How did you gain experience doing this?

Question

Hi everyone.  I was just curious how you gained experience doing home repairs and upgrades yourself.  I would hate to screw something up and have to bring in a professional after I already spent all the time/energy.

Jason F · Answer

know what you are good at and more importantly, what you are not good at. i can lay flooring and paint, but I cannot do drywall. i can hang doors and do electric but I cannot do plumbing. do what you can. and the rest, get a professional to do it.

Eric Wang · Answer

Overall it gives you a understanding of material and labor cost and the correct ways of doing things.  You develope an eye for mistakes others have made.  I wouldn't do it for anyone else, too much work. I just did my irrigation in 2 of my units.  It's something anyone can do, it's not hard to dig, cut and glue.  I don't know anyone thats willing to get down on their knees digging for hours.  Since it's my property, I'll do it.

Jessica Tam · Answer

I use every chance I can get to help out with people who know what they're doing - for example, my neighbour is a carpenter, and if they need an extra pair of hands, I'll tag along and learn on the job.

Rajendra Mackinley · Answer

my hu8sband upgrading his knowledge by reading the latest remodeling books and watching dvd or videos with the latest technology.... :beer:

Nick Albin · Answer

Most of the stuff I have learned was from working on my current home and from friends and family.

A friend of mine used to do drywall and he just showed me some tricks of the trade I guess you would say.

A good friend of mine owns a flooring business. So I asked if I could tag along and observe. He was fine with that. I ended up helping out since its not terribly hard work. I gave him a free hand with the work and I got the experience I needed.

My mothers boyfriend is a carpenter and works with wood for a living. He showed me a bunch of things.

Now that I am writing that, I have done that a lot. Any person who has honed a craft and takes pride in their work seems to be very open to showing someone else their  abilities or some of their knowledge.

So if you know anyone like that, give them a ring and ask for some  advice.

Peter Vagnino · Answer

just ask questions, people will share their knowledge. Also, if you see a tradsperson working ask them questions

Timothy W. · Answer

Construction's been the family business for at least 3 generations.  I was 12 years old when dad asked me if I wanted to help him on one of his jobs.  The rest is history.

Adam Logan · Answer

When its a code item, I study the county code books.  Over time, I learned a lot.  No one taught me directly, I just did it that way.  That means squat because no one ever even showed me how to type, yet I can write programs, and probably get into your computer if I wanted to even with a firewall and virus prot.  15 years of trying is a long schooling!  time teaches a lot.  Plus,my brothers an electrician and always there if I had a question.  Other brother is a mechanical engineer, so always had good ideas to solve a problem.  Or, I just READ.

Roc P. · Answer

I'm actually thinking of volunteering for Habitat For Humanity, I figure it's a win-win situation with me learning something and helping people at the same time.

Also I second the Home Depot orange book, I own it and has a ton of good information.

Donny Random · Answer

The Home Depot "Home Improvement 1-2-3" (orange book) is a good general resource. I would think you would learn a lot from Habitat for Humanity (as was suggested) too.