Where or how can I learn basic DIY skills?

[freckles20]

We are on the midst of having a small extension built- new kitchen, small downstairs toilet and utility, separating open plan room into two separate rooms.

The entire process has been a nightmare. I've had to be really observant because so many things have been done wrong.

I have no DIY skills. But I feel I have more common sense and care about how a job is done much more than most of the tradesmen who have been involved in our build.

I'm not under any illusion that I could do big or very skilled tasks. But I'd love to be able to do some typical DIY stuff- painting, using a drill, filling gaps etc..

I don't know anyone whose happy to teach me. I am thinking that a hands on in-person class would be best but I can't find any. I have found various YouTube videos but I'm not sure if have the confidence to wield a power tool after just watching a video.

It is also so hard to work out things like what type of screws or fixings to use for different surfaces etc.. There doesn't seem to be anyone available to ask or advise in local diy stores. One even suggested I got myself a husband ffs.

So to get to the point- how can I learn these basic DIY skills so I don't have to wait weeks for a reluctant trader to come and do a half hearted job of something that I feel I shop do do myself like putting up a shelf, mirror, painting etc.?

There is nothing that I won't have ago at apart from electrics and my skills are entirely self taught. I've made a few mistakes along the way and I often take a long while to do things but I get there in the end. I use YouTube and google. Whatever you need to do there will be a YouTube on it.
I managed to replace a CPU on a computer by exactly following a YouTube video. Turns out it was easy. The same for replacing an iPhone screen. You just copy exactly what someone is showing you on the video.
Painting, woodwork, car maintenance and general DIY is the same. There are so many online guides.

The biggest and most important thing is to have the correct tools. Research what tools are good and invest in the right things. A decent drill for example is a million times easier to use than a crappy cheap one.

I taught myself, essentially- but it has meant a fair few cock ups along the way. Plastering defeated me, for some reason, so that's something I've been toying with idea of doing a course in.

There is a forum called DIYnot where you can ask all kinds of questions- I find them pretty good.

Also, when I've needed advice about a specific issue (like for example what bit of the toilet mechanism I needed to stop an ongoing drip), I took the relevant part to an old-fashioned independent hardware shop, showed it to them and asked for their help. They were fab- I had a couple of them showing me what to do, what specific tools I needed.

I'm lucky now in that DP is ace at DIY, so I'm happy to have a go at things I wouldn't before (electrics, for instance) but other than that, YouTube (go down the rabbit holes, because sometimes you'll hit on one that gives a tip that others haven't), and old style hardware/specialists shops are a good way to go.

Oh also- you could consider a course in something that has transferable skills. I did a silversmithing/jewellery making course and I learned a lot of skills (soldering, fine drilling etc) and handy tips that I've used in other areas.

The guys out to my house recently were looking at YouTube. I mentioned it to another guy & he said he had the decency to look at home, not on site. 😁

I was having a total whinge elsewhere as I can't even get anyone to answer the phone.

I would love a competent woman to turn up here & run my project like an adult. I'm currently failing. ☺️

The Readers Digest book is very good, and is often found In charity shops.

It is actually a ring binder with a hard, thick, plastic casing. Easy to spot on the shelves.

I bought a decent drill and I've picked up a few things via YouTube.
However in spite of watching every tutorial going I can't drill a straight hole. I do think strength and dexterity is important and I have neither.

I no longer need a plumber when the radiator valves get stuck.
But I can't screw things tight. I can put any flatpack together but need DH (under supervision) to tighten all the bolts. I have an electric scewdriver but it doesn't do everything.

@WhizzFizz use a bradawl to make a small pilot hole first. Makes drilling straight easier. Also make sure you are standing straight and the drill isn’t higher than your heart - somehow it makes you more stable and able to use your core strength and weight to steady the drill. Drill slowly. It doesn’t need to be a full pelt. Practice on an old price of wood. (Practice really does make perfect).
buy yourself a ratchet screwdriver set or use the drill with a screwdriver bit, once more confident at drill speed control.
Ratchet spanner set is also useful, if your going to build your own tool set. Buy tools that feel and sit nicely in your hands, otherwise a) you will hurt yourself b) you won’t want to use them c) you will
struggle to use them properly.

