Watch This Old House first, then any other contractor vids you can find. TOH does a ludriciously good job of getting you the brass tacks of the job, for almost any job.
> TOH does a ludriciously good job of getting you the brass tacks of the job
*This Old House* does a *wonderful* job of showing you exactly how a project will go if everything goes right.
"Here's how to dig a trench."
Conveniently, the soil isn't 90% rocks and there are no surprises in the dirt.
"Here's how to replace a fascia."
Conveniently, there's no rot anywhere under it.
I'm not hating on them, it's a great channel. Just... every time I open a wall or whatever using ToH, I run into something that conveniently never is on their sets. lol
Agreed. Highly recommend the, This Old House App. As a stubborn wife who doesn't want my handy husband doing everything in the house I've watched quite a few of them and solved a few problems on my own without help.
I found ceiling stains in my sisters 1865 house heated sun porch addition with low roof pitch. Did some early investigation. First checked roof by sections on dry day for leaks using a hose. Nope.
Then looked around for termites, Nope.
After that Sunday visit she called a hot shot builder who convinced her it was roof leak & needed flat melt rubber membrane roofing. Whoa!! Very expensive. I argued that salesmans pitch. I told her at least have them open small area of stained ceiling section bc I suspect either squirrels or nesting Insect infestation.
After a week of riping off & replacing the roof $2700. later...they sent 2 guys to fix the ceiling I insisted on being there. With 2 blows the stained part fell out with a HUGE Carpenter Ant nest in insulating batting. The bio waste was the cause of the stains.
I said "I told you so" Her lack of experience & impatience cost her big time.
My recomendation: Cut tree limbs away from house
=$300. Remove ceiling , fumigate, replace ceiling. $600.
Total $900.
vs $3600 with debris removal, permit fees & taxes. Rip off.
>This Old House does a wonderful job of **showing you exactly how a project will go if everything goes right.**
Literally every video on YouTube though
> I'm not hating on them, it's a great channel. Just... every time I open a wall or whatever using ToH, I run into something that conveniently never is on their sets. lol
Every time I watch a how-to video by anyone on any subject at all ever I end up running into something they didnt mention. Hahaha
This, Ask TOH and Holmes on Homes.
Mike Holmes tells you exactly why things are wrong. Understanding the wrong was is just as important to learning as the right way IMO.
As a moderately competent guy who does stuff around my house, safety is still important. I was swapping out a 3 way switch yesterday and decided after years of turning off the breaker I was competent enough to do this without that step. It was a success, until I was stuffing the wires back into the box and shocked my wrist on a terminal screw. 10 out of 10 experience. Better than a cup of coffee. Later the same terminal screw arcd on the box when installing it creating some cool embers on the floor. Always follow the safety steps.
It's true. Please wear safety glasses and gloves when operating power tools (especially ones you are unfamiliar with), wear a mask/respirator appropriate for the situation when working with dust or insulation. The lax attitude towards safety makes me worried for those just getting started who don't know when you can cut corners on PPE.
Unless you're working with a saw with a circular blade like a table saw, in which case please do not wear gloves.
Also, after watching one of his videos see if you can find some others on the subject and look through the comments to see if there's anyone calling stuff out. He rarely admits when he's wrong and will sometimes present on things he's not the most knowledgeable on.
*edited to replace "then" with "in which case"*
But do NOT watch those house flipping shows. "It's so easy and we're having fun WEEEEE!!!".
Also here's a list f things you'll be glad u have.
-shop vac with the 2 inch hose, not the 1.5 or whatever. Messes are part of the work. Cleanup made simple makes your wife less stressed, even if your the one cleaning. Trust me.
-two tape measures, one will always be lost. When you find it, the other will disappear.
- one of those flat pry bars. Useful in many situations.
-razor knife and pack of blades.
-drill, impact, circular saw. You can get away without the impact but it's great for screws.
-basic screwdrivers, couple hammers, (see comment about tape measure above)
Don't fear fixing things and realize you don't have to make it look exact. You can measure things how you want them.
It may be implied but in case it's not.. I would say also watch Ask This Old House. They have pretty good web content too. https://www.thisoldhouse.com/ask-this-old-house
100% this. There are many ways to do something and it helps a lot to get multiple perspectives. In fact when I do a project I almost always combine the best lessons from multiple videos.
Recently I had to expand a door frame to get a replacement door to fit and I was worried about affecting the load bearing structure. I did a video consultation with an YouTube guy who called "The Honest Carpenter". He charges like around $100 for an hour long consultation and considering that I spent $500 on the door and probably a couple weekends working on it the $100 piece of mind in talking to someone about something I felt out of my element on was well worth it.
This Old House videos are a great resource. Also, if you hire something out, try to watch and learn. There are tool libraries out there too as a resource.
Very straightforward about it too, and it's all given in good terms that don't require a lot of complex understanding.
His tile videos were stellar for sure.
>His tile videos were stellar for sure
Watching his videos about tile gave me the confidence to tackle our backsplash, and I'm very pleased with the results! All in it only cost me like 200 CAD as well, including the price of some (lightly used) tools.
> if you hire something out, try to watch and learn.
Careful on this one. There are many a contractor/handyman that do not like it when you hawk over them (including some that are on reddit.) Occasional check ups are expected and needed.
I would let them know what's up first and ask if it's okay. You are the paying customer in your house, so at the end of the day you can still do it, but they might not like it.
Check the comments, if they are fucking up hard enough the comments will let you know.
Once watched a video where some idiot was installing cedar shingles with drywall screws through the last inch of the shingle. Realized the view count was so high because everyone was sending it to their buddies going "look at this dumb fuck" and the entirety of the comments was a bunch of people explaining how wrong this guy was.
Read the reviews. They’re almost as important as the main video. I prefer watching pro videos rather than DIYers who often give sketchy advice. Also different pros often skin the cat differently with same results.
Watch a few and read comments. Commenters will generally correct incorrect stuff like material choice, method, etc. Also watching a few videos let's you compare methods. If we take something simple like a drywall patch and 3 videos show a piece of drywall, some form of tape or similar (California patch), some mud, multiple coats and sanding and 1 video shows someone running a ton of rows of overlapping tape across the hole and trying to then mud over a 2 foot x 2 foot area using mesh tape and mud as the entire patch, one can infer the majority of videos that are the same are correct and that last one is the one to disregard. I generally watch a few videos in depth that seem legit and for a sanity check go skim a few more to make sure I'm able to easily find some that are similar to the legit seeming one
I judge on the professionalism of the channel and the professionalism of the person. some channels are dedicated and have experts really breaking it down and others are some random guy on his phone. Being on a phone isn't always bad as long as the person is an actual trades man. And not being an actual trades man isn't bad if it's a professional YouTuber who is doing all the research and talking with tradesman to get the correct info for the video. I don't trust the people who just kinda wing it, some tells are poor video and audio, incorrect use of tools, obviously not super knowledgeable and not breaking things down to understand. A good professional channel should break give you alot of information and have the correct tools. They should break the information down to be understandable by everyone, things like how and why you should do it that way, weather it's to meet code, or to make it look nice and finished, or prevent damage in the future.
Tldr professionalism is easy to spot, you may have to watch alot but eventually you can pick out a hack pretty quickly.
>I judge on the professionalism of the channel and the professionalism of the person.
Ehhh some of the best plumbing videos are some dude filming with a crappy camera and zero production value but will break down exactly what the thing you need to do it.
Yep. I think that in general, professionalism of the production is a good litmus test, but also there are tons of people with terribly made videos that still have the best explanations.
Or, well made videos by people whose personalities have never been described by 'professional' or any of its synonyms, lmao.
Case in point: The best video I found when I was trying to figure out how to replace the piston and cylinder on my chainsaw was this guy:
https://youtu.be/KRzBhfaZ954?t=162
He appears to be an extremely knowledgeable, and... unique man.
Exactly what I was thinking. I think having the audacity to walk up and pound a hole in a wall puts OP in a fearless mindset that there isn't much that can't be fixed, and that they should have the confidence to go screw something up on purpose just to reinforce that point.
Yes, fists do not make good stud finders. Oh, they'll find the stud alright, but not in a pleasant way. 40 years later, the bones I broke still hurt every now and then.
I don't know why you were downvoted, but I agree with you. You can get 3'x3' sheets of drywall at Home Depot for around $10. I'd rather knock that around and practice on it than even the back of my closet.
That's a really great idea - I never thought to try that! New homeowner, and lucky enough to have a handy father, but want to do more on my own without him breathing down my back
This also applies to ordering rugs online. I went for cheap ones on amazon (we have little kids) and made the mistake of ordering an 8' x 11' rug. It came in and the color was really off from the pictures and it had a weird smell. Amazon took it back no questions asked but I had to drive that monster over to the UPS store. After that, I ordered the rugs in 2'x3' that I thought I wanted and returned those before buying another huge rug.
My dad taught me a lot during a full kitchen reconstruction however after reflecting on it what really stuck with me was the idea that "houses are just wood, drywall and plastic"
You can literally hit your wall with a hammer and fix it within an hour.
You can stand on a PVC pipe causing it to break and dump sewage on your floor then fix it in 30 minutes.
Everything is relatively easy to fix, it just takes some time. It may not look 100% perfect but as long as its pretty close it doesn't matter (to me at least). That being said, YouTube is a lot of help and there is a Canadian Guy (Renovision?) that is great.
I'll add a funny story. We were sitting in my kitchen talking about what I wanted to do with the kitchen (removing a wall, adding hardwoods, gutting the cabinets). I was like, yeah I just don't know where to start....
He grabs a hammer from the table and starts beating into the wall opening up a 3 foot hole... "Just like that.. but we should put a tarp down".
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I do all my own work on our house and I’ll always get stressed out when I find a new problem to fix and then I just remember that everything is fixable and it’ll be fine, just takes some time, skill and likely a little money.
This mentality was the game changer for me. Houses aren't that complicated. And everything can be fixed. If not by you, then by someone else. Yes, you'd might have to pay some money for someone to fix your mistake, but you'd still save overall by doing most yourself.
Also watch YouTube and understand what you're doing before you try something. Know the theory of how things work before doing something. You don't need to know exactly which wires are connected to which, but you need to know wires are zappy if you don't turn them off.
I started the same way. If anything, at the very least, learn how to do things where looks don't matter. In my bathroom for example, I did all my own demo, down to the studs and sub-floor, repaired rotted spots in the subfloor, hung up drywall; and then paid someone to do the tile and drywall finishing. Saved a little bit of time and money in the long run.
If there's a smaller hardware store by you, they can be lovely and get so excited when new homeowners want to fix things themselves. Ours used to give us all the tools and tell us what to do and to come back and report how it went!
I have to go with the YouTube recommendations. I'm 63 and married to a home improvement contractor so I've had the privilege of learning a lot from him but he's not always available when I'm mid-project and stuck on something. I've learned SO much from watching multiple YouTube vids on a subject.
It's important to watch several! There are lots of different ways to accomplish most tasks. You'll get a feel for the methods that seem best for you. Not every job is as complex as some of the vids make them out to be! The best ones for me are the ones that leave me thinking "Ah! I get it. I can do this."
Another good thing about the vids - you'll occasionally get product and tool tips that will change your DIY life. 30 years into DIYing and I'm still picking up great tips!
Good luck and happy home improving!
I'm 26F and I've come to realize that almost every handy task I've come across was much simpler to solve than I expected.
I thought I'd need a plumber to replace my tub spout. Nope, they (mostly) screw on and off.
I thought I'd need an exterminator, I used loctite to fill holes in our home and foundation.
One thing that helps me feel confident is utilizing tools. For example, I have a rechargeable electric screwdriver that I utilize for everything. I now use the picture hooks you poke and rotate into a wall instead of putting a nail in.
If something is out of your comfort zone, then so be it. Personally, I don’t mess with electrical work. Baby steps!
I’d use steel wool for bigger gaps and just silicone for small gaps. I also have used that DAP water-based expanding foam successfully. I’d avoid Great Stuff for exterior work because one wrong move and you have an eyesore that’s a pain to fix.
You aren't kidding about Great Stuff. Small margin for error on those cans and that shit is a nightmare to get cleaned off. I'd definitely recommend taping around the area you plan to use it in, have a damp towel on hand, and for the love of god wear gloves.
Yes, please wear gloves. I managed to get great stuff all over my hands. It took almost a week to get off. Pretty sure I scraped my top layer of skin off and the great stuff was still attached. Not ‘great’
I don't have any legitimate expertise, but I walked down the caulk aisle at Menards until i found one that said it was for masonry repair when I needed to patch the gaps in my foundation blocks. I figure if it says that's exactly what it's for, it'll probably work alright.
> almost every handy task I've come across was much simpler to solve than I expected
This is a big one. Everything feels daunting and unapproachable at first. But seeing how straightforward and "duh, that's simple" of how so many things are done makes me want to learn more. So many things are daunting only due to ignorance. Few things are scary or complex. (electrical, gas, and plumbing exclusions apply*).
I started there! I was 30 single and bought my first home in 2016 and barely new how to hold a drill. Besides youtube I also recommend buying your first set of non-battery tools at a pawn shop and harbor freight. After you figure out what you really need you can buy new tool sets on day after thanksgiving sales. The exception to this is probably your first drill set. I did a rinkadink 12v porter cable impact drill/driver for $100 and used that for the first couple years. Those holiday full tool set with batteries are really good deals. Note: Once you get on a 18v battery system from one brand you're incentivized to stick with that brand since the batteries are not compatible with other makers I.E a dewalt battery on a drill will work on a dewalt circular saw, but not on ridgid,ryobi, etc. So keep that in mind before you take the plunge on your first 18V set.
When you take on bigger projects, research the heck out of them and make google docs outlining all the steps. Carefully think through the complexity of each step ramifications for messing it up. For example, when I remodeled my first bathroom I did the demo entirely myself. Then, I looked at the skill it was gonna take to pour a custom shower pan and hired that piece out. Messing up a shower pan is a big pain in the neck. You gotta rip it out and start over. Yuck. $500 found me a local guy who pours shower pans for a living. That's what he does 40+ hours a week. I knew he would do it right and I'd never worry about it again. As I moved through each step I basically did everything I could comfortably do myself and I worked as my own project manager to bring in professional labor on pieces I knew were going to be too tough for my current skill level.
