Be Your Own Handyman

If you live anywhere long enough, you will notice that manmade handiwork tends to fall apart. So unless you have a particularly handy spouse, often it will fall to you to find the solution. As a wife of a businessman who was often away on trips or working late, I had to learn how to deal with the minor eruptions at home. Here are some simple steps to help you prepare for the inevitable.

1. Get Out the Reference Guides

I guarantee you that I am not a handy person by nature. But thanks to some good books and help from my father (who is a self-taught handyman), I have learned a lot. One of the best resources I have for plumbing issues is The Home Depot's book, Plumbing 1-2-3. Basic plumbing fixes like replacing a toilet flapper, stopping leaking faucets, et cetera are broken down into manageable steps and have pictures for reference. It is a great help when you have those late night sink floods and need a quick fix. The Home Depot also has other guide books that can help in any number of home improvement areas.

Another good resource is a subscription to "The Family Handyman" magazine. This monthly magazine covers a lot of topics and offers great suggestions for fixes and other simple home projects.

It is also a good idea to have a listing of emergency numbers handy. Keep a plumber's number, the electric company, the gas company (if you have natural gas), and any other useful phone numbers posted in a convenient location such as the inside of a cupboard door. If you are still shaky on do-it-yourself home repairs, find a handyman you trust and keep his number close.

2. Know Your Home

When we purchased our first home, I was blissfully unaware of where fuse boxes were, how to deal with the water tanks, or even where the hot water heater was located. But I learned quickly that I had to know this. The second home we purchased, I walked through with the builder and a big notebook in hand.

If your fuse box is not labeled, do it yourself. It is so much easier to go out to the fuse box with flashlight in hand and have a labeled set of switches.

Know where your hot water heater is located and have a general sense of how it works. You will be surprised where it can be located. In my current home, it is in the attic.

Know where your GFI outlet reset buttons are. It was a frustrating task for me in my first home. The switch was thrown and I could not figure out where in the world the reset button was nor what circuit it was on.

Know where the water valve turnoffs are. It will save you a lot of headaches when there is a flooding issue.

3. Stock Your Toolbox

Keep a simple but well stocked toolbox somewhere handy. If at all possible, go to the hardware store and try out tools first. Women tend to have smaller hands and sometimes the tools are awkward for us. Personally, I like to find my tools at Sears because they carry some great ergonomic tools. Craftsman and Stanley are two of my favorite brands.

For most small jobs around the house you will need:

-Screwdrivers: a flat head and a Philips head. Buy a longer handled screwdriver, it is easier to use and will give you more leverage.

My recommendation: find a good interchangeable head screwdriver. That way you will have several sizes of bits to choose from for any sized screw. Sears offers a Stanley 6-in-1 screwdriver with the bit storage right in the tool itself for under $10.

-Hammer with a claw nail pull: a small hammer with the nail pull works well for most household jobs and can be found almost anywhere.

My recommendation: Get a hammer with a rubber grip. The wood grips slip easily and can be dangerous.

-Adjustable wrench: You will need this for loosening tight bolts or handles. Adjustable wrenches will give you more flexibility with the different sizes of nuts and bolts. Some tool experts recommend buying a set of box end wrenches (these are non-adjustable) and socket wrenches. These will work better but only if you have the exact size.

My recommendation: Stick with an adjustable wrench for now. If you wind up using wrenches a lot, then look into the others. I have not yet used a box or socket wrench in ten years of home maintenance.

-Needle-nosed and regular pliers: You will get good use out of these. They will hold things in place and steady as you work.

My recommendations: Do pick up both needle-nosed and regular pliers. For the best grip, make sure they have rubber handles and the regular pliers have a sliding jaw for more versatility. Look for needle-nosed pliers with a wire-cutting feature. I use it quite often.

-Electric drill: This is a definite must in any household. It will make light jobs such as hanging pictures, shelves, putting together furniture, et cetera so much easier.

My recommendations: Find a good cordless drill. It will be safer (no messy cords to deal with) and lighter weight. Be sure to test the weight before you buy and make sure you can handle the weight steadily. Also, look for a drill with an extra battery pack in case your battery runs low during a job. I have the Makita cordless drill and the batteries do last a long time between charges but it is still helpful to have an extra when working for long time periods.

-Allen wrenches (aka Hex Keys): A good set of these small tools will be extremely helpful when putting together furniture by hand. After attempting to put together a bookcase (without an Allen wrench thanks to Inspector No. 4's lack of oversight), I invested. These are my least favorite tools because it can be hard on your hands but often the only kind of tool you can use on the do-it-yourself furniture is the Allen wrench.

My recommendation: After buying mine, I discovered Craftsman had a set of t-handled hex keys (Allen wrenches). A T-handle will often much more leverage and will make the job easier. However, you may still need regular Allen wrenches due to the tight spaces for certain needs.

-Tape measure: The tape measure is one of the most necessary items in the toolbox. (Believe me! I even had to lend mine to a contractor working on my home once.) You can get some pretty fancy tape measures with laser and other gizmos but simple is better for general household uses.

My recommendations: You should not need much more than 30 feet worth of tape. I prefer the 1-inch by 30 foot Craftsmen locking tape measure. Be sure to get a locking tape especially if you do not have an extra person to help hold the tape.

-Metal edge ruler or T-Square: A t-square is usually a metal yardstick with a t-shaped top. It is used primarily in technical drawing or drywall measurement. However, I find this to be most helpful when I need a measurement without trying to mess with the tape measure. Shelving units so much easier to put up with a straight edge ruler.

My recommendations: If you don't want to spend the money on a t-square, sometimes with the smaller jobs you can use a regular ruler.

-Saw: As much as I would like one, I have yet to get a table or jigsaw. And frankly, I would not use it enough to justify getting one. I have not had to use a saw much but for those times I do, a small hand saw or drywall saw has gotten me through.

My recommendation: If you only need a saw for tiny jobs or drywall patching, just get a drywall saw. It is small and easy to store. Hand saws can be big and bulky so I would wait to see what you would actually need before buying this.

Being prepared for what may happen in your home can be very reassuring. And if even if you do have a handy hubby, take time to get to know your home and tools anyway. You never know when it will come in handy!

Resources:

Sears.com

http://www.digsmagazine.com/lounge/lounge_handyhouseholdtools.htm