Regarding drilling straight, it's not so bad in wood, if you support the drill well, but in brick masonry it's next to impossible sometimes, because of the way it works.
For our kitchen wall cupboards I had to drill the old wall below the plasterboard(old outside of the house wall covered in render and all sorts) then fix a piece of plywood instead of the plasterboard, and then I could hang the units accurately on the plywood.
It's tricks like that which are handy, to get around things rather than become better.

Do you have a friendly colleague or neighbour? I think this is the kind of thing people usually pick up from their parents. There is so many different things to know on how to do small jobs and maintain your home. It's much easier if you ask when you need something done.

One of my local colleges is running an introduction to plumbing course. It's 5 weeks of evening classes and covers things like removing a radiator to decorate, changing a tap, pipe bending. It is designed for householders not people joining the trade. Just been trying to persuade DS to sign up for it as he's saving to buy a house.

There used to be a massive Readers Digest DIY bible that taught me how to change a tap, replace the flush mechanism in the toilet, and lay tiles. Like a very detailed cookery book, but for home improvements.

I've got this. My Dad bought it me as a house warming gift
It really is excellent, and yes, I've seen copies in charities shops over the years.

Nowadays I would go on to You Tube and look up "Dad, How do I" - he's great.

It is a shame there are no longer "evening classes" where you can go and learn all these skills like we used to have.

First, find the stop cock for your house (check if it actually works) and also the mains electric switch for your house.

For safety reasons everyone should know this about their house.

Houses are wired in such a way that cables have to follow certain zones.
When wiring a socket/switch, a cable has to come from either directly above or directly below or straight from either side.
Or can run cables within 15cm from a corner of the room.
Those rules have been in existence since the beginning of time.

What that means, if you see a switch or a socket, just imagine a straight vertical line going through the socket and a straight horizontal line going through the socket.
And avoid 15cm in corners of a room.

Those are the danger zones. An electrical cable will be located in one of them. ie. Avoid drilling in those zones!

Hopefully this build your confidence a little.

Basically try to figure out how your house works.

I recommend an 18v black and deck drill for most DIY jobs. They are about £50.
And a set of Branded drill bits.

If you have solid walls you’ll also need a plug in hammer drill. The ones from Aldi or Lidl are plenty good enough.

the short private courses are very good....we did bricklaying over a weekend and then built an extension and some walls etc....small classes and good teachers....the local colleges only offered 33 week part time courses....large classes of over 30 and all went very very slow....and were more expensive...so as an adult do the private fast courses....gold trowel....etc etc

I did this! Here!

www.thegoodlifecentre.co.uk/diy-workshops-london/

they were SO nice, it was about 9 years ago when I moved into an old house and, like you say, tradesmen so hard to get out for small jobs.

The BIGGEST takeaway I got is to buy proper kit… my Makita hammer drill has seen me through thick and thin now. It’s so much easier with a very powerful drill, especially if you are a woman so on average not as strong as a tradesman used to doing a physical job!

RE your comment: I have no DIY skills. But I feel I have more common sense and care about how a job is done much more than most of the tradesmen who have been involved in our build.

I totally agree. I started thinking I would do some work myself to save money and do things the way I wanted. In the end my confidence built and I did the whole project. It will be different for everyone so be realistic - especially about the time you have - but I think people can do more than they think they can. I completed my whole extension for a fraction of what I was quoted. It did take a while :) but my brickwork and lots of other jobs I tackled are way better than the local builders do because I was prepared to take more time and get it right. If you're handy, enthusiastic and have the time you might be amazed what yo ucan achieveI blogged all the stuff I did step by step. Maybe there is an article or two on my blog that might help inspire or inform. Be realistic but not timid was my motto. Hope it's of use www.diyhomeextension.co.uk

@freckles20

try you tube

everything is on there

There is a woman on youtube called the carpenters daughter who is very helpful

I run a company called Practical Women, and have been wanting to provide practical skills & DIY training, particularly to women, for years. I've long been worried about how many of our female customers say that they have been taken advantage of, ripped off and intimidated by Tradesmen. I wanted to do something to stop that happening by empowering them with skills and knowledge, so that they could do much more of the work themselves, as well as know the right questions to ask, and the language to use in order to protect themselves from unscrupulous tradespeople.

