Photo by John Athayde on Flickr.
A big part of the cost of home ownership is the repair and maintenance your home will require. You can save a lot of money and teach yourself valuable skills by learning to do the home repairs yourself.
Just a couple decades ago, learning how to fix something yourself required flipping though books or having someone willing to spend the time to not only help you fix the problem, but to instruct you in the process. Today, there are many interactive and video resources at our fingertips.
Having a smartphone or tablet means you can have any of these DIY guides or tutorials on-site and handy right as you learn the the process of conducting regular maintenance or fixing a problem in your house by yourself.
DIY Home Repair Sites
Whether you are planning to renovate a room by yourself or dealing with a specific problem, there are many websites you can search to find the tutorial that suits your project and your learning style best.
The Family Handyman – http://www.familyhandyman.com/skills
DIY Network – http://www.diynetwork.com/
Mrs. Fixit – http://www.mrsfixit.com/
Home Repair Expert – http://homerepairexpert.com/
Ask the Builder – http://www.askthebuilder.com/
Do It Yourself – http://www.doityourself.com/
Mother Earth News DIY Topics – http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy.aspx
Self Help & More – http://www.selfhelpandmore.com/
Natural Handyman – http://www.naturalhandyman.com/
DIY Home Repair – http://www.diyhomerepair.com/
HouseLogic Maintenance & Repair Topics – http://www.houselogic.com/maintenance-repair/
About.com Home Repair – http://homerepair.about.com/
Big Media Sites
There are several magazines and TV shows with their own websites that walk you through fixing things in your home, either with excerpts or clips of content from their shows or print magazines, or with all-new digital content.
A plus with these sites is high production values and big budgets to effectively communicate and illustrate the necessary steps.
HGTV Home Improvement – http://www.hgtv.com/topics/home-improvement/index.html
Good Housekeeping Home Renovations – http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/renovation/
Better Homes & Gardens Home Repair – http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/advice/maintenance-repair/
This Old House – http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/
Bob Vila – http://www.bobvila.com/
Hometime - http://www.hometime.com/home.html
Appliance Repair Resources
Appliances in particular can be troublesome when broken and expensive to repair – unless your problem is one of the many user-serviceable parts and fixes that you can do yourself. A few minutes of research can save you hundreds of dollars and hours, days, or weeks of waiting for a professional to show up.
Appliance Video – http://www.appliancevideo.com/
Appliance Assistant – http://applianceassistant.com/index.php
Part Select Repair Guides – http://www.partselect.com/JustForFun/DIY-Electronics-And-Appliance-Repair.aspx
Free Appliance Repair Guides – http://www.appliancerepair.net/
General Research Sites
These sites are not specifically focused on home repair, but they can help you find the information you need quickly.
eHow – eHow.com features how-to articles by everyday users and professionals on just about any topic under the sun. They also have a YouTube channel just on home repair projects.
Youtube – Youtube is the go-to site for more than just the latest viral music video. Most of the best video tutorials are found on the largest streaming video site. Many of the sites listed above host their videos on Youtube.
Google – When you don’t even know where to start, put your question into Google’s search engine. You can either ask a question, such as “How do I fix a leaky toilet?” or describe the problem, such as “My washing machine agitates but does not spin,” and you will find the articles or information you need to diagnose and fix the problem.
What is your favorite home repair site?