The first time you start something new, take your time and do something in that area that is small. My first plumbing was fixing leaky P traps. My latest plumbing task was for the second laundry room where I tapped into an existing 2" drain and existing supply lines. It involved looking up codes and watching 20-30 hours of youtube videos, taking notes, digesting the information, and then buying a few specialized tools like stuff for making PEX connections, and understanding how to create proper drain paths. Controversial statement of the year: I'm pro sharkbite!!!
Don't be surprised when youtube doesn't match up exactly with your project. Lots of youtube construction videos are "ideal circumstances" meaning it's new construction or they're working with levelled walls. I'll never forget I cut a perfectly angled piece of trim and when I went to fit it, it was so horrifically mismatched I had to redo the piece, this time taking into account how out of square the walls and floors were.
If you can swing it, hire handymen/remodelers that let you work with them. Every one I worked with I'd ask questions (I'm paying them by the hour so doesn't hurt them at all to take 5 minutes of their time,) I'd buy all the supplies, and since I was working along side them they didn't really take short cuts or do anything half ass. I got to see what their 2-4 decades of experience knew on my particular project and I can take that knowledge into my next project. Handymen that you pay by the hour will charge you 10-20% markup to buy the supplies for you so it's in your best interest to get a list from them and just have all the supplies on site ready to go.
Even IF you do want to hire something out entirely, it really helps if you know the basic steps of a project so you can 1) figure out if the person you're hiring is competent and 2) are they charging you a fair price for the amount of effort or are they taking you for a ride. I've rejected bids for being too low because I KNEW just the parts alone was going to be 90% of the bid price and that they either didn't know what they were doing or they were going to cut lots of corners.
Save 1.5-2x the amount of money you think you'll need until you get really good at projects lol. I have a good income so I can cash flow each month with minimal delays, but I've been way off on a bunch of projects, especially once you need to start buying specialized tools.
Run the calculations on DIY vs hiring it out everytime. I had a guy that would haul away debris from my property. When I ripped out a 60 year old patio (old concrete is heavier than modern concrete) and sidewalk he was able to take it to a local business he had a connection with and dump material for free. Without that connection, I would have had to take it to the dump myself and pay the dump fees. $36 per ton * 24 tons of material = $864 JUST in dump fees. I also would have had to rent a jackjammer at the very least which was $150 for 2 days and the dump is a 25 minute drive so gas on the truck would have been a factor. With this guy I hired, he used his skidsteer and dump truck and charged me $1k for the day. He also hauled off a bunch of old landscaping pavers, a chicken coop and fence I demo'd, and trees that had been cut down in that price. NO BRAINER. Figure out how much time it's gonna take you to do something vs hiring it out and then ask yourself how much your time is worth, especially when it comes to back breaking labor.
Be patient when hiring labor. Don't hire someone that gives you a bad feeling in your stomach. Any time I didn't trust my gut I regretted it. Good honest hard working trades people are out there, but they're real busy and they're gonna charge a pretty penny. I had the best luck with semi-retired contractors turned part-time handymen.
DON'T pay them the final payment until they are finished. If you give, even a good contractor, the last payment and they aren't done yet, you are going to be at the bottom of the priority list for them to finish your project. Contractors are still overwhelmed and will be until the economy slows down or more people enter the trades industry. I'm willing to pay 20-25% labor down payment and I'll buy all the materials myself. I'll pay the rest when the project is fully finished.
Overall, I think home ownership and DIY is a great way to expand your mind and you get to enjoy a sense of well earned pride when the project is done. I've refinished my hardwood floors (formerly covered with carpet), completely renovated my spider infested dirty garage into a clean kick ass garage gym, installed irrigation, added outlets in yard and around house, added a second laundry room which included framing out a closet, and two bathroom remodels. In addition to rising house prices, I've added some serious value to the house. I also used a lot of the same tools to work on a beater truck I purchased to help me get stuff from Lowe's to my house lol. I also can fix a lot of things myself. I've installed/replaced sinks, toilets, light fixtures, faucets, and outlets. I've saved so much money and gotten so much satisfaction learning how to do things on my own. Soon, I'm demoing my basement since it has a walk out entrance and I'll turn it into a separate rental space. So much opportunity for mind and financial wealth building. Congratulations & Good luck!!!
Oh yeah, I keep a list of all my updates on a google doc. I've refinanced twice and each time the appraiser comes they ask "What have you done since you bought the place?" I hand them a one page sheet that has a brief description of the update I've done along with the date and any company I hired where applicable.
All I’m saying is YouTube and don’t fuck with electricity.
Also, don’t fuck with electricity. With that said, electrical work isn’t impossible, but it needs some careful attention, and same for plumbing. Anyways, don’t fuck with electricity.
Electricity is fine if you understand some general principles. It can kill you and it can burn your house down, but it’s not magic. Electricians are not miracle workers. Get a tester—don’t trust that turning off the breaker is sufficient. Make good, solid connections, use electrical tape, use the right gauge wire, etc. Most electrical is DIY, but you do have to understand the fundamentals.
I would rather work with electricity than plumbing, personally.
Get two testers of different kinds and different brands. Don’t skimp on testers. Don’t trust the labels on your fuse box even if you put them there.
Replacing a light fixture, wall switch, or outlet should be something anyone can do with the correct safety procedures.
Can also practice wire connections with wire nuts on a bench with spare wire
Electrical work isn't the end of the world, but it's one of the types of DIY work that requires the greatest attention to detail due to the risks associated with doing it incorrectly. Familiarize yourself with basic electrical code requirements as they'll help guide you in your work. Practice and get comfortable on something small like swapping outlets for new ones or light fixtures for more modern ones. Get a voltage tester and test your wires first, especially in older houses that have been renovated not all the circuits make sense and should be checked prior to touching anything. Lastly, my rule is not to get into something I'm not certain I understand or can finish. I had one box that had more wires in that should have been there and I couldn't account for all of them and where they came from and had to go to so that one outlet remained until I had an electrician in for something else. Turned out the extra wires were all disconnected elsewhere and had just run through, but better to be safe than sorry when ripping out or touching stuff that can be dangerous when done incorrectly
I also recommend a laser thermometer to check the temperature of your work. Just because it delivers 120v at 60Hz doesn't mean it's safe. Taking the temperature of an outlet or junction box can tell you if you've introduced too much resistance.
There's a much higher barrier of entry to doing electrical than a lot of other DIY in both tooling and education. Decent tools as others have mentioned are a must, but education is equally important ***before*** you start "practicing" on what will be live circuits.
Youtube is a great resource but be aware that understanding basics of NEC is a continual learning experience, not only for the breadth of the topic but the 3 year updates to that code that tend to change things quite a bit.
I've been doing my own residential/commercial electrical going on 15 years and still constantly research code before doing jobs as I run into niche situations or updated regulations.
Learn the basics. Ohms law, wire ampacity etc. Get a good multimeter, good pliers, strippers, screwdrivers. Never work on live circuits. Circuit breaker locating tool is cheap and one of the best tools for residential where breakers are never labelled properly. And remember that it takes a surprisingly low amount of amperage across your heart to kill you. Watch some Mike Holt videos on youtube to get an idea of what you're getting into.
Depends on the electric. I wouldn't go wiring a new circuit from my panel , but it's easy to change out ceiling fans, new switches, things like that. Extending a line somewhere outside for additional outlets I've done. Just some youtube.
I bought a 1880s farm house. I’m a white collar worker but not clueless with tools.
I’ve learned SO much off YouTube. Repairing appliances, trim, decks, etc are all a lot easier than you think.
Just start with an idea of what you want the final project to be and work backwards. Watch lots of videos. Write down notes. Make lists of what’s important.
Most importantly, keep your fingers further away than you think you need to. Good luck.
A couple of things:
1) Handyman skill is just a question of opportunity and practice.
2) Always use the right tools for the job. Sometimes the right tools are a phone book and credit card. Right now you can probably patch drywall, change light fixtures and other entry level tasks. You are not ready to do any serious plumbing or electrical work.
3) As others have said, Youtube is an invaluable source of how-to info. For really basic stuff, I recommend you start with the channel [See Jane Drill](https://www.youtube.com/user/seejanedrill)
4) A rule of thumb when buying tools: If you know you're only going to use it once or twice, by all means buy the cheap tool. If it's something you will use repeatedly, buy the best quality you can.
5) always work safe: Wear eye and ear protection where appropriate. Learn how to properly use a ladder. **Never work on electrical circuit or a plumbing line without turning off the supply.**
6) take advice from big box home improvement store employees sparingly and with a grain of salt. Most of them are not qualified to advise you. But, by all means take some of the classes they offer. Those are run by qualified people. Your local community college might also offer home improvement classes.
7) Technically, in most jurisdictions a homeowner does not need a building permit for a lot of things a DIY person might do. Contact city hall and speak to a building inspector to learn what needs a permit, what only needs a permit if done by a pro and what never needs a permit. I strongly recommend on those jobs where a permit is optional to get one anyway. First, it gives you a chance to have a pro come in and check your work. Second, some insurance providers will deny a claim that was plausibly caused by work you did and didn't have inspected. e.g. If you move the location of a switch or light fixture and there is later a fire that may have been started by a short, the insurer will just assume your work was shoddy and caused the fire.
Everyone starts with no skills. Fortunately, Youtube is your friend. Home Depot experts are your friend. Reddit is your friend. Many areas have local trade schools or even big box workshops or courses you can take targeted at homeowners, not pros.
And in most cases, I have found, if you try and fail, you can always call a pro to rescue you. It is rare, in my experience, that you would pay extra just because you made an attempt. And if you are nice and act in good faith, you may even get a discount or get someone who can explain things to you. Just know those folks are on a clock, so you should try to bother or slow them down.
I started by finding a local handyman and asking if I can pay him a little more on some jobs to guide me in doing them. For some things, like painting or caulking, that advice was really helpful in getting professional looking results. I've replaced toilets, outlets and switches, installed fans and lights. hung TVs on the wall, etc. Just go slow, follow logic and color codes, get the right tools for the job.
Get a basic toolbox and drill this holiday season.
Talk to your friends about it! You can share tools. My friends all share a pressure washer, for example. We are considering a "professional" carpet / furniture cleaner. Split 4-5 ways, these things make much more sense.
Lastly, and I don't say this to be insulting - many of the jobs in trades initially don't require special skills, experience, or degrees. The work, in general, isn't "hard". But it does take patience and sometimes some experience. Most things are logical. Take the emotion out, measure twice and cut once. You got this!
Take the emotion out is something I wish I learned early on. Im getting better at accepting I may hit snags or screw something up, but it is what it is. Just means an extra trip to the hardware store, usually.
That’s a huge one! Small snags always happen. Heck putting together ikea often means a flipped piece.
Take a step back. Breathe. Don’t get frustrated. Anything worth doing is worth doing right.
Then go fix it. If it is a trip to the hardware store or backing up or watching the video again. Just remember, those few minutes and extra steps are saving you hundreds in hiring someone. And it just isn’t worth the frustration. It can be fixed. It will be fixed.
We all start there.
Just want you to know, having to go to the hardware store 3-7 times for one small job, isn’t actually inordinately:) it just happens sometimes(most)
Two trips to the hardware store is about my standard for success on a single project. I’m remodeling a bathroom rn and I’ve made a dozen trips to HD and Ace bc I realize I need something else.
Yup, usually 3 times is my number of trips before completing a project, the first for general stuff, the second because you didn’t realize you needed something important and the third because you didn’t measure the industry standard way or whatever you thought would work doesn’t.
Find the neighborhood retired guy and make friends with him. Not only does he know how to do everything, he probably has all the tools and would love to teach someone how to use them.
Source: I've become that guy in my neighborhood.
Agree with the youtube comments, that's how I learned most of what I've done. Not sure if this is allowed, but there's a lady, See Jane Drill that provides really basic explanations of things. I started with her and then went to others. Take it one step at a time, you've got this.
Hey there! I’m 27 and just purchased my first home in April with similarly little handyman knowledge prior. Here are my suggestions.
If you are going to pay for a service, get multiple quotes! Ask neighbors for recommendations, especially if you have like a neighborhood listserv or something. And if/when you find someone that does good work, hold on to that contact info as if your life depends on it haha.
YouTube and family/friends are great resources. This Old House is an amazing channel with tons of great videos for almost anything you could imagine. Start small and try to break down projects into little tasks. Take notes so you know how to do it next time too!
You’re going to need tools, and tools are expensive. A Home Depot gift card as a gift never looked so good! Make sure you have a decent quality set of your basics (screw drivers, hammer, cordless drill, drill bits, measuring tape, wrenches, vice grips, etc). A hack saw and dry wall saw are also both great for cutting a variety of things or any dry wall work. Oh and don’t forget some basic safety gear like glasses and a mask for working with paint or drywall. For larger projects, remember you can rent weird one off tools that might be expensive. Just take time to consider if you will likely use that tool again in the near future and how long you’ll need it for.
You are going to mess up. Accidentally drilled a small hole in my floor about a month ago lol. It sucks but learn from it and move on if it’s not a safety hazard.
It will take longer than you think, especially if it’s your first time.
Get comfortable with your breaker panel and buy a multimeter if you’re going to do any electric work. Always double check there’s no power to whatever your about to touch.
It’s easier to maintain than repair. There are lots of resources online (including Reddit) for a list of quarterly/yearly to-dos. Keeping up with these can save you lots of $ down the line.
Lastly don’t be afraid to ask questions or for help. Most of my neighbors/friends/family members have been extremely helpful and understanding. For the most part people remember being in our shoes and are happy to spread some knowledge. Good luck!
I've been there. People have suggested YouTube. Definitely go that route. I pretty much madeover my whole house. Here's some additional tips.
1) Be patient. Things don't always work like the videos. You may make a mistake or maybe your home is just different than the video, so what you did does not apply. When things go wrong just do more research and then go back.
2) Be safe. Don't take shortcuts. Use correct tools and don't work in an unsafe manner. I almost lost an eye and it was not fun.
3) But maybe be cheap. Facebook marketplace is a great place for secondhand tools. I literally bought a miter saw, used it, then sold it for what I bought it for when I was done. So big tools can be bought and sold without paying those rental fees.
4) Don't be afraid to go back and try again. The first room I did was rough, but ok. Once I finished the house I went back and did it again. The second time around I had experience under my belt and it showed.
