DIY Home Repair Classes
Have you ever wished that you went to a trade school in your youth? You know so that you would know how to repair things, build things, change the oil in your car, or use a drill. I have, frequently. My college diplomas really do nothing for me.
I did not come from a handy sort of household. I had no idea how to do anything more than hang a picture frame on the wall, and even then I usually used the heel of my shoe to pound in a nail.
When we bought our first home 13 years ago, I had never done as much as lifted a paint brush. And considering that webought a 200 year old farmhouse that needed a complete renovation, I was overwhelmed the first few years. This was in the days before HGTV and the twenty-four hour home improvement shows. Come to think of it, these were the days before I had internet access also. The only thing that was available in my area was AOL dial-up and it was a long distance phone number.
By the time my husband and I finished that house we had learned how to do virtually every home repair project. There was a lot of trial and error. And the learning curve was a long one.
The arrival of the tv programs covering the do it yourself genre and the abundance of home improvement stores, has made DIY more accessible. A whole generation of people who are self taught experts, or think they are, has been bred.
More recently in addition to the information that can be found online and on television, community colleges are offering classes in home repair. You can check your local community colleges to see if they are offering any and if they aren’t request that they do.
No time to go to a brick and mortar college for a class? World Wide Learn has a listing of home improvement course and information that can be found online. Toiletology is one such course. And really, any home owner will tell you that learning how your toilet works and how to fix it is very important. You do not realize how important it is until your toilet suddenly stops working.
This new DIY movement embraces women, finally. More and more single women own homes, and the number is growing exponentially every year. Tomboy Tools encourages women to empower themselves through things like Tool parties, designed to replace the Tupperware or Pampered Chef parties of our parent’s generation. The website Be Jane has how to guides on everything from repairing a hole in your drywall to making an upholstered headboard.
I wish that all of these options had been around 13 years ago. It might have save us a mistake or two, or fifty.
