about this, as you'll probably need to subscribe to a contractual guarantee such as Fire. So, in the event of fire, your insurer will reimburse you for the damage, whatever its origin. If it's due to a defect in the components purchased for your DIY, the insurance will make a claim against the suppliers, and if it's your fault, you'll be reimbursed.
Be aware that, even if you have this Fire option, if a fire breaks out because of your DIY work on the lights, once your insurer has reimbursed you, it's almost certain that they'll do everything they can to exclude you! Either by increasing the annual premium very sharply, or by breaking your contract (and that's their right). In this case, you'll have a statement of information stipulating the damage, and few insurers will agree to insure you!
It's therefore vital to comply strictly with electrical safety rules, to use only suitable, approved materials, and ideally to call in a professional. In addition, if your lamp-making work involves alterations to the building, such as piercing walls or transforming a room, it will be wise to notify your insurer , who will be able to advise you on a possible warranty extension.
Finally, if you intend to market your creations, professional indemnity insurance is necessary to cover any damage caused by your sold lamps.
The DIY way to create lamps
Benefits of DIY
Have you just bought a house and want to decorate it for less? Take lamps as an example, it's entirely possible to create your own lamps starting with tutorials (Scandinavian pendant, driftwood pendant light), looking for inspiration on Pinterest or even via hands-on workshops at certain DIY stores. This way, you can personalize your home decor to suit your tastes.
Using recycled materials (upcycling or supercycling) and transforming existing objects into lamps can help you reduce the production cost of your light fixture. This ecological aspect, with the reuse of materials, is an important aspect in DIY to minimize their realization costs.
Be aware, however, that making DIY lighting fixtures is no cheaper than suspension lighting HOOPZI.
The risks associated with DIY
Electrical hazards
When practicing DIY on lamps, certain risks exist and are important so don't downplay them. For a start, who says lamp, says electricity, so there is therefore an electrical risk. By working with the various electrical wires and modifying certain connections, there's a danger of short-circuit or even fire.
It is therefore indispensable to follow NF C15-100 (electrical safety standard) when making your lamp. Note: electrical damage caused by a manufacturing defect or non-conformity of the device will, more often than not, be excluded from warranties offered by insurers.
The NF C 15-100 standard includes protection against electric shock, the use of non-flammable materials and CE marking of components. To ensure safety, also make sure that connections are properly insulated and protected, and that your home's electrical installation has appropriate circuit breakers and differential protection.
Material hazards
The risk associated with materials exists, but is often overlooked. Even so, when using certain materials, it's important to consider the fact that they may be inflammable or toxic. To avoid material risk, you need to think and consider the durability and safety of the materials used.
When you use wood, it will probably need to be treated, so be careful about the product then used. Likewise for paints, accessories or other items to decorate lampshades, be vigilant and check the different types of product use.
Steps to making a DIY lamp
Have you chosen the model you'd like to create in DIY? Based on the list of supplies you'll need to create your lamp, you'll need to choose materials such as a light bulb for hanging lights, electrical wires, driftwood or jars, for example. You'll also need tools to work with: scissors, glue, etc.
To be able to enjoy your creation, one thing's for sure: you'll need to follow the various manufacturing stages carefully, with the assembly and joining of materials together. So, by following the instructions, your driftwood can be transformed into a lamp stand with a lighting cable wrapped around it, it then becomes an ideal decorative piece in your living room to remind you of the sea and the beachfront.
Still, be careful before embarking on your lamp DIY, be sure to follow the safety instructions when making it. Take your time to make your creation, on the one hand to avoid injuring yourself and on the other hand, with haste, it's possible to forget connections or others that will put you at risk later when using the lamp.
Trends in DIY
If you don't feel like spending fortunes on lighting fixtures, you can look for inspiration or tutorials to create your own lamps at a lower cost. Some DIYs are quite trendy with quite popular styles like vintage, industrial, minimalist, etc.
To do DIY in a vintage style, all you have to do is find old light fittings in flea markets for example and restore it to your taste by working on theshade for example or you can repaint the lamp base.
For a more industrial style, the idea here is to use rather black materials and combine them with materials such as linen rope, wood or even old jars. By mixing, that's three points, you can then get a suspension with several fixtures.
For a minimalist side, your lamp should be discreet, in light tones. You can work the material with papier-mâché, self-hardening paste. Be careful though, these materials are fragile, it is better not to position this DIY in frequent passages at the risk of breaking your realization.
HOPZI solutions
With Hoopzi, you also have the option of creating your own kit. Initially, you choose your HANGlight suspension. You decide on the material, the number of wires (suspension 3 lamps or 5 bulbs for example) and the color. Then you move on to choosing the bulb: globe-shaped, with filaments, amber. You choose theLED bulb that best matches your decor and the DIY you want to make. Finally, to complete your kit, you can complete it with a lampshade from our wide range.
By going with Hoopzi, you can be sure you're getting optimized products for your DIYs, which limit electrical risks and won't affect your home insurance: all Hoopzi electrical products have a DEKRA certificate of conformity:
Conclusion
In the end, creating your own lighting fixtures in DIY mode is an attractive activity in more ways than one. A source of personal fulfillment, it lets you give free rein to your creativity. Nevertheless, handling electricity and certain materials is not risk-free. So it's crucial to take all the necessary precautions, and to check with your insurer before getting started. An extended warranty or specific insurance may be essential, depending on the scale of the work envisaged. With the right advice and a minimum of caution, your luminous creations will shine all the brighter!
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