If you're anywhere near Bristol, we are now offering DIY courses aimed at all levels and abilities. Planning to put some how to videos up on our website as well, and will be setting up a toolbank, so that people can learn how to use tools and then borrow them to complete projects at home.
Check us out www.bepractical.co.uk

Excellent. Great user name too.

A cheap drill may not be doing the job well for you, or you may have blunt bits. Or is it the kick when the drill starts that's the problem? You can get 'soft start' power tools which make that easier- I use these for things like angle grinders which do have a fair kick, I should imagine there would be drills that have it.

The thing to remember about power tools ( and even other tools like hammers) is that it's the tool that should be doing the work, not you. Like- hammering in nails- some people heft a hammer about like a weapon. But the reason it has a heavy metal head is that your supposed to let the weight of it do the hammering. Hold the handle firmly but not in a death grip, a nice gentle lift, then, with a nice soft wrist, let it fall onto the nail head- aiming at a point just below the nail head. Takes more hits to get it in than if you attack it like a madman, but is more controllable (therefore safer) and more accurate- and easier. And less likely to split the wood you're knocking it into too.

But going on a course is a really good idea, they will (hopefully) show you how to use tolls safely and easily, and allow you to use decent tools so you can find some that suit you.

Two things. First is watch A LOT of youtube videos.

Second is to invest in decent equipment. Don't fall into the trap of buying, say, cheap drill bits from Aldi or a cheap drill from Lidl. Whatever you're doing, if you don't think you're strong enough, then you're using the wrong equipment, especially with power tools, and even hand tools really.

Me and OH made that mistake 25+ years ago when we first bought our house. DIY was a nightmare as we had no tools, so just bought the bare minimum (i.e. a cheap drill, only one saw, a cheap screwdriver set, etc etc), and whatever we did was rubbish, took forever, crap finish quality, etc. It put us right off and we started getting trades in instead for a few years.

Then, OH decided to start buying quality tools and materials, and now we have quite a garage full of various different power tools, a couple of huge tool boxes of hand tools - dozens of screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches, saws, etc., and cupboards full of fixings such as screws, nails, wall plugs, brackets, etc. Between us, we can no do anything. This weekend alone, we've replaced a shower screen and put up a new window blind in the bathroom, and OH has replaced an entire fence in the garden (remove old posts, replace with new, cemented in, new fence panels fitted, new wooden garden gate fitted to new wooden gate posts.

What's more is that none of that was stressful nor exhausting, none of it required strength. A decent saw or decent drill with quality drill bits and you can go through timber, concrete or whatever like a knife through butter.

so which brand you recommend like bosch?

Another vote here for Makita. Back in the 80s when I did carpentry at work, we used other brands, but some of them are not as good as they were, and when Makita really came into the cordless market, we started to go over to them- they were also a lot quieter, so one of my bosses liked them for that too. At home now we use Makita tools for pretty much everything. A lot of them are cordless and use the same batteries, so if we buy another one we just buy the tool, not the battery, a big saving. For things which need more welly, like SDS drills, mains is better.
In the early days of having a house, we bought a cheap router that burned out the first time we used it, and that was only light use. Buy the best tools you can afford, it makes jobs easier and saves money in the long run.
[Cordless- advantages- no power lead, so safer and more mobile. Disadvantages, heavier (due to weight of battery) and for the really high grunt stuff, not as much welly, though they are now pretty good at almost everything.]

I learnt DIY from repairing wrecks made by bad workmen - YouTube is a dream. Don’t worry about getting it wrong - it’s fine to screw up along the way, part of your education, and pretty much every mistake is reversible.

Always stop 30 min before planned so you don’t get tired.

DIY is miles cheaper and infinitely more satisfying than a handyman, even if they’re not a wrecking ball.