Block host Scott Cam reveals trick to tell if home is hiding damage

Many Aussie homes have become ticking time bombs – and Scott Cam, the long-time host of renovation TV show The Block, said owners need to wake up before disaster strikes.

In a slap-down of sloppy DIY and homeowner complacency, the TV tradie king said maintenance blind spots were costing Aussie households hundreds of millions of dollars.

The carpenter-turned-TV star is sounding the alarm after new Allianz research found 87 per cent of homeowners were failing to carry out monthly maintenance checks.

About 13 per cent of respondents to the insurance group’s nationally representative survey admitted to never checking their homes unless something went wrong.

“The stats are astounding,” Mr Cam told News Corp.

“People are walking out the door for long European holidays without checking their gutters, their drains, or the flexi-hose under their sink, and they come home to (major) damage.”

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Mr Cam suggested checking the water meter to determine if there were leaks.

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According to Allianz, burst water pipes – many caused by a simple, overlooked fixture called a flexi-hose – are racking up an eye-watering $800 million in claims.

Mr Cam said twisted or kinked hoses beneath kitchen or bathroom sinks were often the culprits and could unleash a torrent through homes left empty for weeks.

“If you’re home you can obviously turn the water off, but often these leaks happen while people are away,” he said.

He said homeowners often had hidden leaks in their houses that were slowly causing the kind of damage that would require costly repairs down the line.

A trick he recommended homeowners use to spot these leaks was to approach the water meter with a texta and mark down the reading.

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Carpenter turned TV host Scott Cam.

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He then suggested turning off any devices that consumed water and revisiting the meter a few hours later.

“You’ll know there is a hidden leak if the water reading has changed. Sometimes the meter might only move slightly, but it’s a great way to see if you have a small drip somewhere.”

Many of the other maintenance checks homeowners should do required simple common sense, Mr Cam said.

“We’re trying to educate people,” he said. “If it rains, go outside and see where the water is going. Under the sink, check those flexi-hoses.”

Allianz revealed about 63 per cent of homeowners were tackling some repairs and maintenance themselves, but lacked any training.

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Leaks were not always obvious.

“There’s nothing wrong with giving it a go, it’s a great Aussie pastime, but you’ve got to know your limits. Don’t touch plumbing or electrical unless you’re licensed,” Mr Cam said.

The veteran builder also took a swing at a recent spate of unfinished renovations, pointing out they were often the result of poor budgeting.

“Materials costs have gone up enormously, building costs have climbed dramatically, and people aren’t always aware of what’s going on in the industry when they start. You have to be able to budget a project really well,” Mr Cam said.

He added that cost blowouts in some projects were often the result of “variations”, where the owners decided to change their plans once works had already commenced.

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“In the building industry, variations are one of the biggest costs to clients. If you do it, it costs money. Then (the project) goes outside the budget. If it’s a couple of variations the costs can really go up … some won’t have that kind of money.”

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