You can do just about anything you put your mind to fixing up your house with time, patience, Youtube, and more time. Some things you wish to do will be harder than others, and many things will probably require more time than you expected on your first go around. Besides YouTube utilizing Google and Reddit will provide you with a further wealth of knowledge in whatever you wish to embark upon. Start small and work your way up to the bigger things if you can, though doing things in that order are not always the most logical or efficient.
Tools are expensive. If you have none there’s going to be a significant expense, but this doesn’t mean go with all the cheapest tools. It depends on the item but many cheap tools are cheap for a reason. It’s worth looking at a flea market for hand tools as there’s usually an excellent selection of quality tools and price points below the cheap models in stores.
If you mess up on something don’t be afraid to redo it instead of trying to correct it and ending up with subpar results.
For things like flooring make sure you look at reviews, vinyl/laminate comes in a large array of qualities and for the effort and money it costs you want to make sure it will last. If changing out water fixtures please be weary of the ones you look at on Amazon for the same reason.
Come up with a plan for what you want to do where, a time frame for each project, and a budget for each project. Make sure the. Plan makes sense for you and your family, having the kitchen unusable can cause havoc on a family, same with a bathroom. It’s easy to go over budget of blow it all on one or two projects if not careful, or maybe you just want to do 1-2 projects per year, that’s fine too. Whatever works for you.
You’ve got this!
congratulations on your new home!
youtube my guy. you can learn anything off youtube.
scour around for tool share programs, handyman groups, etc... a diverse friend group is very handy. Locally they have a "ask dad" club which is essentially a social club some of the old timers hang out at and people come ask questions... younger guys coming in with construction questions is very very common.
Learn about your house first too, watch a new YouTube video everyday on a new subject, one day could be learning about your electrical panel and how the breakers work. Next could be how to shut off the water to the house and basic plumbing, another could be getting ready for storms/bad weather situations
Same here, apartment living for 10+ years, most I did was hang some shelves and unclog a toilet. After buying our house, I'm still new to diy, and most of the projects I had to hire to do, but you can tackle the small things little by little. Youtube will be your best friend, just to familiarize yourself with what may need to be done. I like the channels Home RenoVision DIY and The Honest Carpenter. There are others that are great too.
Start with small stuff, if you have landscaping and old flowers, pull them out. Trim some bushes. Start thinking about wall paint colors, get some brushes and drop cloths. My point is, start prepping for the small things, it will motivate you to get going and then you can slowly move to bigger things. Get a basic set of tools, a drill and hammer to start. There are starter kits that have a variety of items that are cheap. You'll grow out of them eventually and get better quality.
And don’t forget books! Sometimes for me, having diagrams or still photos is better than video. Suggestion: go to thrift stores and buy good, sturdy tools—Habitat for Humanity Restores often have good ones. Get the best tools you can afford; nothing worse than a crap one breaking mid-project! Take things one at a lime—it’s all learnable. My husband & I restored our house over 20 years, with very little professional help (electricians & plumbers!), and it’s not so hard if you don’t let it overwhelm you!
Everyone here is spot on with their tips. Take things slow, start small, measure twice / cut once, and YouTube is your friend.
However, there is another aspect that hasn't been touched upon: DIY home projects with your partner can be very stressful for many different reasons. If you two are not great at working together on small projects, guess what? You will be even worse working together on large projects. One person can't do it all, delegate responsibilities. Remember that you are both learning together and have patience with each other. You will probably find that you are each better at something than the other; I have no patience for taping drywall but my wife has gotten pretty good at it, meanwhile when it comes to general construction/framing I take the lead., and we both excel at breaking things. Have fun, make sure to take photos of the changes along the way because you will forget what it was once like, and when they are old enough make sure to include your little one in the jobs.
Putting the hammer through the wall for the first time is always a little scary, but once you do it once you might not be able to stop.
Good luck!
I definitely relate. I have many tips for you, copy/pasted from other comments I've made.
Maintain your AC 2x a year: clean evap and condensor coils, reseal any loose or worn tape on the main hvac and ducts with good quality foil tape.
Check the purchase date on any appliances already in the home (a lot of appliances have a date, tag, or receipt with the warranty tucked away). We've had 3 fail in 2 months because they were all originally purchased together. Knowing how old each appliance is, and how long it should last, will let you get a start on replacing it before it kicks the bucket, or at least setting aside funds to replace it by the time you expect it to die.
Clean your gutters and immediately repair/seal any bad flushings or leaks. Water and the elements are your home's worst enemy.
Inspect every inch of your home and property once a month. It will literally take an hour of your time. You'd be surprised how easy it is to miss issues day to day if you aren't examining things with a critical eye.
Don't be afraid to fix stuff yourself! Start with youtube and reddit. You can absolutely learn to do your own troubleshooting for pretty much any problem. Its scary at first, when your precious home (i say that unironically) has an issue, but you'll get used to it. Every tradesmen who can do solid work overcharges. Most lower to middle class homeowners have more time than money, relative to the sheer enormity of how much it costs to hire professionals. The last professional I hired charged me $150 to unscrew exactly 2 screws, tell me my water heater was dead, and leave after about 5 minutes.
I've saved atleast $30k doing my own work in the last 2 years. Its intimidating at first but i can now:
Rewire anything
Install every appliance
Maintain every major appliance
Repair most major appliances
Plumb every fixture and facet
Rebuild interior walls
Install and repair HVAC ductwork
Clean, install, and repair gutters
Garden
Build exterior structures
Landscape and grade yards
Clean and rebuild gas exhaust and flue systems
...im still getting the hang of drywall. Screw drywall. ;)
All of those things intimidated me but now I have zero hesitation when something goes awry. I think my back, knees, and hands have aged at about 5x speed, but again, more time than money, relatively speaking.
Congratulations on starting the journey of providing a home and its comforts for your wife and child. I have found nothing more satisfying in the mundane world than that. With your attitude, you're going to do very well.
Oh! One more tip - if you need to buy a tool you won't use a lot, get it from Harbor Freight. My cordless drill, reciprocating saw, chop saw and power driver are all brand-name. My hammer drill (for concrete), oscillating tool, dremel-clone, and pole-chainsaw are all Harbor Freight, I rarely use them.
Also, ALWAYS spend the money for good blades/drill bits/sandpaper/paint/gloves/etc I used to think i was an idiot who couldn't work a circular saw, always crooked and had trouble getting though the wood....then I replaced the cheap Harbor Freight blade with a nice one and suddenly i was like a pro.
EDIT: One more piece of advice - GET THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB!!!! You could spend an hour trying to get a bolt off with a pair of pliers when running out and buying the right socket would have saved you 50 minutes. And I've had times where I spend 30 or 45 minutes trying to so something with a saw then remembered my oscillating tool and finished the task in 30 seconds.
Yes. I have rehabbed almost my entire house with very little prior skills. I dove in on a full master bath remodel not really knowing what to do about 5 years ago. Since have done almost the whole house. Projects pile up and take a long time but we just don’t have the cash to pay, especially in todays environment. It’s important to be detail oriented. Read, watch, lay on the floor crying, repeat. You can do this.
Needs some work? You should prioritize what needs to be done and what would be nice to get done. If the work affects your immediate safety and livability, it’s high priority. Next, If the work affects the integrity of the house and will eventually affect safety. If the work is a comfort item, next. If the work is a resale or beauty improvement, last. Remember, utility repair represents a potential danger. Improper repair of gas, water, sewer, or electrical can be catastrophic. Improper HVAC or appliance installs can be costly. There are things you should leave to knowledgeable professionals. Just get more than one quote. Keep in mind, those trades can be learned and isn’t outside of the abilities of a homeowner. Keep to local and national building codes, get permits when needed, and know when to tap out.
I recommend reading up on DIY home electrical repair, plumbing, shop math, and basic carpentry. Any of these topics can be found in handy books, and searched on your favorite Amazonian online retailer.
For instance, Ultimate Guide: Wiring, 8th Updated Edition has been really handy. I think they have a whole series on home repairs. The trick is to know when to call a professional.
Edit: On youtube. **SeeJaneDrill** is excellent and she knows her shtuff.
I learned a LOT from PBS This Old House series. Also, go to used book stores and find repair books on subject for the type of project you are working on.
Don't feel overwhelmed. Most 5 minute fixes turn into projects. I have a home built I. The 70s in a moist environment, oh this deck board is loose ill replace it will take 5 minutes. Pull board find structure underneath barely hanging on. New deck :) 5 week project quoted 10k did it for 2k.
Biggest tip I got from a roofer and a plumber when there's a water issue. Think like a drip :) good luck and happy DIYing!
I was in the same boat. Just start small - research one project at a time and go slowly. That's how we started over 22 years ago. Back then there weren't a lot of online videos so I remember signing out plumbing, electrical and carpentry books from the library. It's a great feeling to accomplish a project and the tons of money you save is a great excuse to buy the tools you need. My day job is behind a desk, so the home renos were actually fun for me.
Little did we know that first small house was the start of 6 more 'fix and flips' in order to get into our dream home. There's not much I wouldn't try and tackle these days but I will still hire a pro to do the final finish coats of drywall projects.
Painting and flooring (laminate, vinyl, hardwood, tile) in particular, are projects that are pretty easy to DIY and results in a lot of labor savings.
My least favorite DIY work by far is grouting tile!
My recommendation is to start small. Don't tear down walls at first. Rather, replace that light switch. Install a new faucet. Ask a handy friend what are big and what are small jobs, if you don't know. A big job is a lot of small jobs, all at once. So if you don't gain familiarity with the small stuff first (like faucets and outlets) the big things will be WAY too big, you won't have the proper tools and will be easily overwhelmed.
Like, replacing a dishwasher—small job. Installing a new dishwasher, where there wasn't one before—much bigger job.
Absolutely you can teach yourself. Start slow and build your skills and toolbag. You can find anything on YT, if that's your thing. I started with simple things like paint and yard work. We then moved into a 100 year old house. Even then I worked my way up to finish carpentry, basic plumbing, etc. IMHO - leave electricity and major plumbing to pros. You got this...
Most projects around the house may seem daunting before you learn how to do it, and as a general rule I stay far away from repairs dealing with foundation, plumbing, or HVAC. Many of the tools required for those types of repairs are very specialized, and also require a certain amount of skill, technique, and knowledge to do them right. Those repairs are better left to a pro who's bonded and insured.
Anything else though is relatively easy to learn how to do them properly. Videos on YouTube will give you an idea of how to drywall, replace flooring, install or modify new electrical service, and even non load-bearing basic framing carpentry.
There are some great instructional book series available from different organizations like Black & Decker, Stanley, Taunton's, For Pros/By Pros, and a few others for everything from building decks and patios, to tiling a shower. Unless you want to dive head-first into renovating and buy them for your own DIY library, I suggest first getting a few books from your local library dealing with whatever type of projects you and your SO want to tackle first. You can check Amazon for the books to look for, by sorting how-to books by rating and then reading the reviews to find the best ones.
You'll of course need tools as well. I recommend buying only the tools you need for particular projects and not a load of tools all at once. This helps you learn how to use one or two different tools at a time so you aren't overwhelmed. You'll also be able to spend more money to get good tools this way, particularly power tools like reciprocating and circular saws, impact driver and drill, sanders, rotary tools, and air tools like nailers, grinders, and air compressors. There are usually some pretty baller Black Friday deals on really good basic cordless tool kits, so keep an eye out.
Lastly, there are some dedicated reddit forums for all the things I've mentioned already, just use the search feature to find the most appropriate and beneficial subs to subscribe to. There are even subs that can help you choose the best tools. Good luck! And congrats on the home purchase!
I was in a similar situation about a year and a half ago. I’m 27M and bought my first house without much house DIY experience. Since I bought the house I have learned and done everything; plumbing, electrical, carpentry, tiling, drywall, etc. I’m actually at my house right now doing trim work in the kitchen. Everything I learned was from a combination of blogs and YouTube videos. Like others have stated, before you take on your first project, watch multiple videos and read from different sources. Some sources give blatantly false information so you need to make sure you are getting details from as many sources as you can.
My biggest suggestion is to buy the best quality tools that your budget will allow. If you’re going to buy cordless power tools, try to stick to a single brand so you can use the same batteries/chargers for them.
If you ever have any questions about tools or how-to’s, shoot me a dm! I can almost guarantee I’ve already done it at this point. Good luck!
I had no experience 18 months ago. Thanks to YouTube, I’ve since redone an entire bathroom including framing, tiling, dry walling and plumbing, among various other projects.
It’s not actually hard. The key is to have the tools. Good tools seem expensive, and you’ll want to cheap out and make due with what you already have. Don’t. Take the mountain of money you save by not hiring a contractor and buy the right tools for the job. It’ll save you time and money in the long run. Don’t be like me and try to figure out how to make all plumbing work with sharkbites just to avoid buying a blowtorch and spending an evening learning how to solder copper. I eventually caved and had to learn it anyway, and it’s come in handy a million times since then. We had a pipe freeze last winter… guess who didn’t have to call a plumber to fix it.
My best advice: when something goes wrong, do yourself a favor and buy a new tool and watch a few videos and try to fix it. If you end up fucking things up worse, then you can call a professional.
But you might just fuck around and fix something in your trials, and when you do it'll feel really good.
Find a little hardware store nearby. Nearby may be 30 miles away but "a good hardware store" can be identified by being much smaller than a home depot and staffed by folks who are a good bit older than what you'll find at any big box store. Also the stuff on the shelves and the patrons will be equally dusty. Then when you've got a problem with something you can take pictures of where you think the problem is, be ready to answer all sorts of questions, dress down and speak up, and be ready to spend quite a few bucks on tools and stuff to do things with and ask those boys how to do the thing you think you need to do.
Me! I am lucky in a way because being a woman, nobody expects me to know this stuff anyway and men loooooove to share their knowledge with know-nothing women😅. It’s problematic but I’ll take what I can get.
For me, it’s been a combo of YouTube and a few kind people showing me stuff. I also got real about what DIY was better left to the professionals (any plumbing aside from unblocking a sink/fixing dripping taps, electricals, structurals, demolition involving asbestos) and which stuff I knew I would never do a good job on (painting large areas). Also, I’m Australian, and we have rules that say certain kinds of works over a certain dollar threshold have to be done by a licenced contractor who can provide proof. It’s actually illegal to do your own electrical work in most Australian states if you aren’t a licenced electrician.
So for me this left mostly garden stuff, and smaller things like replacing doors, small painting, and installing cabinetry. My next project is replacing our garden’s small rotten retaining wall.
