There’s a reason we call it a ‘home’ rather than a house isn’t it. It’s personal and it’s us. As a recent owner of a new house I can appreciate the sleepless days and nights that goes into erecting one from the ground up. Then, as your new home starts to grow on you, you develop an obsession to keep everything perfect…every nail, every fleck of paint in its right place.
But things go wrong, and with time the plumbing starts to leak or the plaster shows a crack. There are handymen around for home repair of course, but just sometimes a work of love needs a DIY approach. It saves a packet of money too.
So, here are eight websites for DIY and home repair tips. Use them. Believe me, you will never be over-billed.
Self Help & More
Start your search for good home improvement tips from this site. Originally started by two guys who knew a red wire from the yellow one, the DIY home improvement site has grown into quite a resource on wiring, building, plumbing and many other home how-to related topics. If you can’t find a bit of information on the main site, hit the Self Help forums which is well-populated with nearly 12,000 threads.
Ask The Builder
If you are serious about taking the DIY way with your home improvement projects, Ask The Builder could be a subscription you should look at. It is a free newsletter that offers building information you can trust from award-winning builder and nationally syndicated columnist Tim Carter each week. You can come to the site and Ask Tim also, and read up on some Before & After pictures for inspiration from other DIY-ers around the country. The site also has tool reviews, discounts, giveaways, and other information. Meet Tim on the site’s About page.
Hometime [No Longer Available]
Hometime is on TV and has been for 24 years dispensing advice on the basics of repairing everything related to a house. If you didn’t catch the show, you can come to this website. The how-to videos and articles are easy to follow, even for the guy who doesn’t know one end of the wrench from the other. Search the site for the right how-to video or article on home repair; some tasks have more than one video associated with them.
Do It Yourself
The home improvement and repair website covers the indoors as well as the outdoors with sections on gardening and landscaping. There’s a neat section on crafts and hobbies to go along with it which should help you spruce up your pad. The site seems to be broadening its DIY focus with articles on car repair, event planning, and personal finance too. The community is pretty vibrant too on the forum. Follow the experts who seem to be professional contractors as they take you through instructions and videos on the site.
eHow Home
eHow has always been at the front when it comes to DIY videos and instructions. eHow Home covers your home tasks with 571 videos which take you through décor, design, gardening, and landscaping video tutorials. You also get to watch the Garden Home Challenge where designer and lifestyle expert P. Allen Smith and his colleagues build an environmentally friendly home for $150,000 in 150 days. His offered tips are just as applicable to your smaller house as it is to the show’s.
Ultimate Handyman
This one is for the U.K., but I guess Americans can follow his advice too. One of the top video instruction channels when it comes to house maintenance and DIY jobs around the house, the Ultimate Handyman takes you through it all step-by-step, in the end saving you quite a few pounds. The channel has playlists on how to use tools properly, metal working, acrylic jobs, and computer repair among the usual home repair stuff. The Ultimate Handyman site is even more comprehensive with nearly 50000 pages of DIY instructions.
Home Addition Plus
Home Addition Plus is a lesser known DIY-er site, but it has got a good enough collection of how-to videos on its YouTube channel. The site and the channel are for you if you are planning an extension around the house. Home addition tips and DIY home improvement advice forms the basis of the channel. Even if you don’t do it yourself, you will get enough know-how to tackle the contractors with your list of wants.
Build.com
Build.com is one of the neatest and well-designed home improvement YouTube channels out there. They are innovative with their tips and lay special emphasis on use of recycled materials. For instance, how to make a Tiki torch from recycled bottles. But my favorite playlist would be the 30-Sec. Tips with tips like how to make your own self-watering pot.
There are enough DIY home repair websites out there to last a lifetime. I have barely scratched that polished surface. You can check out nice sites like The Family Handyman and HGTV and suggest your own too. Also, takeaway some tips from our previously published pieces on home décor:
Are you a DIY-er when it comes to home repair with things like sanding, polishing, cutting, and plumbing? Or would you rather dial a contractor’s number? If you are the former, tell us about your beginnings and tips for making it as a DIY handyman around the house.