If you want to save some money there are a few DIY skills that would be handy to know. Some of the skills listed below are more challenging to learn than others and while some projects are best left to the professionals, knowing the basics of even a couple of these might come in handy from time to time! In this collaborative article, we are going to identify and discuss some of the most important ones below. Keep reading to find out if any of them might appeal to you!
While a lot of these might seem a touch harder than most things we talk about on this blog I am always in favor of learning something new! Especially if those new things might help us save a few extra pennies once in a while.
DIY Skills You Need to be a Do It Yourself Master
Carpentry
Carpentry is a vital DIY skill because it means you can create furniture items from scratch, and alter your home as you see fit. When our family decided to start raising chickens, both to save money and eat healthier we built our entire chicken coop from scratch! We even used reclaimed wood to do so and honestly? We didn’t have a single hour of experience between us when we got started. Mind you we did ask a friend for help with the framing – we didn’t want it to fall down! But, although carpentry can seem somewhat daunting it’s not as bad as you would think and you don’t need a million expensive tools to do it either. Its true some specialized tools are required in some cases but most basic projects can be handled without them.
You don’t need to become a master carpenter overnight. In fact, you can definitely start small with this one and learn about simple carpentry tasks such as cutting flooring to size, framing pictures, and staining pre-existing pieces of furniture like they do in the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRf_emDug1c
Then you can build up to some of the more advanced tasks if you enjoy it. Who knows, perhaps you’ll find that this is your art media of choice and began to create sculptures in your spare time.
Welding
Welding can be an important skill to have if you want to be a master at home DIY. If you’re going to make a frame for an extension, or even a shelving unit quickly and in the most robust way possible, welding metal rods together is the quickest and most reliable method. Welding is, however, certainly an advanced skill with quite a few higher costs associated with it.
Some folks get a little intimidated when trying to learn about welding because of the blowtorch and associated safety risks. Luckily, you can get some brilliant advice from sites like getweldingadvice.com about what type of welding equipment to use and how to operate safely. Which means you can move forward with confidence in learning this new and useful DIY skill. I highly suggest considering a class or working with someone who knows how to weld before trying it yourself despite the videos but if you happen to live on a farm this skill can be highly useful. There were many times on the horse farms I spent time at as a teenager where a stall or fence needed to be fixed quickly.
Painting
Those wishing to do the more simple DIY tasks around the home will need to know about painting, and I’m not just talking about painting flat walls here! Although even those can be frustrating if you have never done it before. In fact, I have been considering repainting our kitchen cabinets – which is a far cry from simple room painting and have found many invaluable tips about the process online.
You can transform many different rooms, items, and surfaces by applying a few coats of paint. It can even save you money – it’s certainly a lot cheaper to refresh an old item than buy a new one! Painting is great for really making a home feel like it’s your own and for repurposing those really cute but kind of old chairs you found at that yard sale last week. Although, that does mean you will need to know about the difference between painting furniture, walls, and ceilings. Something that you can learn more about at hometalk.com.
Cleaning
Arguably the most vital (but unwelcome) skill when it comes to DIY around the home is being able to clean things properly. Many DIY projects require a certain bit of preparation or aftercare to make sure they set properly and last for a long while. It is also important to have a basic working knowledge of the cleaning requirements for certain materials when buying items for your project. If you don’t want to invest in the special care some materials require to keep them looking fabulous then maybe you will want to look at other options.
You will also need to understand the value of cleaning for some of the projects that you’re planning before you get started. In particular, when varnishing or painting furniture, any oily residue needs to be removed. Otherwise, the varnish won’t take, and you will get an uneven finish as they describe at homeguides.sfgate.com.
Similarly, if you are hoping to use an epoxy to stick things together, it’s essential that you clean the edges that will make contact first. Not doing so risks the epoxy not forming a strong enough bond, and preventing your DIY task from being successful. When my daughter’s glasses broke one day at school, being able to clean and fix them with epoxy certainly made waiting for a new pair much easier on both of us.
Do you have any Advanced DIY Skills?
>>This has been a Collaborative Post<<