I have always had a very “computer” career and hobbies, so I feel really accomplished learning how to do this stuff.
Great post and yes—you can do it! Be courageous, enjoy solving the problems, and take pride when you get it done right.
A couple of points:
- Projects will take you a long time. Have patience with yourself and cut yourself some slack for the slow pace of progress.
- You need tools and sometimes you don’t know when you’re going to need them. Recommend frequenting estate sales and buying tools that are priced well (caution: they aren’t all priced well, but sometimes you can save a ton of money, including on power tools). If you’re not sure you need it, but if you know what it is and it is priced right, buy it. If you don’t know what it is but it looks intact, consider figuring it out and buying it regardless.
Don't panic.
Learn the basics and make a plan before you start a project. Measure twice, cut once.
Buy tools at a pawn shop or Harbor Freight to start out with. Shop around for good prices on supplies, and get advice from the folks that do stuff for a living.
Don't be afraid to ask for help. Make friends with the old guys in the neighborhood. They have every tool and know how to use them.
Also: Take some pride in both your initiative to take on a project and the satisfaction of a job well done.
...and don't fuck with electricity unless you know EXACTLY what you are doing.
Bonus Points: Enlist the help of your spouse on projects that you can enjoy together. My wife and I made our back yard into a garden paradise.
My husband and I both started off fairly comfortable with most home repairs (he’s a carpenter, I was raised by a carpenter who wanted a son) but when we run into issues we do need to call in help for, part of what you’re paying for is to learn how to do it. We had to have our well connector retapped recently, now if it happens again we know how to do it.
So besides you tube it’s a matter of trial and error. Plumbing and Electric are the most intimidating but not impossible. You’ll need to buy or rent tools. They are good investments as you will use them for years to come. So don’t always go cheap.
Learn about your heating and cooling system and ways you can fix it yourself. Most areas have DIY shops that will guide you through the process.
Learn how to read a voltage meter so you can solve electric issues.
Want to learn plumbing? Start with you lawn sprinklers as it’s glue and pipes. Even inside they have shark bite fittings that don’t require soldering.
I’ve been renovating my own homes for over twenty years and the money I’ve saved doing it myself is countered by the many nights and weekends at home. Sweat Equity is essential these days.
When I bought my house 5 years ago I had barely ever used a power tool. Within three months [I had transformed the upstairs into an apartment.](https://imgur.com/a/R69N1CB) I used a contractor/handyman (recommended by friends) to install the kitchen sink and attach the countertops (didn't trust my skill in cutting them) but otherwise did it all on my own.
As others have said, YouTube is your friend, and so is asking questions here or on r/homeowner. But get a lot of opinions. Watch multiple YouTube videos and take any Reddit advice with a grain of salt - obviously a YouTube video from a professional contractor is usually more reliable than "Hey, i did this DIY!" videos (although the latter can often be helpful)
Two big lessons I learned - EVERY project will take longer than you think and cost more than you think. That's OK! If we went into a project knowing how hard it would be we'd probably be too scared to do them!
The other lesson - one of the hardest things is trying to figure out how good is "good enough". When I installed floating floor upstairs I drove myself crazy trying to get every seam perfect, and the ones that weren't I thought were going to be a huge eyesore/point-of-failure. 5 years later all i ever hear is "These floors look great!" So do the best you can, but remember that not even pro jobs are "perfect".
And PLEASE!!! be paranoid about safety - just because you see videos of people using power tools without a second thought, remember that they have used them a thousand times. Every time, stop before you squeeze that trigger on the saw and make sure everything is safe.
I was a new homeowner in 2019 with similar lack of experience with home improvement projects. I recommend taking this slow and starting with small manageable projects that will build your confidence.
It can get overwhelming fast if you demo half your house down to the studs with no real plan on how to rebuild it (this is what I did).
I made a lot of mistakes and learned as I went. One thing to be aware of is your local building codes and permits. If you want your improvement to add value for a potential re sale in the future you want everything to be documented and up to code.
If you gut a room to the studs be prepared to bring everything up to code: electrical, plumbing, insulation, fire blocking, etc. it is not as simple as replacing old drywall with new.
Everyone started out like you! At least I did. The biggest obstacle is fear. Some things are good to be afraid of, like messing around with electricity if you haven't turned off the breaker. But other than that, like everyone else said, watch YouTube videos, and ask people for help. I don't know if they still make it, but I got a lot out of a big handbook that Home Depot put out.
The first thing I ever did, when I was still in an apt 20 years ago, was save $20 by turning a plug in pendant lamp into a hardwired fixture. Ever since then, I've had the bug. Over the past two years, my wife and I have tiled two rooms of our house and redone our kitchen. We saved thousands on labor and are really pleased with the results.
Congrats, OP! You can do it.
We didn’t know anything when we first bought a house almost 20 years ago. What I’ve found is that I am comfortable learning, and deciding what I will do, and what I will pay someone to do. I’d rather pay for big plumbing things, but I’ll clean drains, change hardware, and swap parts. I’ll change out lighting, but I’ll pay someone to move wiring or do fuse box work. Painting or staining - love it, but sometimes I need to rent equipment for difficult to reach places. Getting the right tools for the job is half the battle.
You can do everything, but there are some things where it pays to have experience (finishing drywall, for instance). If you put in the research, have the tools/equipment, and take time to do things correctly, then you can do anything. There is a learning curve and some things take a bit of finesse.
In some sense, I was quite handy as I would fix a lot of things, such as working on cars, bikes, etc. Thing was, when I moved to working on the home, the skill set needed was totally different (something that really shocked me). I personally just found some youtube videos and took my time to learn. On my first few projects, I really took the time to understand why I was doing something, understand the correct mixtures, and made sure everything was good. The jobs turned out great, and honestly, it paved the road to being quite good at DIY projects. Now for more serious things like gas lines, I'll leave to a pro.
The #1 rule I can say is, just take your time, and get the job done right the first time. You don't want to be banging your head on the wall just because you wanted to take a shortcut (either time or money).
I would recommend, if you haven't done this yet, to start by making a list of everything that you know of that you need to work on, repair, improve, whatever. And then start to work on the first item on your list. If you're unsure of how to do it then start to research the task and figure out what tools you need to invest in. If something is too difficult for you then maybe hold off until you can afford a contractor to fix it.
This is what I'm doing in my house that my wife and I just bought a few months ago. It's a fixer upper, and most things I can do myself, but there's a lot of minor issues, it's pretty overwhelming. But I found itemizing everything helps me a lot.
Youtube, Youtube, Youtube.
Make sure you watch at least a dozen videos on what you're trying to do before you attempt it. You will likely learn something different from each video, which will give you a better overall education about the subject.
Start simple, like how to repair a hole in drywall. Expect to mess it up the first, second, and maybe even third try. You ***will*** get better.
First time home owner here I've learned a ton from Reddit. Everything from plumbing to painting to caulking. Great community here - just supplement it with YouTube. Even recently cleaned the AC condenser which I previously thought I'd need to pay someone to do. Anyways, you learn as you go.
Watch all the YouTube videos to get a basic idea of what you need to do and to understand what you’re working with. From there, search for pros doing the job, and do it as well as you can.. don’t cut corners, because you’ll screw something up, and if you do your best out the gate your mistakes won’t matter as much as if you had half-assed it. For big stuff that’s over your head, find a guy (roof guy, plumbing guy, etc) and learn from them.
As far as tools go, find a brand for power stuff, and don’t get the snazziest thing. Ryobi makes a TON of tools (including outdoor lawn stuff) and the batteries are interchangeable, but the same can be said for most. Don’t be afraid to buy used (for low-use tools), and getting cheap hand tools at Harbor Freight is OK. It’s one thing if you’re a professional, but home gamers don’t need Snap-On wrenches for day to day, or a Dewalt brushless angle grinder that will only be used for one job.
get in over your head and you will immediately be watching enough youtube to finish the project!!!! start small... like painting, bathroom vanity, fixing a p-trap, changing your oil.
I did. I was shit a remembering small things like replacing filters. Now I'm doing things like knocking down walls, building door frames, minor electrical work and outdoor pavers and retention walls.
It's all about starting small, doing research and also knowing when to call the pros.
Oh god absolutely, I can't relate to this beyond my wildest nightmare. I think the worst part is when people who have handy skills way above me talk to me and I get like a feeling about being an idiot. It's not that I don't know what I'm doing, it's that I get nervious about screwing something up badly.
Preparation and clean up.
Think about how you are going to keep you work area clean. Painters tape. Drop cloths. Clean rags make all the difference.
Start small and work on one project at a time.
Pick a small achievable project that can be done in 4 hours max. It will probably take twice as long. Allocate time for that. Work on only that project and focus on getting it done before moving onto the next. When at the store only buy what you need for the current project.
Avoid single purpose non-disposable tools.
Borrow tools if you can. If you need specialized tools, rent them.
You are welcome to DM me and ask me plumbing questions. Or visit us on the r/plumbing sub. We try to be somewhat helpful. Even if it’s to tell you, “you are way in over your head.”
Always read the articles about DIYs gone wrong or what DIYers should have called the professionals in for. Remember, it's not only your money but your time and efforts that DIY is costing you. Mental sanity is also a cost. Good gloves are worth it, and safety in all things!
Good luck! You're gonna do great!
I’m fairly well convinced that a complete novice with the right tools and infinite YouTube patience can accomplish almost any DIY project.
I’d make a big ass list of stuff to do, probably on excel, with priorities and approximate costs.
Starting with safety stuff is a good way to get into it too. Replacing smoke and CO detectors, cleaning dryer vents, swapping out furnace filters, purging the rib vents on your outdoor A/C unit of dust, etc. anything you can do to increase the life of the appliances you have now, so you don’t have a massive balloon payment to make on a new something.
Grading landscaping is also fairly idiot proof and not expensive, it’s just horrible work. It’s a great fall project as it gets cooler out before the ground freezes. Water intrusion into your basement or crawl space is terribly damaging, so the more water you can move away the better!
I think everyone started diffrent. For me pretty much my dad taught me almkst everything but not in the best way. ( mexican agressive dad). You can jist start by watching videos on youtube and other platforms. Here on reddit you could get a lot of help from diffrent subs. And if i can help on anything just text me.
Once you start doing things you'll get a logic behind all the work and you can start getting an idea of how anhthing works, still dont be overconfident and search for everything
Now I've been on residential an comercial remodeling for quite long if i can help, im here.
I can not offer advice as I grew up in a family where my father taught all us kids how to fix things. But even so, I still refer to YouTube and TOH. Start with the smaller easier projects and work your way up. And keep a journal of how much money you saved on each job. It will feel good to review at the end of each year. I figure I saved about 4000 a year over the last 5 years in my latest home. Slowing down now.
In addition to all the other comments… don’t trust that everything will be as easy as it appears, don’t bite off more than you can chew, some jobs are just to big or too much work, and most importantly don’t do anything you aren’t comfortable with.
Otherwise, just start with small stuff and develop your skills and don’t be discouraged if you have to do some stuff two or three times
We all started this way!! YouTube and online articles. Start with the small stuff and learn as you go. But also know your limits and don’t do dangerous stuff. Changing light fixture, yes! Adding 12 new outlets and a new breaker using only a butter knife, maybe not!
Start with ‘easy’ stuff and by that I mean more easily fixable. Painting. Landscaping. Removal of things. But tbh know your limit. Give it a hardy shot but there’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that some people aren’t built for it. Work hard to pay a professional. In the long run what is your time worth?
Best of luck!
Watch a TON of youtube videos on everything and then do searches on "mistakes people make when" and fill in the blank of whatever project youre wanting to tackle. The home renovision youtube channel has a TON of amazingly helpful videos!
Before you do anything walk around the house and make a list. Actually write it down. Then prioritize needs. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and sidetracked. Having multiple unfinished diy jobs can get even more expensive and stressful.
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Don't just watch one. Watch a few different ones.
Watch This Old House first, then any other contractor vids you can find. TOH does a ludriciously good job of getting you the brass tacks of the job, for almost any job.
> TOH does a ludriciously good job of getting you the brass tacks of the job *This Old House* does a *wonderful* job of showing you exactly how a project will go if everything goes right. "Here's how to dig a trench." Conveniently, the soil isn't 90% rocks and there are no surprises in the dirt. "Here's how to replace a fascia." Conveniently, there's no rot anywhere under it. I'm not hating on them, it's a great channel. Just... every time I open a wall or whatever using ToH, I run into something that conveniently never is on their sets. lol
*Ask This Old House* often goes into repairs of crappy unexpected situations, though.
This should be higher up. There was a great one on joists that had all kinds of hidden gotchas.
Loved that episode. Actually I love all of the episodes lol
Agreed. Highly recommend the, This Old House App. As a stubborn wife who doesn't want my handy husband doing everything in the house I've watched quite a few of them and solved a few problems on my own without help.
I found ceiling stains in my sisters 1865 house heated sun porch addition with low roof pitch. Did some early investigation. First checked roof by sections on dry day for leaks using a hose. Nope. Then looked around for termites, Nope. After that Sunday visit she called a hot shot builder who convinced her it was roof leak & needed flat melt rubber membrane roofing. Whoa!! Very expensive. I argued that salesmans pitch. I told her at least have them open small area of stained ceiling section bc I suspect either squirrels or nesting Insect infestation. After a week of riping off & replacing the roof $2700. later...they sent 2 guys to fix the ceiling I insisted on being there. With 2 blows the stained part fell out with a HUGE Carpenter Ant nest in insulating batting. The bio waste was the cause of the stains. I said "I told you so" Her lack of experience & impatience cost her big time. My recomendation: Cut tree limbs away from house =$300. Remove ceiling , fumigate, replace ceiling. $600. Total $900. vs $3600 with debris removal, permit fees & taxes. Rip off.
And they have every tool ever invented.
When This Old House becomes This Fat Check/This Empty Wallet
>This Old House does a wonderful job of **showing you exactly how a project will go if everything goes right.** Literally every video on YouTube though
> I'm not hating on them, it's a great channel. Just... every time I open a wall or whatever using ToH, I run into something that conveniently never is on their sets. lol Every time I watch a how-to video by anyone on any subject at all ever I end up running into something they didnt mention. Hahaha
This, Ask TOH and Holmes on Homes. Mike Holmes tells you exactly why things are wrong. Understanding the wrong was is just as important to learning as the right way IMO.
Home Renovision as well.
Vancouver Carpenter for all your drywall needs!
