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HandoutHandout 1: Supply & Shopping List
Handout 1: Supply & Shopping List
Okay, before we touch anything in class, let's talk about what's actually in your toolbox. Here's the thing: you don't need to walk into this owning a full workshop. You need enough to solve 90% of what's going to break in a normal house, and then you build from there as you figure out what you actually use.
Below is the budget tier (what gets you through this class and most of year one) and the nice-to-have tier (stuff worth adding once you know it'll get used). Don't buy the nice-to-have list on day one. I mean it.
Budget Tier — Get This First
- Screwdriver set (Phillips and flathead, a few sizes each). Honestly one of the best deals I ever found was a full set at DI for four bucks. Don't pay retail for these.
- Adjustable wrench. One good one covers most plumbing jobs a beginner will touch.
- Needle-nose pliers
- Basic drill/driver. Used is fine. Great is not required. An $8 drill from a DI run will outlast your patience for most projects.
- Tape measure (25 ft is plenty)
- Level. Small torpedo level is enough for now. Fair warning, I still second-guess which bubble means what sometimes. Check it twice.
- Utility knife
- Putty knife or two (one narrow, one wider, for drywall and caulk work)
- Caulk gun
- Toilet flapper (universal kind, a few bucks). Keep a spare on hand. This single part has saved me more money than anything else I own.
- Plumber's tape (Teflon tape)
- Sandpaper, medium grit
- Safety glasses. Cheap, but wear them anytime you're sanding or drilling overhead. Not optional.
- Work gloves
- Flashlight or headlamp
That's the whole starter list. Most of it fits in a five-gallon bucket.
Nice-to-Have Tier — Add Later
- Stud finder (handy, not essential for week one)
- Small pry bar
- Set of nut drivers
- Multi-bit screwdriver with a ratcheting handle
- Wet/dry shop vac (genuinely great once you own it, painful to justify buying just for this class)
- Drywall mesh tape and a proper mud pan
- Second, nicer drill once you know what kind of work you actually do
Shopping Notes
Go the used route first. DI, a neighbor's garage, that kind of thing. Nine times out of ten the tool you need for basic home repair does not need to be new. I've furnished half my toolbox this way and I'm not being cute about it, it's just smarter money.
Big box stores are fine for consumables. Caulk, flapper valves, plumber's tape, sandpaper. Buy these new, they're cheap either way and you want fresh product.
Costco is worth it if you're doing a supply run for the whole house at once (sandpaper multi-packs, work gloves, that sort of bulk stuff). Not worth a special trip for one project.
Don't overbuy tool brands. You don't need the expensive line yet. You don't even know what you like yet. Get functional, get moving, upgrade later once you've used the cheap version enough to know its limits.
One last thing before you shop: find your home's water main shutoff valve this week, before you need it. Not during class, not during an emergency. This week. Text it to yourself if you have to. Everybody in this course finds theirs on day one, no exceptions. You'll thank me the first time something starts leaking at 11pm.
You got this. See you in class.
HandoutBasic Home Repair Cheat Sheet
Basic Home Repair Cheat Sheet
Print this, stick it on the fridge or inside a cabinet door. This is the stuff I actually reference in my own house. Don't overthink it, just look it up when you need it.
First Things First
Find your water main before you need it. Not during the emergency, now. It's usually in the garage, the basement, or an outside box near the street. Take a photo on your phone right now if you haven't. Standing in a wet garage in your socks trying to remember where it is builds character you do not need.
Eye protection when you sand or cut. Every single time. It's five seconds to grab glasses. Not worth the alternative.
Electrical past an outlet cover: call an electrician. I'm serious about this one. I respect it too much to fake it and so should you.
The Toilet That Won't Stop Running
Nine times out of ten it's the flapper. That's the rubber flap at the bottom of the tank.
- Turn off the water at the valve behind the toilet.
- Flush to empty the tank.
- Unhook the old flapper, take it to the hardware store, match it up.
- New flapper's about $9. Hook it back on, turn water back on.
If it's still running after that, the fill valve might need adjusting, but start with the flapper. It's cheap and it's usually the answer.
