If you’ve been watching the Olympics, you’ve seen some serious athletic skill – the furiously fast flippers on Michael Phelps or the incredible Shawn Johnson, who appears to have limbs constructed of extra-flexible elastic, usually intended for a forgiving waistband.
But as a more simple people, what kind of things should an average homeowner be able to do? Aside from making your mortgage payment on time, there are certain, rather ordinary, yet perhaps life-saving skills all homeowners should possess. Even if you’re just thinking of buying a home, this list could give you some perspective.
Compliments of The Detroit Free Press, Quizzle blog brings you The Top 10 Handy Skills for Homeowners (and maybe Olympic athletes, should they choose to invest in real estate):
- Replace a door lock – pretty self explanatory. Either you know how to remove a broken lock and install a new one correctly (and safely) or you don’t. Because just what would your mother say if she knew you had a broken, burglar-inviting door lock?
- Change furnace and AC filters – know the sizes, where they are and change them on a regular basis. This will keep your energy costs down and your equipment running more smoothly.
- Know how to find your main water cutoff – don’t wait for a disaster before you find out you don’t know how to shut off your water. Because using all your “nice” towels to mop up when you washer loses it’s mind is NOT FUN.
- Find a wall stud – if you want to hang or mount heavy items on your walls – TVs, large portraits, stereo equipment, etc. – you’ll need to know how to find studs or risk a messy and potentially dangerous (and costly) accident.
- Know how to use hollow wall anchors – for the smaller stuff, you don’t need to worry about finding a stud, but you’ll need to know how to mount things without damaging your walls.
- Install a ceiling fan – ceiling fans are always worth the investment and make your home more appealing to potential buyers. Plus, what about now, in the dog days of summer – wouldn’t a ceiling fan be nice? Need we say more?
- Know how to correctly install drywall screws – comes in handy if you need to repair your drywall. Knowing how to install the screws and replacement pieces will save you a bundle of cash and some headaches when repairs are necessary.
- Correctly use a caulking gun – this is almost a skilled trade and comes in extremely handy when doing cosmetic repair work, especially in bathrooms. The difference between a well-done job and a sloppy job can be huge. Don’t give the impression your home isn’t well taken care of. Learn to apply caulk evenly and correctly.
- Know how to seal stains – learn how to successfully cover over stains on your walls. Again, the difference between a home that has the appearance of being well-maintained and one that doesn’t often boils down to a few stains on the wall.
- Replace the inside mechanism of your toilet – nothing is worse than a leaky toilet or one that suddenly flushes on its own. This can send your water bill skyrocketing upwards and frankly is a waste of clean water – a scarce resource in many places. Or, what if water was skyrocketing…out of your toilet? Even worse. So, fixing your toilet is easy. Learn how.
And if you don’t have these skills, well then, we suggest memorizing the phone numbers of several handymen/plumbers/electricians or kind neighbors with lots of power tools. Because when the day comes to make a home improvement or handle a household emergency, you’ll thank your lucky stars you got at least the bronze medal in the Handy Homeowner 4×1 Relay.
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