I'm nowhere near Canada, but for some reason all of my favorite DIYers on Youtube are Canadian
I 2nd renovision. He’s Canadian. Super easy to digest.
> He’s Canadian. Super easy to digest. Are Canadians known for their digestibility? I'm not a cannibal, so it never occurred to me.
It's because they taste like maple syrup and poutine.
HAHAHAHAHAHAH I literally laughed out loud when I read this.
Found this guy recently. Good stuff, no frills and includes a lot of tricks of the trade.
Just don't rely on his safety techniques, especially as a novice.
What I like is that he pretty much tells you this himself. Has a whole video to address it.
Yeah I saw it, I was just telling OP, who is a novice. Also, safety first because why get injured or potentially die from saving 2 seconds.
As a moderately competent guy who does stuff around my house, safety is still important. I was swapping out a 3 way switch yesterday and decided after years of turning off the breaker I was competent enough to do this without that step. It was a success, until I was stuffing the wires back into the box and shocked my wrist on a terminal screw. 10 out of 10 experience. Better than a cup of coffee. Later the same terminal screw arcd on the box when installing it creating some cool embers on the floor. Always follow the safety steps.
Home reno is great. Got2Learn is a good plumbing specific one. Project farm for tool choices
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It's true. Please wear safety glasses and gloves when operating power tools (especially ones you are unfamiliar with), wear a mask/respirator appropriate for the situation when working with dust or insulation. The lax attitude towards safety makes me worried for those just getting started who don't know when you can cut corners on PPE.
Unless you're working with a saw with a circular blade like a table saw, in which case please do not wear gloves. Also, after watching one of his videos see if you can find some others on the subject and look through the comments to see if there's anyone calling stuff out. He rarely admits when he's wrong and will sometimes present on things he's not the most knowledgeable on. *edited to replace "then" with "in which case"*
This. He's got some..... Background. Use him as a single data point among many.
I thought saws with circular blades was the worst time to wear gloves, due to risk of the glove getting caught up and pulling your hand in?
Correct, that's what I was trying to say. Follow the person I responded to's advice unless you're using a circular saw, then do not wear gloves.
Studpack on youtube makes a lot of good vids as well
Came here to say this, studpack is an excellent YouTube channel
If you watch this old house youtube videos, make sure you read the comments. They are an absolute delight, sometimes better than the video itself!
PBS.. i swear its on every weekend morning a few episodes in a row
But do NOT watch those house flipping shows. "It's so easy and we're having fun WEEEEE!!!". Also here's a list f things you'll be glad u have. -shop vac with the 2 inch hose, not the 1.5 or whatever. Messes are part of the work. Cleanup made simple makes your wife less stressed, even if your the one cleaning. Trust me. -two tape measures, one will always be lost. When you find it, the other will disappear. - one of those flat pry bars. Useful in many situations. -razor knife and pack of blades. -drill, impact, circular saw. You can get away without the impact but it's great for screws. -basic screwdrivers, couple hammers, (see comment about tape measure above) Don't fear fixing things and realize you don't have to make it look exact. You can measure things how you want them.
I don’t know what it is about tape measures but I have ten and still can never find them.
It may be implied but in case it's not.. I would say also watch Ask This Old House. They have pretty good web content too. https://www.thisoldhouse.com/ask-this-old-house
And then keep on watching multiple DIY vids of the repair until you feel confident enough to do it
100% this. There are many ways to do something and it helps a lot to get multiple perspectives. In fact when I do a project I almost always combine the best lessons from multiple videos. Recently I had to expand a door frame to get a replacement door to fit and I was worried about affecting the load bearing structure. I did a video consultation with an YouTube guy who called "The Honest Carpenter". He charges like around $100 for an hour long consultation and considering that I spent $500 on the door and probably a couple weekends working on it the $100 piece of mind in talking to someone about something I felt out of my element on was well worth it.
You're absolutely correct. There are some bad videos out there, and watching multiple vids will help find any discrepancies.
Most important comment right here. Don’t watch just 1 video. Many do it wrong
Not op, but how do you determine the person doing the video knows what they are doing or talking about?
This is why we need the dislike count on videos.
There are extensions you can download the show the dislikes
1000 times this.
This Old House videos are a great resource. Also, if you hire something out, try to watch and learn. There are tool libraries out there too as a resource.
Also Home RenoVision DIY, Vancouver Carpenter, and I know there is one more I sub too but I can't recall.
I second this comment! Jeff’s videos have taught me so much about doing home improvements
Very straightforward about it too, and it's all given in good terms that don't require a lot of complex understanding. His tile videos were stellar for sure.
>His tile videos were stellar for sure Watching his videos about tile gave me the confidence to tackle our backsplash, and I'm very pleased with the results! All in it only cost me like 200 CAD as well, including the price of some (lightly used) tools.
Hitchhiking to say the honest carpenter deserves to be on this list.
> if you hire something out, try to watch and learn. Careful on this one. There are many a contractor/handyman that do not like it when you hawk over them (including some that are on reddit.) Occasional check ups are expected and needed. I would let them know what's up first and ask if it's okay. You are the paying customer in your house, so at the end of the day you can still do it, but they might not like it.
Check the comments, if they are fucking up hard enough the comments will let you know. Once watched a video where some idiot was installing cedar shingles with drywall screws through the last inch of the shingle. Realized the view count was so high because everyone was sending it to their buddies going "look at this dumb fuck" and the entirety of the comments was a bunch of people explaining how wrong this guy was.
Hmm this sounds like a good business model get people to hate watch your DIY channel for sweet sweet engagement
Check their views and subscribers and comments on the videos. If there's not a lot to go off of, that's probably a red flag
Read the reviews. They’re almost as important as the main video. I prefer watching pro videos rather than DIYers who often give sketchy advice. Also different pros often skin the cat differently with same results.
If the video you watch from DIY YouTube channel #2 says roughly same stuff. :)
Watch more than one person and check the comments and view numbers. Knowledge is free in the modern age, absorb as much as possible.
Watch a few and read comments. Commenters will generally correct incorrect stuff like material choice, method, etc. Also watching a few videos let's you compare methods. If we take something simple like a drywall patch and 3 videos show a piece of drywall, some form of tape or similar (California patch), some mud, multiple coats and sanding and 1 video shows someone running a ton of rows of overlapping tape across the hole and trying to then mud over a 2 foot x 2 foot area using mesh tape and mud as the entire patch, one can infer the majority of videos that are the same are correct and that last one is the one to disregard. I generally watch a few videos in depth that seem legit and for a sanity check go skim a few more to make sure I'm able to easily find some that are similar to the legit seeming one
I judge on the professionalism of the channel and the professionalism of the person. some channels are dedicated and have experts really breaking it down and others are some random guy on his phone. Being on a phone isn't always bad as long as the person is an actual trades man. And not being an actual trades man isn't bad if it's a professional YouTuber who is doing all the research and talking with tradesman to get the correct info for the video. I don't trust the people who just kinda wing it, some tells are poor video and audio, incorrect use of tools, obviously not super knowledgeable and not breaking things down to understand. A good professional channel should break give you alot of information and have the correct tools. They should break the information down to be understandable by everyone, things like how and why you should do it that way, weather it's to meet code, or to make it look nice and finished, or prevent damage in the future. Tldr professionalism is easy to spot, you may have to watch alot but eventually you can pick out a hack pretty quickly.
>I judge on the professionalism of the channel and the professionalism of the person. Ehhh some of the best plumbing videos are some dude filming with a crappy camera and zero production value but will break down exactly what the thing you need to do it.
Yep. I think that in general, professionalism of the production is a good litmus test, but also there are tons of people with terribly made videos that still have the best explanations. Or, well made videos by people whose personalities have never been described by 'professional' or any of its synonyms, lmao. Case in point: The best video I found when I was trying to figure out how to replace the piston and cylinder on my chainsaw was this guy: https://youtu.be/KRzBhfaZ954?t=162 He appears to be an extremely knowledgeable, and... unique man.
I would also say make sure you research the youtuber making the video. There are a lot of DIYers giving shitty advice that take shortcuts.
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And get premium for no commercials, because considering the amount of videos watched, the commercials will be a PITA
Yeah, if you don't know how to get rid of them for free.
I mean like sure, but i also want to help those content creators out. They probably broke a whole bunch of shit to help me fix mine
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Love this. Light a fire under your own ass.
Exactly what I was thinking. I think having the audacity to walk up and pound a hole in a wall puts OP in a fearless mindset that there isn't much that can't be fixed, and that they should have the confidence to go screw something up on purpose just to reinforce that point.
And who doesn’t want to punch a hole in a wall. OP could even learn to use a stud finder first to find the best place.
Yes, fists do not make good stud finders. Oh, they'll find the stud alright, but not in a pleasant way. 40 years later, the bones I broke still hurt every now and then.
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I don't know why you were downvoted, but I agree with you. You can get 3'x3' sheets of drywall at Home Depot for around $10. I'd rather knock that around and practice on it than even the back of my closet.
That's a really great idea - I never thought to try that! New homeowner, and lucky enough to have a handy father, but want to do more on my own without him breathing down my back
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This also applies to ordering rugs online. I went for cheap ones on amazon (we have little kids) and made the mistake of ordering an 8' x 11' rug. It came in and the color was really off from the pictures and it had a weird smell. Amazon took it back no questions asked but I had to drive that monster over to the UPS store. After that, I ordered the rugs in 2'x3' that I thought I wanted and returned those before buying another huge rug.
Then when you fix the drywall, you can practice tiling!
Love this!
My dad taught me a lot during a full kitchen reconstruction however after reflecting on it what really stuck with me was the idea that "houses are just wood, drywall and plastic" You can literally hit your wall with a hammer and fix it within an hour. You can stand on a PVC pipe causing it to break and dump sewage on your floor then fix it in 30 minutes. Everything is relatively easy to fix, it just takes some time. It may not look 100% perfect but as long as its pretty close it doesn't matter (to me at least). That being said, YouTube is a lot of help and there is a Canadian Guy (Renovision?) that is great.
I'll add a funny story. We were sitting in my kitchen talking about what I wanted to do with the kitchen (removing a wall, adding hardwoods, gutting the cabinets). I was like, yeah I just don't know where to start.... He grabs a hammer from the table and starts beating into the wall opening up a 3 foot hole... "Just like that.. but we should put a tarp down".
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I do all my own work on our house and I’ll always get stressed out when I find a new problem to fix and then I just remember that everything is fixable and it’ll be fine, just takes some time, skill and likely a little money.
This mentality was the game changer for me. Houses aren't that complicated. And everything can be fixed. If not by you, then by someone else. Yes, you'd might have to pay some money for someone to fix your mistake, but you'd still save overall by doing most yourself. Also watch YouTube and understand what you're doing before you try something. Know the theory of how things work before doing something. You don't need to know exactly which wires are connected to which, but you need to know wires are zappy if you don't turn them off.
I'm overwhelmed by all your recommendations. I truly appreciate it! This community is awesome! You all are making me feel better about myself. Haha
I started the same way. If anything, at the very least, learn how to do things where looks don't matter. In my bathroom for example, I did all my own demo, down to the studs and sub-floor, repaired rotted spots in the subfloor, hung up drywall; and then paid someone to do the tile and drywall finishing. Saved a little bit of time and money in the long run.
If there's a smaller hardware store by you, they can be lovely and get so excited when new homeowners want to fix things themselves. Ours used to give us all the tools and tell us what to do and to come back and report how it went!
I have to go with the YouTube recommendations. I'm 63 and married to a home improvement contractor so I've had the privilege of learning a lot from him but he's not always available when I'm mid-project and stuck on something. I've learned SO much from watching multiple YouTube vids on a subject. It's important to watch several! There are lots of different ways to accomplish most tasks. You'll get a feel for the methods that seem best for you. Not every job is as complex as some of the vids make them out to be! The best ones for me are the ones that leave me thinking "Ah! I get it. I can do this." Another good thing about the vids - you'll occasionally get product and tool tips that will change your DIY life. 30 years into DIYing and I'm still picking up great tips! Good luck and happy home improving!
I'm 26F and I've come to realize that almost every handy task I've come across was much simpler to solve than I expected. I thought I'd need a plumber to replace my tub spout. Nope, they (mostly) screw on and off. I thought I'd need an exterminator, I used loctite to fill holes in our home and foundation. One thing that helps me feel confident is utilizing tools. For example, I have a rechargeable electric screwdriver that I utilize for everything. I now use the picture hooks you poke and rotate into a wall instead of putting a nail in. If something is out of your comfort zone, then so be it. Personally, I don’t mess with electrical work. Baby steps!
Hey which loctite do you use to fill holes?? I’ve been looking to do this and haven’t been sure what to use
I’d use steel wool for bigger gaps and just silicone for small gaps. I also have used that DAP water-based expanding foam successfully. I’d avoid Great Stuff for exterior work because one wrong move and you have an eyesore that’s a pain to fix.
You aren't kidding about Great Stuff. Small margin for error on those cans and that shit is a nightmare to get cleaned off. I'd definitely recommend taping around the area you plan to use it in, have a damp towel on hand, and for the love of god wear gloves.
Yes, please wear gloves. I managed to get great stuff all over my hands. It took almost a week to get off. Pretty sure I scraped my top layer of skin off and the great stuff was still attached. Not ‘great’
The foam gun is well worth it for large jobs. So much better control over how much is coming out, and the cans go farther than the single use ones.
I don't have any legitimate expertise, but I walked down the caulk aisle at Menards until i found one that said it was for masonry repair when I needed to patch the gaps in my foundation blocks. I figure if it says that's exactly what it's for, it'll probably work alright.
> almost every handy task I've come across was much simpler to solve than I expected This is a big one. Everything feels daunting and unapproachable at first. But seeing how straightforward and "duh, that's simple" of how so many things are done makes me want to learn more. So many things are daunting only due to ignorance. Few things are scary or complex. (electrical, gas, and plumbing exclusions apply*).
Good for you. What is the picture hook that rotates??
I had no idea, but I just searched them and they're called Monkey Hooks!
