The skills worth learning when you first own a home

December 24, 2024

Buying a house is the bit everybody talks about and owning one is the bit nobody warns you about, because the day the keys land in your hand you inherit a hinge that squeaks, a tap that drips, a garden bed with something unidentifiable in it, and a switchboard you have never opened. Nobody hands you a manual for any of it, and most people end up learning it the expensive way.

Here is what I reckon is worth learning early, because these are the jobs that come up over and over and every one of them is cheaper and faster when you can do it yourself.

1. Know what your tools are for

You do not need a shed full of gear to start. What you need is a hammer that is the right weight for your arm, a couple of screwdrivers that actually fit the screws in your house, something to measure with and something to tell you whether a thing is level. Everything after that you buy when a job demands it, which is a much better way of building a kit than buying a set and hoping.

The one thing worth spending real money on early is a cordless drill, because it turns flat pack assembly from an afternoon into twenty minutes and it drives the screws you will be putting into walls for the rest of your life.

The short list

A claw hammer, 560g is the comfortable all rounder
Phillips and slotted screwdrivers in a couple of sizes
A tape measure
A level, because wonky shelves get commented on by everyone who visits
Multigrips and an adjustable wrench
A utility knife with spare blades

2. Patching a hole in the wall

Furniture moves, kids happen, and eventually something goes through the plasterboard. A small hole is a fifteen minute job with gap filler, a bit of sandpaper and the leftover paint, and the whole thing turns on preparation rather than technique. Scrape the edges back so nothing is proud, fill slightly over the top because filler shrinks as it dries, then sand it flush when it has gone off properly rather than when you are impatient.

The bigger the hole the more it wants a backing behind it, and past about the size of your fist you are into patch territory rather than filler territory.

3. Keeping the garden alive

You do not have to be a gardener to stop a garden turning into a jungle. Learn how your mower works, learn what wants pulling out and what wants leaving in, and get into the habit of feeding the beds rather than only watering them. Plants that suit local soil and local rainfall will forgive you an enormous amount, so ask what grows here rather than planting what looked good in a magazine.

If you want somewhere easy to start, herbs like rosemary and mint are close to indestructible, and locally suited natives will sit there quite happily on whatever rain turns up.

4. Finding a leak before it finds you

The two things worth knowing on day one are where your water shut off is and how to turn it off. Go and find it now, before the night you actually need it, and give it a turn so you know it is not seized. After that, a dripping tap is usually a washer, a running toilet is usually a valve, and both are a cheap part and a spanner rather than a call out.

Anything past a washer, so a burst pipe or new plumbing, is licensed work in South Australia and it wants a plumber.

5. The maintenance nobody thinks about

Gutters, exhaust fan filters, air conditioner filters and the dust on top of the light fittings all sit in the category of things that cost nothing to keep on top of and cost real money once you have ignored them for two years. Gutters especially, because a blocked gutter in a downpour puts water somewhere it was never designed to go.

6. Making friends with the switchboard

When the lights go out, knowing how to find the tripped breaker and flick it back on will save you a phone call and a fair bit of standing around in the dark. Go and look at yours before it happens, see how it is labelled, and if it is not labelled then work it out and write on it.

That is where it stops, though. Wiring, power points and anything behind the wall is licensed electrical work, and there is no version of this where having a go is the right call.

7. Knowing what you are not doing yourself

Being handy includes knowing where your line is. A tree leaning over a fence, gas work, electrical work and anything structural are all jobs for somebody with the ticket for it. That is judgement, and it is the same judgement that has you changing the washer yourself rather than paying somebody to come out and do it.

Why any of this is worth learning

You can watch an hour of videos on a dripping tap, or you can bring the old washer in, show us what came out of it and be done in ten minutes. There is no video that can look at the actual thing in your hand, and the whole reason a place like ours exists is so you have somebody to ask. Bring the broken bit with you. It is always faster than describing it.

Shop related products

Claw Hammer, Hickory Handle, 560g. The one to start with, and it will outlive you.
Supercraft VDE Screwdriver Set, 6 Piece. Insulated handles and the sizes you will actually use.
Supercraft Hi-Vis Tape Measure, 8m. Long enough for a room, short enough to live in a drawer.
Supercraft Level Set of 2. A long one and a short one covers most of a house.

Did you know we also stock multigrips and adjustable wrenches, utility knives and spare blades, gap filler, sandpaper and sanding blocks, and the tap washers to go with all of it. Not all of that is listed on the website, so give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what is on the shelf.

While you are sorting the house out, we also cut keys on the spot, which is worth knowing the first time you want a spare for the shed.