[kdmama33]

I know very little about home repair, construction, building, etc. DH knows even less. Yet, I want to learn. I see so many of you talk about the work you've done on your own homes, or the homes you sold so that you could buy property in the country and fix up another home, and I don't even know where to begin to learn something like that. I'd really like to, though, since we have a house that is starting to need some work, and a desire to sell it for substantial profit so that we can purchase a home and some land.

I don't want to just start ripping up flooring and tearing out windows, kwim?!? And I'm one of those people who learns visually -- show me how to do something once and I'm set for life -- but I don't know where to find a visual learning aid for this. Any suggestions?

 

[boatbaby]

Try a hands on work shop like this one...

http://www.shelterinstitute.com/

I covered this workshop for a week as a story for HGTV and it was amazing. The people who run is are the nicest folks around. But they're not the only ones, there are lots of school like this. Grown-up camps.
This is another nice one I covered.

http://www.yestermorrow.org/

 

[Jillby]

check your library for videos.i was in mine today and saw a whole bunch of DIY videos.some on woodworking,some on decorative painting.the library probably has books with pictures to show you too.
home depot and lowe's have free classes on different projects too.
have fun with your house!

 

[2busy2clean]

I started by doing volunteer work after the northridge earthquake. You could see if there is a Habitat for Humanity house in your area. Or if you are close to New Orleans, I'm sure there are many houses you could help with there. Here is a weblink: http://www.habitat.org/cd/local/
(there are other vounteer organizations, I just think Habitat is the largest and most active)

 

[oneotamama]

You invite over friends who know something and have them teach you!

Otherwise, I don't have any new suggestions. Hands on seems to work best. IME it doesn't matter how many books I read. Yes, they help but when it comes down to it you've just got to get right into the project.

 

[AngelBee]

:

 

[VWChick]

Well.... By training I am a civil engineer (practiced for several years but not anymore), but that didn't teach me as much as you might think.

Mainly it was a trial and error (lots of errors) thing and I still have plenty to learn. Workshops and even classes at your local tech school are both great for learning hands-on stuff.

 

[annethcz]

Yeah, trial and error. DH definitely knows how to do more than I do. But I learned to paint by painting. We learned how to lay tile, install a toilet, install wainscoting and fix faucets by redoing our bathrooms. DH has been honing his carpentry skills by building bookshelves and other furniture. DH has learned about electric work by rewiring a few things in our house.

This will seem a little strange, but we've found Home Depot's orange 'how to fix things' book to be REALLY helpful.