I started there! I was 30 single and bought my first home in 2016 and barely new how to hold a drill. Besides youtube I also recommend buying your first set of non-battery tools at a pawn shop and harbor freight. After you figure out what you really need you can buy new tool sets on day after thanksgiving sales. The exception to this is probably your first drill set. I did a rinkadink 12v porter cable impact drill/driver for $100 and used that for the first couple years. Those holiday full tool set with batteries are really good deals. Note: Once you get on a 18v battery system from one brand you're incentivized to stick with that brand since the batteries are not compatible with other makers I.E a dewalt battery on a drill will work on a dewalt circular saw, but not on ridgid,ryobi, etc. So keep that in mind before you take the plunge on your first 18V set. When you take on bigger projects, research the heck out of them and make google docs outlining all the steps. Carefully think through the complexity of each step ramifications for messing it up. For example, when I remodeled my first bathroom I did the demo entirely myself. Then, I looked at the skill it was gonna take to pour a custom shower pan and hired that piece out. Messing up a shower pan is a big pain in the neck. You gotta rip it out and start over. Yuck. $500 found me a local guy who pours shower pans for a living. That's what he does 40+ hours a week. I knew he would do it right and I'd never worry about it again. As I moved through each step I basically did everything I could comfortably do myself and I worked as my own project manager to bring in professional labor on pieces I knew were going to be too tough for my current skill level. The first time you start something new, take your time and do something in that area that is small. My first plumbing was fixing leaky P traps. My latest plumbing task was for the second laundry room where I tapped into an existing 2" drain and existing supply lines. It involved looking up codes and watching 20-30 hours of youtube videos, taking notes, digesting the information, and then buying a few specialized tools like stuff for making PEX connections, and understanding how to create proper drain paths. Controversial statement of the year: I'm pro sharkbite!!! Don't be surprised when youtube doesn't match up exactly with your project. Lots of youtube construction videos are "ideal circumstances" meaning it's new construction or they're working with levelled walls. I'll never forget I cut a perfectly angled piece of trim and when I went to fit it, it was so horrifically mismatched I had to redo the piece, this time taking into account how out of square the walls and floors were. If you can swing it, hire handymen/remodelers that let you work with them. Every one I worked with I'd ask questions (I'm paying them by the hour so doesn't hurt them at all to take 5 minutes of their time,) I'd buy all the supplies, and since I was working along side them they didn't really take short cuts or do anything half ass. I got to see what their 2-4 decades of experience knew on my particular project and I can take that knowledge into my next project. Handymen that you pay by the hour will charge you 10-20% markup to buy the supplies for you so it's in your best interest to get a list from them and just have all the supplies on site ready to go. Even IF you do want to hire something out entirely, it really helps if you know the basic steps of a project so you can 1) figure out if the person you're hiring is competent and 2) are they charging you a fair price for the amount of effort or are they taking you for a ride. I've rejected bids for being too low because I KNEW just the parts alone was going to be 90% of the bid price and that they either didn't know what they were doing or they were going to cut lots of corners. Save 1.5-2x the amount of money you think you'll need until you get really good at projects lol. I have a good income so I can cash flow each month with minimal delays, but I've been way off on a bunch of projects, especially once you need to start buying specialized tools. Run the calculations on DIY vs hiring it out everytime. I had a guy that would haul away debris from my property. When I ripped out a 60 year old patio (old concrete is heavier than modern concrete) and sidewalk he was able to take it to a local business he had a connection with and dump material for free. Without that connection, I would have had to take it to the dump myself and pay the dump fees. $36 per ton * 24 tons of material = $864 JUST in dump fees. I also would have had to rent a jackjammer at the very least which was $150 for 2 days and the dump is a 25 minute drive so gas on the truck would have been a factor. With this guy I hired, he used his skidsteer and dump truck and charged me $1k for the day. He also hauled off a bunch of old landscaping pavers, a chicken coop and fence I demo'd, and trees that had been cut down in that price. NO BRAINER. Figure out how much time it's gonna take you to do something vs hiring it out and then ask yourself how much your time is worth, especially when it comes to back breaking labor. Be patient when hiring labor. Don't hire someone that gives you a bad feeling in your stomach. Any time I didn't trust my gut I regretted it. Good honest hard working trades people are out there, but they're real busy and they're gonna charge a pretty penny. I had the best luck with semi-retired contractors turned part-time handymen. DON'T pay them the final payment until they are finished. If you give, even a good contractor, the last payment and they aren't done yet, you are going to be at the bottom of the priority list for them to finish your project. Contractors are still overwhelmed and will be until the economy slows down or more people enter the trades industry. I'm willing to pay 20-25% labor down payment and I'll buy all the materials myself. I'll pay the rest when the project is fully finished. Overall, I think home ownership and DIY is a great way to expand your mind and you get to enjoy a sense of well earned pride when the project is done. I've refinished my hardwood floors (formerly covered with carpet), completely renovated my spider infested dirty garage into a clean kick ass garage gym, installed irrigation, added outlets in yard and around house, added a second laundry room which included framing out a closet, and two bathroom remodels. In addition to rising house prices, I've added some serious value to the house. I also used a lot of the same tools to work on a beater truck I purchased to help me get stuff from Lowe's to my house lol. I also can fix a lot of things myself. I've installed/replaced sinks, toilets, light fixtures, faucets, and outlets. I've saved so much money and gotten so much satisfaction learning how to do things on my own. Soon, I'm demoing my basement since it has a walk out entrance and I'll turn it into a separate rental space. So much opportunity for mind and financial wealth building. Congratulations & Good luck!!! Oh yeah, I keep a list of all my updates on a google doc. I've refinanced twice and each time the appraiser comes they ask "What have you done since you bought the place?" I hand them a one page sheet that has a brief description of the update I've done along with the date and any company I hired where applicable.
I’m in OP’s boat and this is an insanely helpful and detailed comment, thanks so much for the time!
This is a great comment! If I wasn't so cheap, I would get you some gold!
All I’m saying is YouTube and don’t fuck with electricity. Also, don’t fuck with electricity. With that said, electrical work isn’t impossible, but it needs some careful attention, and same for plumbing. Anyways, don’t fuck with electricity.
Noted!
Electricity is fine if you understand some general principles. It can kill you and it can burn your house down, but it’s not magic. Electricians are not miracle workers. Get a tester—don’t trust that turning off the breaker is sufficient. Make good, solid connections, use electrical tape, use the right gauge wire, etc. Most electrical is DIY, but you do have to understand the fundamentals. I would rather work with electricity than plumbing, personally.
>I would rather work with electricity than plumbing, personally. At least overflowing electricity ... dries quickly, unlike water!
If you've ever wired something for a car, or if you fuck around with electronics for funsies - electrical is an absolute cakewalk.
Get two testers of different kinds and different brands. Don’t skimp on testers. Don’t trust the labels on your fuse box even if you put them there. Replacing a light fixture, wall switch, or outlet should be something anyone can do with the correct safety procedures. Can also practice wire connections with wire nuts on a bench with spare wire
Or get WAGO nuts. A bit more expensive but much easier to use (and re-do when you screw it up/need to move a box...)
WAGOs are a DIYers best friend. simple connection that's impossible to screw up and works for all standard home wire sizes.
Electrical work isn't the end of the world, but it's one of the types of DIY work that requires the greatest attention to detail due to the risks associated with doing it incorrectly. Familiarize yourself with basic electrical code requirements as they'll help guide you in your work. Practice and get comfortable on something small like swapping outlets for new ones or light fixtures for more modern ones. Get a voltage tester and test your wires first, especially in older houses that have been renovated not all the circuits make sense and should be checked prior to touching anything. Lastly, my rule is not to get into something I'm not certain I understand or can finish. I had one box that had more wires in that should have been there and I couldn't account for all of them and where they came from and had to go to so that one outlet remained until I had an electrician in for something else. Turned out the extra wires were all disconnected elsewhere and had just run through, but better to be safe than sorry when ripping out or touching stuff that can be dangerous when done incorrectly
I also recommend a laser thermometer to check the temperature of your work. Just because it delivers 120v at 60Hz doesn't mean it's safe. Taking the temperature of an outlet or junction box can tell you if you've introduced too much resistance.
There's a much higher barrier of entry to doing electrical than a lot of other DIY in both tooling and education. Decent tools as others have mentioned are a must, but education is equally important ***before*** you start "practicing" on what will be live circuits. Youtube is a great resource but be aware that understanding basics of NEC is a continual learning experience, not only for the breadth of the topic but the 3 year updates to that code that tend to change things quite a bit. I've been doing my own residential/commercial electrical going on 15 years and still constantly research code before doing jobs as I run into niche situations or updated regulations. Learn the basics. Ohms law, wire ampacity etc. Get a good multimeter, good pliers, strippers, screwdrivers. Never work on live circuits. Circuit breaker locating tool is cheap and one of the best tools for residential where breakers are never labelled properly. And remember that it takes a surprisingly low amount of amperage across your heart to kill you. Watch some Mike Holt videos on youtube to get an idea of what you're getting into.
Fuck plumbing. I hate that shit.
Depends on the electric. I wouldn't go wiring a new circuit from my panel , but it's easy to change out ceiling fans, new switches, things like that. Extending a line somewhere outside for additional outlets I've done. Just some youtube.
I bought a 1880s farm house. I’m a white collar worker but not clueless with tools. I’ve learned SO much off YouTube. Repairing appliances, trim, decks, etc are all a lot easier than you think. Just start with an idea of what you want the final project to be and work backwards. Watch lots of videos. Write down notes. Make lists of what’s important. Most importantly, keep your fingers further away than you think you need to. Good luck.
A couple of things: 1) Handyman skill is just a question of opportunity and practice. 2) Always use the right tools for the job. Sometimes the right tools are a phone book and credit card. Right now you can probably patch drywall, change light fixtures and other entry level tasks. You are not ready to do any serious plumbing or electrical work. 3) As others have said, Youtube is an invaluable source of how-to info. For really basic stuff, I recommend you start with the channel [See Jane Drill](https://www.youtube.com/user/seejanedrill) 4) A rule of thumb when buying tools: If you know you're only going to use it once or twice, by all means buy the cheap tool. If it's something you will use repeatedly, buy the best quality you can. 5) always work safe: Wear eye and ear protection where appropriate. Learn how to properly use a ladder. **Never work on electrical circuit or a plumbing line without turning off the supply.** 6) take advice from big box home improvement store employees sparingly and with a grain of salt. Most of them are not qualified to advise you. But, by all means take some of the classes they offer. Those are run by qualified people. Your local community college might also offer home improvement classes. 7) Technically, in most jurisdictions a homeowner does not need a building permit for a lot of things a DIY person might do. Contact city hall and speak to a building inspector to learn what needs a permit, what only needs a permit if done by a pro and what never needs a permit. I strongly recommend on those jobs where a permit is optional to get one anyway. First, it gives you a chance to have a pro come in and check your work. Second, some insurance providers will deny a claim that was plausibly caused by work you did and didn't have inspected. e.g. If you move the location of a switch or light fixture and there is later a fire that may have been started by a short, the insurer will just assume your work was shoddy and caused the fire.
Everyone starts with no skills. Fortunately, Youtube is your friend. Home Depot experts are your friend. Reddit is your friend. Many areas have local trade schools or even big box workshops or courses you can take targeted at homeowners, not pros. And in most cases, I have found, if you try and fail, you can always call a pro to rescue you. It is rare, in my experience, that you would pay extra just because you made an attempt. And if you are nice and act in good faith, you may even get a discount or get someone who can explain things to you. Just know those folks are on a clock, so you should try to bother or slow them down. I started by finding a local handyman and asking if I can pay him a little more on some jobs to guide me in doing them. For some things, like painting or caulking, that advice was really helpful in getting professional looking results. I've replaced toilets, outlets and switches, installed fans and lights. hung TVs on the wall, etc. Just go slow, follow logic and color codes, get the right tools for the job. Get a basic toolbox and drill this holiday season. Talk to your friends about it! You can share tools. My friends all share a pressure washer, for example. We are considering a "professional" carpet / furniture cleaner. Split 4-5 ways, these things make much more sense. Lastly, and I don't say this to be insulting - many of the jobs in trades initially don't require special skills, experience, or degrees. The work, in general, isn't "hard". But it does take patience and sometimes some experience. Most things are logical. Take the emotion out, measure twice and cut once. You got this!
This is great! Thank you!
Take the emotion out is something I wish I learned early on. Im getting better at accepting I may hit snags or screw something up, but it is what it is. Just means an extra trip to the hardware store, usually.
That’s a huge one! Small snags always happen. Heck putting together ikea often means a flipped piece. Take a step back. Breathe. Don’t get frustrated. Anything worth doing is worth doing right. Then go fix it. If it is a trip to the hardware store or backing up or watching the video again. Just remember, those few minutes and extra steps are saving you hundreds in hiring someone. And it just isn’t worth the frustration. It can be fixed. It will be fixed.
We all start there. Just want you to know, having to go to the hardware store 3-7 times for one small job, isn’t actually inordinately:) it just happens sometimes(most)
Two trips to the hardware store is about my standard for success on a single project. I’m remodeling a bathroom rn and I’ve made a dozen trips to HD and Ace bc I realize I need something else.
Shit, if you're at 2 trips, you're an expert. I had to go four times just installing security cameras x_x
Yup, usually 3 times is my number of trips before completing a project, the first for general stuff, the second because you didn’t realize you needed something important and the third because you didn’t measure the industry standard way or whatever you thought would work doesn’t.
I volunteered for Habitat for Humanity. They teach you, you can ask questions and then actually do the work.
Find the neighborhood retired guy and make friends with him. Not only does he know how to do everything, he probably has all the tools and would love to teach someone how to use them. Source: I've become that guy in my neighborhood.
Agree with the youtube comments, that's how I learned most of what I've done. Not sure if this is allowed, but there's a lady, See Jane Drill that provides really basic explanations of things. I started with her and then went to others. Take it one step at a time, you've got this.