The Dripping Faucet
Almost always a worn-out cartridge or washer inside the handle. You'll need to know your faucet brand before you buy the part, so pull the handle off and take a photo to bring to the store.
Turn the water off under the sink first. Always.
Supply Lines Under the Sink
Hand-tight, plus a small nudge with a wrench. That's it. That's the whole technique.
I once cranked one down because tighter felt safer and cracked the plastic nut clean off. Flooded the cabinet. Hand-tight-plus-a-nudge. Write it on your hand if you have to.
The Garbage Disposal That "Died"
Before you panic or replace anything: there's a small red reset button on the bottom of the unit. Push it. Nine times out of ten that's the whole fix.
If it hums but doesn't spin, there's usually an Allen wrench hole on the bottom too. Stick the wrench in, wiggle it back and forth to free up the blades, try the reset again.
Patching Drywall
The technique is simple. The patience is not.
- Clean out the hole, apply mesh tape if it's bigger than a nail hole.
- Spread joint compound thin, wider than the hole itself.
- Let it dry all the way. Overnight is safest. Our dry air up here actually works in your favor for once, things dry faster than you'd think.
- Sand lightly. Lightly. You're smoothing, not sculpting.
- Repeat a thin second coat if you can still see the outline.
The mistake everybody makes, me included, is touching it too soon. Let it be boring for a day.
Sticky or Non-Latching Doors
Check the strike plate screws before you do anything else. Loose screw in that little metal plate on the door frame is the answer more often than you'd guess. Tighten it, test the door, done.
Don't jump straight to planing the door down. Save that for when the screw trick doesn't work.
Budgeting Your Time
Whatever the video says, triple it. They edit out the drying time, the second trip to the store, and the part where the piece didn't fit. Plan for that and you'll feel like you're ahead instead of behind.
When to Call It
Texture matching, tricky electrical, anything that scares you more than it should: no shame in handing it to a pro. Knowing your limit is a skill. I still try first, every time. But I also know who to call.
You got this. 🤙
WorksheetHandout 3: Home Repair Home Base Checklist
Handout 3: Home Repair Home Base Checklist
This is the one I want you to keep on your fridge, not in a drawer somewhere. Fill it in during class today while it's fresh. Real quick, don't overthink it.
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Find These Before You Ever Need Them
Water main shutoff Location: ______________________________ (Mine's in the garage, behind the water heater. Found out the hard way, standing in a puddle in my socks. Go find yours today, not during an emergency.)
Electrical panel Location: ______________________________ Is it labeled? ☐ Yes ☐ No ☐ Sort of, and I don't trust it
Water heater shutoff (separate from the main) Location: ______________________________
Gas shutoff (if you have gas appliances) Location: ______________________________
Shutoff valves under each sink and toilet Kitchen sink: ☐ Found it ☐ Doesn't have one (call a plumber, that's not normal) Bathroom sink(s): ☐ Found it Toilet(s): ☐ Found it
If you couldn't find one of these today, that's your homework. Not kidding.
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The Three Cheap Fixes (Know These Cold)
1. Running toilet Usually the flapper. Parts run about $9. My fix: ☐ Practiced today ☐ Watched only ☐ Still nervous, that's fine
2. Dripping faucet Usually a worn washer or cartridge. Cheap, annoying, not scary. My fix: ☐ Practiced today ☐ Watched only
3. Garbage disposal that "died" Nine times out of ten it's the little red reset button on the bottom. Push it before you panic and before you buy a new disposal. My fix: ☐ Found the button ☐ Still looking
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My Starter Toolbox (check off what you've got, circle what you still need)
☐ Phillips screwdriver ☐ Flathead screwdriver ☐ Adjustable wrench ☐ Needle-nose pliers ☐ Utility knife ☐ Tape measure ☐ Level ☐ Putty knife ☐ Hammer ☐ Flashlight or headlamp ☐ Safety glasses (wear them when you sand, seriously) ☐ Bucket and old towels (for anything under a sink)
Reminder: you do not need a $200 drill this year. Go on a DI run. Get something for eight bucks that works, upgrade later once you know what you actually reach for. I still use screwdrivers I found for four dollars in a bin.
