San Diego Homeowners… How do you measure up as far a these 10 basic skills skills every real estate homeowner should have? Scoring works on a 1 to 10 point scale.
1. Replace a door lock.
Especially if you buy an existing house, with lots of old keys floating around, you might want to replace the exterior locks.
2. Change furnace and air conditioning filters.
Nothing difficult about this. Be sure you know where all the filters are – on air returns or at the air handler – and how to change them.
3. Learn the location of the main water cutoff.
It’s probably in a utility room or closet, but could be at a water tank or near the meter. You don’t want to go looking for it after a pipe bursts.
4. Find a stud in wall.
You’ll want to locate studs any time you’re hanging a heavy object, or installing molding or cabinets.
5. Hang items between studs.
For spaces between studs, you’ll want to use hollow-wall anchors to mount towel bars, drapery rods and the like on walls.
6. Hang a ceiling fan.
This is a popular upgrade and involves skills that you’ll use to replace light fixtures and receptacles.
7. Drive screws with a variable speed drill.
Sooner or later, you’ll need to learn to drive drywall screws with a variable speed drill.
8. Master a caulking gun.
Some say squeeze tubes are easier for do-it-yourselfers to master.
9. Banish wall stains by sealing them first.
Here’s another lesson from Homeowner 101: You can’t paint over crayon, ballpoint pen, grease splatters on the kitchen wall or water stains on the ceiling without the stains coming through. You must seal stains first.
10. Replace the flapper ball in a toilet.
Every homeowner deals with a toilet that leaks water from the tank to the bowl (and mysteriously flushes in the middle of the night).
So… how did you score?
Read more about each of these 10 Must Know Repairs for Every San Diego Homeowner.