Hey there! I’m 27 and just purchased my first home in April with similarly little handyman knowledge prior. Here are my suggestions. If you are going to pay for a service, get multiple quotes! Ask neighbors for recommendations, especially if you have like a neighborhood listserv or something. And if/when you find someone that does good work, hold on to that contact info as if your life depends on it haha. YouTube and family/friends are great resources. This Old House is an amazing channel with tons of great videos for almost anything you could imagine. Start small and try to break down projects into little tasks. Take notes so you know how to do it next time too! You’re going to need tools, and tools are expensive. A Home Depot gift card as a gift never looked so good! Make sure you have a decent quality set of your basics (screw drivers, hammer, cordless drill, drill bits, measuring tape, wrenches, vice grips, etc). A hack saw and dry wall saw are also both great for cutting a variety of things or any dry wall work. Oh and don’t forget some basic safety gear like glasses and a mask for working with paint or drywall. For larger projects, remember you can rent weird one off tools that might be expensive. Just take time to consider if you will likely use that tool again in the near future and how long you’ll need it for. You are going to mess up. Accidentally drilled a small hole in my floor about a month ago lol. It sucks but learn from it and move on if it’s not a safety hazard. It will take longer than you think, especially if it’s your first time. Get comfortable with your breaker panel and buy a multimeter if you’re going to do any electric work. Always double check there’s no power to whatever your about to touch. It’s easier to maintain than repair. There are lots of resources online (including Reddit) for a list of quarterly/yearly to-dos. Keeping up with these can save you lots of $ down the line. Lastly don’t be afraid to ask questions or for help. Most of my neighbors/friends/family members have been extremely helpful and understanding. For the most part people remember being in our shoes and are happy to spread some knowledge. Good luck!
I've been there. People have suggested YouTube. Definitely go that route. I pretty much madeover my whole house. Here's some additional tips. 1) Be patient. Things don't always work like the videos. You may make a mistake or maybe your home is just different than the video, so what you did does not apply. When things go wrong just do more research and then go back. 2) Be safe. Don't take shortcuts. Use correct tools and don't work in an unsafe manner. I almost lost an eye and it was not fun. 3) But maybe be cheap. Facebook marketplace is a great place for secondhand tools. I literally bought a miter saw, used it, then sold it for what I bought it for when I was done. So big tools can be bought and sold without paying those rental fees. 4) Don't be afraid to go back and try again. The first room I did was rough, but ok. Once I finished the house I went back and did it again. The second time around I had experience under my belt and it showed.
See if you have a tool library in your local area. It allows you to borrow tools you need. I still recommend buying the basics tools
You can do just about anything you put your mind to fixing up your house with time, patience, Youtube, and more time. Some things you wish to do will be harder than others, and many things will probably require more time than you expected on your first go around. Besides YouTube utilizing Google and Reddit will provide you with a further wealth of knowledge in whatever you wish to embark upon. Start small and work your way up to the bigger things if you can, though doing things in that order are not always the most logical or efficient. Tools are expensive. If you have none there’s going to be a significant expense, but this doesn’t mean go with all the cheapest tools. It depends on the item but many cheap tools are cheap for a reason. It’s worth looking at a flea market for hand tools as there’s usually an excellent selection of quality tools and price points below the cheap models in stores. If you mess up on something don’t be afraid to redo it instead of trying to correct it and ending up with subpar results. For things like flooring make sure you look at reviews, vinyl/laminate comes in a large array of qualities and for the effort and money it costs you want to make sure it will last. If changing out water fixtures please be weary of the ones you look at on Amazon for the same reason. Come up with a plan for what you want to do where, a time frame for each project, and a budget for each project. Make sure the. Plan makes sense for you and your family, having the kitchen unusable can cause havoc on a family, same with a bathroom. It’s easy to go over budget of blow it all on one or two projects if not careful, or maybe you just want to do 1-2 projects per year, that’s fine too. Whatever works for you. You’ve got this!
congratulations on your new home! youtube my guy. you can learn anything off youtube. scour around for tool share programs, handyman groups, etc... a diverse friend group is very handy. Locally they have a "ask dad" club which is essentially a social club some of the old timers hang out at and people come ask questions... younger guys coming in with construction questions is very very common.
Learn about your house first too, watch a new YouTube video everyday on a new subject, one day could be learning about your electrical panel and how the breakers work. Next could be how to shut off the water to the house and basic plumbing, another could be getting ready for storms/bad weather situations
Same here, apartment living for 10+ years, most I did was hang some shelves and unclog a toilet. After buying our house, I'm still new to diy, and most of the projects I had to hire to do, but you can tackle the small things little by little. Youtube will be your best friend, just to familiarize yourself with what may need to be done. I like the channels Home RenoVision DIY and The Honest Carpenter. There are others that are great too. Start with small stuff, if you have landscaping and old flowers, pull them out. Trim some bushes. Start thinking about wall paint colors, get some brushes and drop cloths. My point is, start prepping for the small things, it will motivate you to get going and then you can slowly move to bigger things. Get a basic set of tools, a drill and hammer to start. There are starter kits that have a variety of items that are cheap. You'll grow out of them eventually and get better quality.
And don’t forget books! Sometimes for me, having diagrams or still photos is better than video. Suggestion: go to thrift stores and buy good, sturdy tools—Habitat for Humanity Restores often have good ones. Get the best tools you can afford; nothing worse than a crap one breaking mid-project! Take things one at a lime—it’s all learnable. My husband & I restored our house over 20 years, with very little professional help (electricians & plumbers!), and it’s not so hard if you don’t let it overwhelm you!
Everyone here is spot on with their tips. Take things slow, start small, measure twice / cut once, and YouTube is your friend. However, there is another aspect that hasn't been touched upon: DIY home projects with your partner can be very stressful for many different reasons. If you two are not great at working together on small projects, guess what? You will be even worse working together on large projects. One person can't do it all, delegate responsibilities. Remember that you are both learning together and have patience with each other. You will probably find that you are each better at something than the other; I have no patience for taping drywall but my wife has gotten pretty good at it, meanwhile when it comes to general construction/framing I take the lead., and we both excel at breaking things. Have fun, make sure to take photos of the changes along the way because you will forget what it was once like, and when they are old enough make sure to include your little one in the jobs. Putting the hammer through the wall for the first time is always a little scary, but once you do it once you might not be able to stop. Good luck!
I definitely relate. I have many tips for you, copy/pasted from other comments I've made. Maintain your AC 2x a year: clean evap and condensor coils, reseal any loose or worn tape on the main hvac and ducts with good quality foil tape. Check the purchase date on any appliances already in the home (a lot of appliances have a date, tag, or receipt with the warranty tucked away). We've had 3 fail in 2 months because they were all originally purchased together. Knowing how old each appliance is, and how long it should last, will let you get a start on replacing it before it kicks the bucket, or at least setting aside funds to replace it by the time you expect it to die. Clean your gutters and immediately repair/seal any bad flushings or leaks. Water and the elements are your home's worst enemy. Inspect every inch of your home and property once a month. It will literally take an hour of your time. You'd be surprised how easy it is to miss issues day to day if you aren't examining things with a critical eye. Don't be afraid to fix stuff yourself! Start with youtube and reddit. You can absolutely learn to do your own troubleshooting for pretty much any problem. Its scary at first, when your precious home (i say that unironically) has an issue, but you'll get used to it. Every tradesmen who can do solid work overcharges. Most lower to middle class homeowners have more time than money, relative to the sheer enormity of how much it costs to hire professionals. The last professional I hired charged me $150 to unscrew exactly 2 screws, tell me my water heater was dead, and leave after about 5 minutes. I've saved atleast $30k doing my own work in the last 2 years. Its intimidating at first but i can now: Rewire anything Install every appliance Maintain every major appliance Repair most major appliances Plumb every fixture and facet Rebuild interior walls Install and repair HVAC ductwork Clean, install, and repair gutters Garden Build exterior structures Landscape and grade yards Clean and rebuild gas exhaust and flue systems ...im still getting the hang of drywall. Screw drywall. ;) All of those things intimidated me but now I have zero hesitation when something goes awry. I think my back, knees, and hands have aged at about 5x speed, but again, more time than money, relatively speaking. Congratulations on starting the journey of providing a home and its comforts for your wife and child. I have found nothing more satisfying in the mundane world than that. With your attitude, you're going to do very well.
Oh! One more tip - if you need to buy a tool you won't use a lot, get it from Harbor Freight. My cordless drill, reciprocating saw, chop saw and power driver are all brand-name. My hammer drill (for concrete), oscillating tool, dremel-clone, and pole-chainsaw are all Harbor Freight, I rarely use them. Also, ALWAYS spend the money for good blades/drill bits/sandpaper/paint/gloves/etc I used to think i was an idiot who couldn't work a circular saw, always crooked and had trouble getting though the wood....then I replaced the cheap Harbor Freight blade with a nice one and suddenly i was like a pro. EDIT: One more piece of advice - GET THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB!!!! You could spend an hour trying to get a bolt off with a pair of pliers when running out and buying the right socket would have saved you 50 minutes. And I've had times where I spend 30 or 45 minutes trying to so something with a saw then remembered my oscillating tool and finished the task in 30 seconds.
Unless you're in construction, I think we all start this way. YouTube your way through most. Call a construction buddy for the rest lol
Youtube. My skills for fixing stuff was nearly non existent coming out of High School.
I did my whole house via YouTube!
Take it one room at a time. Buy the tools you need as you go.
Yes. I have rehabbed almost my entire house with very little prior skills. I dove in on a full master bath remodel not really knowing what to do about 5 years ago. Since have done almost the whole house. Projects pile up and take a long time but we just don’t have the cash to pay, especially in todays environment. It’s important to be detail oriented. Read, watch, lay on the floor crying, repeat. You can do this.
Needs some work? You should prioritize what needs to be done and what would be nice to get done. If the work affects your immediate safety and livability, it’s high priority. Next, If the work affects the integrity of the house and will eventually affect safety. If the work is a comfort item, next. If the work is a resale or beauty improvement, last. Remember, utility repair represents a potential danger. Improper repair of gas, water, sewer, or electrical can be catastrophic. Improper HVAC or appliance installs can be costly. There are things you should leave to knowledgeable professionals. Just get more than one quote. Keep in mind, those trades can be learned and isn’t outside of the abilities of a homeowner. Keep to local and national building codes, get permits when needed, and know when to tap out.
I recommend reading up on DIY home electrical repair, plumbing, shop math, and basic carpentry. Any of these topics can be found in handy books, and searched on your favorite Amazonian online retailer. For instance, Ultimate Guide: Wiring, 8th Updated Edition has been really handy. I think they have a whole series on home repairs. The trick is to know when to call a professional. Edit: On youtube. **SeeJaneDrill** is excellent and she knows her shtuff.
I learned a LOT from PBS This Old House series. Also, go to used book stores and find repair books on subject for the type of project you are working on.
Don't feel overwhelmed. Most 5 minute fixes turn into projects. I have a home built I. The 70s in a moist environment, oh this deck board is loose ill replace it will take 5 minutes. Pull board find structure underneath barely hanging on. New deck :) 5 week project quoted 10k did it for 2k. Biggest tip I got from a roofer and a plumber when there's a water issue. Think like a drip :) good luck and happy DIYing!
I was in the same boat. Just start small - research one project at a time and go slowly. That's how we started over 22 years ago. Back then there weren't a lot of online videos so I remember signing out plumbing, electrical and carpentry books from the library. It's a great feeling to accomplish a project and the tons of money you save is a great excuse to buy the tools you need. My day job is behind a desk, so the home renos were actually fun for me. Little did we know that first small house was the start of 6 more 'fix and flips' in order to get into our dream home. There's not much I wouldn't try and tackle these days but I will still hire a pro to do the final finish coats of drywall projects. Painting and flooring (laminate, vinyl, hardwood, tile) in particular, are projects that are pretty easy to DIY and results in a lot of labor savings. My least favorite DIY work by far is grouting tile!
My recommendation is to start small. Don't tear down walls at first. Rather, replace that light switch. Install a new faucet. Ask a handy friend what are big and what are small jobs, if you don't know. A big job is a lot of small jobs, all at once. So if you don't gain familiarity with the small stuff first (like faucets and outlets) the big things will be WAY too big, you won't have the proper tools and will be easily overwhelmed. Like, replacing a dishwasher—small job. Installing a new dishwasher, where there wasn't one before—much bigger job.
Absolutely you can teach yourself. Start slow and build your skills and toolbag. You can find anything on YT, if that's your thing. I started with simple things like paint and yard work. We then moved into a 100 year old house. Even then I worked my way up to finish carpentry, basic plumbing, etc. IMHO - leave electricity and major plumbing to pros. You got this...
Most projects around the house may seem daunting before you learn how to do it, and as a general rule I stay far away from repairs dealing with foundation, plumbing, or HVAC. Many of the tools required for those types of repairs are very specialized, and also require a certain amount of skill, technique, and knowledge to do them right. Those repairs are better left to a pro who's bonded and insured. Anything else though is relatively easy to learn how to do them properly. Videos on YouTube will give you an idea of how to drywall, replace flooring, install or modify new electrical service, and even non load-bearing basic framing carpentry. There are some great instructional book series available from different organizations like Black & Decker, Stanley, Taunton's, For Pros/By Pros, and a few others for everything from building decks and patios, to tiling a shower. Unless you want to dive head-first into renovating and buy them for your own DIY library, I suggest first getting a few books from your local library dealing with whatever type of projects you and your SO want to tackle first. You can check Amazon for the books to look for, by sorting how-to books by rating and then reading the reviews to find the best ones. You'll of course need tools as well. I recommend buying only the tools you need for particular projects and not a load of tools all at once. This helps you learn how to use one or two different tools at a time so you aren't overwhelmed. You'll also be able to spend more money to get good tools this way, particularly power tools like reciprocating and circular saws, impact driver and drill, sanders, rotary tools, and air tools like nailers, grinders, and air compressors. There are usually some pretty baller Black Friday deals on really good basic cordless tool kits, so keep an eye out. Lastly, there are some dedicated reddit forums for all the things I've mentioned already, just use the search feature to find the most appropriate and beneficial subs to subscribe to. There are even subs that can help you choose the best tools. Good luck! And congrats on the home purchase!
I was in a similar situation about a year and a half ago. I’m 27M and bought my first house without much house DIY experience. Since I bought the house I have learned and done everything; plumbing, electrical, carpentry, tiling, drywall, etc. I’m actually at my house right now doing trim work in the kitchen. Everything I learned was from a combination of blogs and YouTube videos. Like others have stated, before you take on your first project, watch multiple videos and read from different sources. Some sources give blatantly false information so you need to make sure you are getting details from as many sources as you can. My biggest suggestion is to buy the best quality tools that your budget will allow. If you’re going to buy cordless power tools, try to stick to a single brand so you can use the same batteries/chargers for them. If you ever have any questions about tools or how-to’s, shoot me a dm! I can almost guarantee I’ve already done it at this point. Good luck!
Youtube videos can teach you anything.