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My Own Notes
Something I want to remember from today: _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________
A repair I want to try at home this month: _________________________________________________
Something I'm still nervous about (no wrong answers here): _________________________________________________
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Bring this back next week. We'll check in on what you tried, what worked, and what turned into a bigger project than you expected. That happens. Budget triple the time YouTube tells you and you'll be fine.
You got this. 🤙
HandoutHandout 4: Troubleshooting Guide — The Stuff That'll Come Up First
Handout 4: Troubleshooting Guide — The Stuff That'll Come Up First
Here's the thing. Most of what breaks in your first year of homeowning isn't a disaster. It's a nine-dollar part and twenty minutes. Below are the problems I see the most, in the order you'll probably run into them. Don't overthink this. You got this.
1. Toilet runs constantly Nine times out of ten it's the flapper, that rubber flap at the bottom of the tank. It's worn out and not sealing. Turn off the water at the little valve behind the toilet, drain the tank, swap the flapper. Costs about nine bucks. This is literally my origin story. I lay in bed listening to mine refill every twenty minutes before I fixed it. Felt like I'd won the lottery.
2. Faucet drips Almost always a worn washer or cartridge inside the handle. Brand and style matter here, so take the old part with you to the store instead of guessing. Fixed one of these for a lady in my ward once and she fed me dinner. Worth learning.
3. Garbage disposal "died" It's not dead. Look underneath for a little red reset button and push it. If it hums but won't spin, there's an Allen wrench slot on the bottom, jiggle it manually first. I've looked like a wizard fixing this one more times than I'll admit.
4. Door won't latch Before you touch a plane or a chisel, check the strike plate screws on the frame. Loose screw, plate shifts, door won't catch. Tighten it. Took me twenty minutes of planing and cursing to learn this. Eight seconds with a screwdriver would've done it.
5. Drywall ding or small hole Mud it, then walk away. Let it dry fully, overnight if you can. Our dry air out here actually works in your favor for once. Sand light. The biggest mistake is touching it too soon, or, worse, sanding so hard you blow a new hole through your patch. Ask me how I know.
6. Squeaky hinge WD-40 or a dab of dish soap on the pin. Takes thirty seconds. If you're out of both, you're not fixing this tonight, and that's fine.
7. Leak under the sink First move: find your water shutoff and turn it off. Not after you panic, before. Everybody in this class found their main shutoff on day one for a reason. I once stood in a flooding garage in my socks with no idea where mine was. Never again.
When you reconnect a supply line, hand-tight plus a small nudge with the wrench is the whole game. I cracked a plastic nut once because "tighter felt safer." It did not feel safer once the cabinet flooded.
8. Slow or clogged drain Plunger first, real elbow grease. If that fails, a cheap drain snake from the hardware aisle handles most hair and gunk clogs. Skip the chemical drain cleaners if you can, they're rough on old pipes and rougher on your eyes if it splashes back.
9. Wall texture doesn't match after a patch Honestly? This is my gap. I've spent a whole Saturday trying to match texture and failed. Now I hire it out for the spots that show. No shame in knowing your limit.
10. Anything involving your electrical panel Call an electrician. Firmly. I'll help you with almost anything in this house, but wiring is where I stop pretending. Respect the panel.
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Before you leave today: pull up your water main location on your phone. Doesn't matter how, a photo, a note, whatever. Just know where it is before you need it.
podcast_scriptClass podcast — episode 1
Audio coming soon — show notes below.
JESS: —wait, say that again, because I don't think people believe you actually lay there for six hours listening to it.
BRYAN: Six hours. Literally six hours. I'm lying in bed, it's refilling every twenty minutes, that little hiss and then the tank filling up, and I'm just staring at the ceiling.
JESS: And you didn't text anyone.
BRYAN: I did not text anyone. I was newly divorced, I had a house, I had a toolbox from a DI run that had like, one screwdriver and a hammer in it, and I was too proud to admit I didn't know how a toilet worked.
