Every home needs maintenance and repairs. Do you have the skills, tools and materials to do it all yourself? Even if you don’t do the work yourself, you should learn the basics about your home systems like how to turn the water off if there’s a leak, or how to reset the breaker (in older homes, replace a fuse) in the electrical box. Once you get comfortable with these systems, you’ll learn which repairs you can handle yourself and when it’s time to call a professional.

If you didn’t grow up learning how to do home repairs (most of us didn’t), then you need a good reference book to help you find the information necessary to handle these basic tasks yourself.

Finding Your Favorite Home Repair Books

My favorite home repair book, which I relied on after starting my handyman business is Creative Homeowner’s Ultimate Guide to Home Repair and Improvement (they keep changing the cover and making it better).

First let me tell you why you need a book, or actually several, in addition to all the great information we’re giving you here at HomeTips4Women.com. My husband is a great “do-it-yourself” handyman. I’ve helped him with many projects, and he’s helped me finish some  handyman jobs too. He’s not a pro so when he shops, he buys one of everything! He’s learned over the years, that it’s easier to return unused materials than run to the store several time … well okay, there’s always a second, and sometimes third trip but you get the idea.

When I started my handyman business, I had so much to learn that I created a small resource library which is now more like a file cabinet’s worth of information. I found 2 or 3 books that I relied on a great deal, to help me learn the concepts, the terminology and the steps to almost any job. Let me tell you what I love about this home repair book:

• Starts with safety basics … and you don’t want to skip these.
• Reviews tools you’ll need, both hand tools and basic power tools.
• Using roofing as a sample chapter:
  • Great diagrams like “Anatomy of a Roof” that are easy to read, i.e. they show the multiple layers of the roof from the rafters that give the roof it’s shape, to the plywood sheathing that sits on top of the rafters, the water barrier, flashing and shingles.
  • Introduction to specialty tools for roofing repairs.
  • Overview of different roof types and key concepts related to them, i.e. flat roofs are handled very differently than other styles.
  • Common repairs for each type of roofing material, i.e. shingles, slate, clay tiles, wood shingles and metal roofing.
  • Other features that affect the performance of a roof from flashing, to skylights, vents, gutters , ventilation and weather related problems.

*The Ultimate Guide to Home Repair and Improvement comes from Creative Homeowner, ISBN-10: 1-58011-316-8 or ISBN-13: 978-1-58011-316-8.