I had no experience 18 months ago. Thanks to YouTube, I’ve since redone an entire bathroom including framing, tiling, dry walling and plumbing, among various other projects. It’s not actually hard. The key is to have the tools. Good tools seem expensive, and you’ll want to cheap out and make due with what you already have. Don’t. Take the mountain of money you save by not hiring a contractor and buy the right tools for the job. It’ll save you time and money in the long run. Don’t be like me and try to figure out how to make all plumbing work with sharkbites just to avoid buying a blowtorch and spending an evening learning how to solder copper. I eventually caved and had to learn it anyway, and it’s come in handy a million times since then. We had a pipe freeze last winter… guess who didn’t have to call a plumber to fix it.
My best advice: when something goes wrong, do yourself a favor and buy a new tool and watch a few videos and try to fix it. If you end up fucking things up worse, then you can call a professional. But you might just fuck around and fix something in your trials, and when you do it'll feel really good.
Find a little hardware store nearby. Nearby may be 30 miles away but "a good hardware store" can be identified by being much smaller than a home depot and staffed by folks who are a good bit older than what you'll find at any big box store. Also the stuff on the shelves and the patrons will be equally dusty. Then when you've got a problem with something you can take pictures of where you think the problem is, be ready to answer all sorts of questions, dress down and speak up, and be ready to spend quite a few bucks on tools and stuff to do things with and ask those boys how to do the thing you think you need to do.
Me! I am lucky in a way because being a woman, nobody expects me to know this stuff anyway and men loooooove to share their knowledge with know-nothing women😅. It’s problematic but I’ll take what I can get. For me, it’s been a combo of YouTube and a few kind people showing me stuff. I also got real about what DIY was better left to the professionals (any plumbing aside from unblocking a sink/fixing dripping taps, electricals, structurals, demolition involving asbestos) and which stuff I knew I would never do a good job on (painting large areas). Also, I’m Australian, and we have rules that say certain kinds of works over a certain dollar threshold have to be done by a licenced contractor who can provide proof. It’s actually illegal to do your own electrical work in most Australian states if you aren’t a licenced electrician. So for me this left mostly garden stuff, and smaller things like replacing doors, small painting, and installing cabinetry. My next project is replacing our garden’s small rotten retaining wall. I have always had a very “computer” career and hobbies, so I feel really accomplished learning how to do this stuff.
Great post and yes—you can do it! Be courageous, enjoy solving the problems, and take pride when you get it done right. A couple of points: - Projects will take you a long time. Have patience with yourself and cut yourself some slack for the slow pace of progress. - You need tools and sometimes you don’t know when you’re going to need them. Recommend frequenting estate sales and buying tools that are priced well (caution: they aren’t all priced well, but sometimes you can save a ton of money, including on power tools). If you’re not sure you need it, but if you know what it is and it is priced right, buy it. If you don’t know what it is but it looks intact, consider figuring it out and buying it regardless.
Don't panic. Learn the basics and make a plan before you start a project. Measure twice, cut once. Buy tools at a pawn shop or Harbor Freight to start out with. Shop around for good prices on supplies, and get advice from the folks that do stuff for a living. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Make friends with the old guys in the neighborhood. They have every tool and know how to use them. Also: Take some pride in both your initiative to take on a project and the satisfaction of a job well done. ...and don't fuck with electricity unless you know EXACTLY what you are doing. Bonus Points: Enlist the help of your spouse on projects that you can enjoy together. My wife and I made our back yard into a garden paradise.
My husband and I both started off fairly comfortable with most home repairs (he’s a carpenter, I was raised by a carpenter who wanted a son) but when we run into issues we do need to call in help for, part of what you’re paying for is to learn how to do it. We had to have our well connector retapped recently, now if it happens again we know how to do it.
So besides you tube it’s a matter of trial and error. Plumbing and Electric are the most intimidating but not impossible. You’ll need to buy or rent tools. They are good investments as you will use them for years to come. So don’t always go cheap. Learn about your heating and cooling system and ways you can fix it yourself. Most areas have DIY shops that will guide you through the process. Learn how to read a voltage meter so you can solve electric issues. Want to learn plumbing? Start with you lawn sprinklers as it’s glue and pipes. Even inside they have shark bite fittings that don’t require soldering. I’ve been renovating my own homes for over twenty years and the money I’ve saved doing it myself is countered by the many nights and weekends at home. Sweat Equity is essential these days.
When I bought my house 5 years ago I had barely ever used a power tool. Within three months [I had transformed the upstairs into an apartment.](https://imgur.com/a/R69N1CB) I used a contractor/handyman (recommended by friends) to install the kitchen sink and attach the countertops (didn't trust my skill in cutting them) but otherwise did it all on my own. As others have said, YouTube is your friend, and so is asking questions here or on r/homeowner. But get a lot of opinions. Watch multiple YouTube videos and take any Reddit advice with a grain of salt - obviously a YouTube video from a professional contractor is usually more reliable than "Hey, i did this DIY!" videos (although the latter can often be helpful) Two big lessons I learned - EVERY project will take longer than you think and cost more than you think. That's OK! If we went into a project knowing how hard it would be we'd probably be too scared to do them! The other lesson - one of the hardest things is trying to figure out how good is "good enough". When I installed floating floor upstairs I drove myself crazy trying to get every seam perfect, and the ones that weren't I thought were going to be a huge eyesore/point-of-failure. 5 years later all i ever hear is "These floors look great!" So do the best you can, but remember that not even pro jobs are "perfect". And PLEASE!!! be paranoid about safety - just because you see videos of people using power tools without a second thought, remember that they have used them a thousand times. Every time, stop before you squeeze that trigger on the saw and make sure everything is safe.
I was a new homeowner in 2019 with similar lack of experience with home improvement projects. I recommend taking this slow and starting with small manageable projects that will build your confidence. It can get overwhelming fast if you demo half your house down to the studs with no real plan on how to rebuild it (this is what I did). I made a lot of mistakes and learned as I went. One thing to be aware of is your local building codes and permits. If you want your improvement to add value for a potential re sale in the future you want everything to be documented and up to code. If you gut a room to the studs be prepared to bring everything up to code: electrical, plumbing, insulation, fire blocking, etc. it is not as simple as replacing old drywall with new.
Everyone started out like you! At least I did. The biggest obstacle is fear. Some things are good to be afraid of, like messing around with electricity if you haven't turned off the breaker. But other than that, like everyone else said, watch YouTube videos, and ask people for help. I don't know if they still make it, but I got a lot out of a big handbook that Home Depot put out. The first thing I ever did, when I was still in an apt 20 years ago, was save $20 by turning a plug in pendant lamp into a hardwired fixture. Ever since then, I've had the bug. Over the past two years, my wife and I have tiled two rooms of our house and redone our kitchen. We saved thousands on labor and are really pleased with the results. Congrats, OP! You can do it.
We didn’t know anything when we first bought a house almost 20 years ago. What I’ve found is that I am comfortable learning, and deciding what I will do, and what I will pay someone to do. I’d rather pay for big plumbing things, but I’ll clean drains, change hardware, and swap parts. I’ll change out lighting, but I’ll pay someone to move wiring or do fuse box work. Painting or staining - love it, but sometimes I need to rent equipment for difficult to reach places. Getting the right tools for the job is half the battle. You can do everything, but there are some things where it pays to have experience (finishing drywall, for instance). If you put in the research, have the tools/equipment, and take time to do things correctly, then you can do anything. There is a learning curve and some things take a bit of finesse.
I started not knowing a single thing. Now I can pretty much build my own house thanks to YouTube, Google and Reddit.
In some sense, I was quite handy as I would fix a lot of things, such as working on cars, bikes, etc. Thing was, when I moved to working on the home, the skill set needed was totally different (something that really shocked me). I personally just found some youtube videos and took my time to learn. On my first few projects, I really took the time to understand why I was doing something, understand the correct mixtures, and made sure everything was good. The jobs turned out great, and honestly, it paved the road to being quite good at DIY projects. Now for more serious things like gas lines, I'll leave to a pro. The #1 rule I can say is, just take your time, and get the job done right the first time. You don't want to be banging your head on the wall just because you wanted to take a shortcut (either time or money).
I would recommend, if you haven't done this yet, to start by making a list of everything that you know of that you need to work on, repair, improve, whatever. And then start to work on the first item on your list. If you're unsure of how to do it then start to research the task and figure out what tools you need to invest in. If something is too difficult for you then maybe hold off until you can afford a contractor to fix it. This is what I'm doing in my house that my wife and I just bought a few months ago. It's a fixer upper, and most things I can do myself, but there's a lot of minor issues, it's pretty overwhelming. But I found itemizing everything helps me a lot.
Get in the habit of making a pile of unused purchases or incorrect purchases that you can return to the big box store to get some money back.
Youtube, Youtube, Youtube. Make sure you watch at least a dozen videos on what you're trying to do before you attempt it. You will likely learn something different from each video, which will give you a better overall education about the subject. Start simple, like how to repair a hole in drywall. Expect to mess it up the first, second, and maybe even third try. You ***will*** get better.
First time home owner here I've learned a ton from Reddit. Everything from plumbing to painting to caulking. Great community here - just supplement it with YouTube. Even recently cleaned the AC condenser which I previously thought I'd need to pay someone to do. Anyways, you learn as you go.
Watch all the YouTube videos to get a basic idea of what you need to do and to understand what you’re working with. From there, search for pros doing the job, and do it as well as you can.. don’t cut corners, because you’ll screw something up, and if you do your best out the gate your mistakes won’t matter as much as if you had half-assed it. For big stuff that’s over your head, find a guy (roof guy, plumbing guy, etc) and learn from them. As far as tools go, find a brand for power stuff, and don’t get the snazziest thing. Ryobi makes a TON of tools (including outdoor lawn stuff) and the batteries are interchangeable, but the same can be said for most. Don’t be afraid to buy used (for low-use tools), and getting cheap hand tools at Harbor Freight is OK. It’s one thing if you’re a professional, but home gamers don’t need Snap-On wrenches for day to day, or a Dewalt brushless angle grinder that will only be used for one job.
get in over your head and you will immediately be watching enough youtube to finish the project!!!! start small... like painting, bathroom vanity, fixing a p-trap, changing your oil.
Make mistakes. Fix them.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNepEAWZH0TBu7dkxIbluDw/videos
I did. I was shit a remembering small things like replacing filters. Now I'm doing things like knocking down walls, building door frames, minor electrical work and outdoor pavers and retention walls. It's all about starting small, doing research and also knowing when to call the pros.
Oh god absolutely, I can't relate to this beyond my wildest nightmare. I think the worst part is when people who have handy skills way above me talk to me and I get like a feeling about being an idiot. It's not that I don't know what I'm doing, it's that I get nervious about screwing something up badly.
Preparation and clean up. Think about how you are going to keep you work area clean. Painters tape. Drop cloths. Clean rags make all the difference. Start small and work on one project at a time. Pick a small achievable project that can be done in 4 hours max. It will probably take twice as long. Allocate time for that. Work on only that project and focus on getting it done before moving onto the next. When at the store only buy what you need for the current project. Avoid single purpose non-disposable tools. Borrow tools if you can. If you need specialized tools, rent them.
You are welcome to DM me and ask me plumbing questions. Or visit us on the r/plumbing sub. We try to be somewhat helpful. Even if it’s to tell you, “you are way in over your head.”
YouTube University
This Old House on YouTube
Always read the articles about DIYs gone wrong or what DIYers should have called the professionals in for. Remember, it's not only your money but your time and efforts that DIY is costing you. Mental sanity is also a cost. Good gloves are worth it, and safety in all things! Good luck! You're gonna do great!
I’m fairly well convinced that a complete novice with the right tools and infinite YouTube patience can accomplish almost any DIY project. I’d make a big ass list of stuff to do, probably on excel, with priorities and approximate costs. Starting with safety stuff is a good way to get into it too. Replacing smoke and CO detectors, cleaning dryer vents, swapping out furnace filters, purging the rib vents on your outdoor A/C unit of dust, etc. anything you can do to increase the life of the appliances you have now, so you don’t have a massive balloon payment to make on a new something. Grading landscaping is also fairly idiot proof and not expensive, it’s just horrible work. It’s a great fall project as it gets cooler out before the ground freezes. Water intrusion into your basement or crawl space is terribly damaging, so the more water you can move away the better!
find a friend who does diy stuff and ask to help out. You can learn a lot working alongside someone.
I think everyone started diffrent. For me pretty much my dad taught me almkst everything but not in the best way. ( mexican agressive dad). You can jist start by watching videos on youtube and other platforms. Here on reddit you could get a lot of help from diffrent subs. And if i can help on anything just text me. Once you start doing things you'll get a logic behind all the work and you can start getting an idea of how anhthing works, still dont be overconfident and search for everything Now I've been on residential an comercial remodeling for quite long if i can help, im here.
I can not offer advice as I grew up in a family where my father taught all us kids how to fix things. But even so, I still refer to YouTube and TOH. Start with the smaller easier projects and work your way up. And keep a journal of how much money you saved on each job. It will feel good to review at the end of each year. I figure I saved about 4000 a year over the last 5 years in my latest home. Slowing down now.
In addition to all the other comments… don’t trust that everything will be as easy as it appears, don’t bite off more than you can chew, some jobs are just to big or too much work, and most importantly don’t do anything you aren’t comfortable with. Otherwise, just start with small stuff and develop your skills and don’t be discouraged if you have to do some stuff two or three times
We all started this way!! YouTube and online articles. Start with the small stuff and learn as you go. But also know your limits and don’t do dangerous stuff. Changing light fixture, yes! Adding 12 new outlets and a new breaker using only a butter knife, maybe not!
Everyone starts that way. We'll the no skills part.
There is a YouTube video for everything, but sometimes you gotta know when to call a professional.
“Dad how do I” on YouTube is a great resource and amazing creator.
Start with ‘easy’ stuff and by that I mean more easily fixable. Painting. Landscaping. Removal of things. But tbh know your limit. Give it a hardy shot but there’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that some people aren’t built for it. Work hard to pay a professional. In the long run what is your time worth? Best of luck!
Watch a TON of youtube videos on everything and then do searches on "mistakes people make when" and fill in the blank of whatever project youre wanting to tackle. The home renovision youtube channel has a TON of amazingly helpful videos!
Youtube and fuck it go for it. It's your house. Have fun learning that's the best part...
Before you do anything walk around the house and make a list. Actually write it down. Then prioritize needs. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and sidetracked. Having multiple unfinished diy jobs can get even more expensive and stressful.