JESS: This is Bryan Dotson, by the way. Hi. I'm Jess, I run the podcast side of things for Utah Community Learning, and this is episode one of Basic Home Repair for New Homeowners, which starts up next week at the rec center.
BRYAN: Should've led with that.
JESS: I got excited about the toilet story. Sue me. Okay, so, six hours in bed. Then what.
BRYAN: Then it's like eleven-thirty and I finally just google it on my phone. Turns out it's the flapper. That little rubber piece at the bottom of the tank that's supposed to seal shut after it flushes. Mine had gone soft and warped and it just wasn't sealing right, so water kept trickling out and the tank kept refilling itself all night trying to keep up.
JESS: And the fix was...
BRYAN: Nine dollars. Nine dollars at the hardware store. I drove there the next morning still in my work clothes, bought a flapper, came home, watched a two-minute video, swapped it out. Took me longer to find the water shutoff behind the toilet than it did to actually do the repair.
JESS: And you kept it. The old one.
BRYAN: I kept the old flapper on my windowsill for like a week. Like a trophy. My buddy came over and was like, why do you have a slimy rubber disc on your windowsill, and I was like, that's not slimy, that's victory.
JESS: [laughing] Okay but here's the thing I actually want to hammer on, because this is the whole reason the class exists. That thing felt like an emergency at midnight.
BRYAN: Right.
JESS: But it wasn't.
BRYAN: It was never an emergency. That's the pattern with, like, ninety percent of the stuff people panic about in their first house. Running toilet, dripping faucet, garbage disposal that "died" — these all sound like disasters and they're almost always a five or ten dollar fix. People psych themselves out because the sound of it is scary. Water running at night is a scary sound. But scary sound does not equal expensive problem. Nine times out of ten it's cheap.
JESS: Okay, give people something real quick. Something they can use tonight, without taking the class.
BRYAN: Yeah, don't overthink this. If you've got a toilet that runs, or refills randomly even when nobody's used it, take the tank lid off — carefully, those are heavy and they chip — and look at the flapper. If it's discolored, or it looks warped, or slimy, or it's just not sitting flat over the hole, that's probably your whole problem. Flappers are universal-ish, they're cheap, they take five minutes. You do not need to call a plumber for that one. You got this.
JESS: And if it's not the flapper?
BRYAN: Then we'll cover it in class. But start there. It's the flapper like eight times out of ten.
JESS: Okay, so that's the toilet win. But the thing I actually think about from your intro session last year — remember you told everyone to find their water main.
BRYAN: Oh, yeah. Day one, always. Everybody in the room, phone out, and you find where your main shutoff is before you leave. I'm mildly obsessive about this one.
JESS: Why though. Walk people through it who aren't in the room yet.
BRYAN: Because I had a leak once — under a sink, different story, different class session — and I go to shut off the water main and I realize I have literally never once located it. I'm standing in a wet garage in my socks trying to remember if it's the red handle or the wheel thing, water's still coming, and I'm googling "where is water main" while my socks are soaked through.
JESS: Nightmare.
BRYAN: It's insane that nobody tells new homeowners this on day one. You get the keys, you get a stack of paperwork, nobody hands you a flashlight and says here's your shutoff, memorize this. So that's homework before session two. Find it. Doesn't have to be complicated, just know where it is and which way turns it off.
JESS: Speaking of session two — give people a preview.
BRYAN: Next time we're doing drywall. Small holes, doorknob dents, that kind of thing. I've got a whole confession lined up about a hole I made bigger by sanding it too soon, so, that's coming.
JESS: A teaser.
BRYAN: A teaser. Bring a putty knife if you have one, if not we've got extras. And find your water main before then. Seriously. 🤙
JESS: That's the episode. See you next week.
podcast_scriptClass podcast — episode 2
Audio coming soon — show notes below.
JESS: —wait, wait, say that part again, because I don't think people believe you actually hired someone.
BRYAN: I hired someone. No shame. I'm telling this story on myself on purpose.
JESS: Okay. For the people just joining us, we're back, this is episode two, we're talking drywall today. Go.
BRYAN: So this is a couple years ago. I've got one wall in the living room, previous owner did some kind of repair, and it's got this light texture on it that doesn't match the rest of the room. Just slightly off. Bugs me every time I walk past it.
JESS: How off are we talking.
BRYAN: Like, you'd only notice if you were staring at it, which of course I was, because I'm the one who knows it's there. So I decide I'm gonna fix it myself. Saturday, I've got my hopper gun, I watched like four videos, I'm feeling good.
JESS: Uh oh.
BRYAN: I'm feeling good for about forty minutes. Then it's four hours later and I've re-textured this wall probably six times, and every single time it dries different than the rest of the room. Too heavy, too light, wrong pattern, one time it looked like orange peel when the rest of the room is more of a splatter knockdown thing.
JESS: Did the day end with you fixing it?
BRYAN: The day ended with me calling a guy. A literal professional came out, looked at my wall for like ninety seconds, and fixed it in twenty minutes. Twenty minutes, Jess.
JESS: And how'd that feel.
BRYAN: Honestly? Fine. That's the thing I actually want people to hear today. I spent a whole Saturday proving to myself that texture matching is not my thing, and then I paid somebody forty bucks and went and did something else with my life. That's not a loss. That's data.
JESS: You use that phrase a lot. "That's data."
BRYAN: Because it's true! You gotta be willing to find your ceiling. I'll try almost anything once, but I'm not gonna pretend I'm good at everything just because I fixed a toilet one time and got cocky about it.
JESS: Okay, so let's actually get into the lesson, because people came for drywall, not just your confession booth.
BRYAN: Fair. So texture, we're not doing in class, I want to be upfront about that. What we ARE doing next session is patching an actual hole, small to medium size, the kind you get from a doorknob punching through or somebody moving a shelf bracket.
JESS: The doorknob thing happens more than people think.
BRYAN: Constantly. Here's the thing about patching drywall. Everybody rushes it. Every single person, including me, the first time I ever did this. I sanded my very first patch so aggressively, trying to get it perfectly smooth right away, that I sanded straight through the patch and ended up with a bigger hole than I started with.
JESS: You made it worse.
BRYAN: I made it significantly worse. And the lesson wasn't about sanding technique. The lesson was patience. You gotta let the mud dry all the way, and I mean all the way, before you touch it again. Overnight if you can.
JESS: That feels like it fights every instinct.
BRYAN: It fights every instinct! You want it done, it looks dry-ish, you go at it with the sanding block, and nine times out of ten you've gone too soon. One nice thing about living up here, our air is so dry it actually works in your favor. Drying time's usually faster than what the box says. Still. Wait for it.
JESS: Okay, that's basically the free tip, right? For somebody listening who's not even taking the class.
BRYAN: Yeah, honestly, if you take one thing from this episode: don't touch your drywall patch until it's bone dry. Tap it, if it feels cool or the color's darker in spots, it's still wet. Give it another few hours. Don't overthink the mudding part, overthink the waiting part.
JESS: I love that you just reversed the thing people think they should worry about.
BRYAN: That's the YouTube problem. Every video makes this look like a ten-minute job because they cut out the part where they walked away for six hours. Budget way more time than you think. You will not be mad you had extra time. You will be mad you didn't.
JESS: Okay. So next session, we're patching real holes.
BRYAN: Real holes, small ones, we'll do a doorknob-sized one and a smaller nail-pop kind of situation so you see both. Everybody's bringing their own practice board, we talked about that in the first episode, if you missed it check the show notes.
JESS: And no texture matching.
BRYAN: No texture matching. That's a whole separate skill and honestly some of you should just hire it out too, and that's fine. You got this on the patch part. That part's yours.
JESS: Alright. Bryan, anything else before we wrap.
BRYAN: Just, find your water main this week if you didn't do it after last episode. I mean it. Phone note, actual location, go look at it right now.
JESS: We will hold you to that, listeners. See everybody next session.
podcast_scriptClass podcast — episode 3
Audio coming soon — show notes below.
JESS: —no, but that's the part nobody tells you, right? That it's a screw.
BRYAN: One screw. Eight seconds. I want that on my tombstone honestly.
JESS: Okay wait, back up, you can't just start the story in the middle.
BRYAN: Sorry, sorry. Okay. So this is Hunter, my neighbor. His door, the one to the garage, stops latching. Just won't catch. And Hunter's convinced it's the whole door. Says it must've warped, humidity, whatever.
JESS: Very confident diagnosis for a guy who didn't take the class yet.
BRYAN: Extremely confident. So I go over there and I'm planing the door. You know, shaving the edge down with a hand plane, trying to get it to fit the frame better. Twenty minutes. I'm sweating. Hunter's just standing there holding a flashlight like we're doing surgery.
JESS: Very supportive of him.
BRYAN: And finally I stop and actually look at the strike plate. That's the little metal piece on the frame the latch clicks into. And it's loose. Like, one screw, barely hanging on, whole plate's crooked. I tighten it. Door closes perfect. Eight seconds.
JESS: After twenty minutes of planing.
BRYAN: After twenty minutes of planing a door that was never the problem. That one lives in my head rent free. Because here's the thing, I did it the hard way first, and I do that a lot, and I'm trying to save you guys from doing that.
JESS: This is a good excuse to bring up the tip, actually. Because I feel like this applies past doors.
BRYAN: Oh yeah. Nine times out of ten with a sticking or non-latching door, check the strike plate before you touch anything else. Loosen it, wiggle it, see if it's sitting crooked in the frame. Takes ten seconds and a screwdriver. Don't start planing wood off your door like an animal, like I did.
JESS: And you don't need a fancy screwdriver either.
BRYAN: God no. I got a full set at DI for four bucks, still use them. Don't buy new tools for this stuff, that's a whole separate rant I'll spare everyone.
JESS: You will not spare everyone, you say this every episode.
BRYAN: It's important! Buy used first, upgrade later once you know what you actually reach for.
JESS: Okay so that's the free tip, listeners, check your strike plate before you do anything dramatic to your door. What else is on deck this week, are we still doing the toilet stuff?
BRYAN: We did toilets last time. This week's caulk and drywall patching, which, real quick, is genuinely my favorite session because it's the one where people ruin something in front of me and I get to say "yep, that's supposed to happen."
JESS: Nobody wants to hear that mid-project though.
BRYAN: No, but it's true! Drywall mud looks awful wet. It looks worse than the hole did. Everybody panics at that stage. I want them to panic in my classroom where I can talk them down, not at ten p.m. alone googling it.
JESS: Which, speaking of googling it alone at ten p.m.—
BRYAN: Don't.
JESS: I'm not gonna do the toilet story again, I know you're saving that.
BRYAN: I mean I'll tell it again if people want, I'm not precious about it. Nine dollar flapper, still have the old one on my windowsill, it's basically a museum piece at this point.
JESS: A trophy of shame.
BRYAN: A trophy of victory, Jess. There's a difference.
JESS: Okay. So next session, drywall and caulk. What should people bring, or is it all supplied?
BRYAN: Supplied. Just bring safety glasses if you've got them, we sand a little and dust gets everywhere, dry air out here doesn't help. If you don't have glasses I've got extras, don't stress about it.
JESS: And don't touch the mud too soon.
BRYAN: Do not touch the mud too soon. That's the whole class basically. Patience beats skill on drywall every single time. I learned that by sanding through my own patch and making the hole bigger than when I started.
JESS: A story for another episode.
BRYAN: A story for another episode. Alright, go find your strike plates, everybody. You got this.
Videos worth your time
Hand-picked by your instructor, with notes on what to watch for.
- How I Learned to Do Home Repairs - You Can Do It TooFlannel Guy DIY
Watch how a total beginner builds confidence tackling home repairs step by step.
- Home Improvement: Learn Basic Tools & Tricks for Repair Around the HouseAPH — American Printing House for the Blind
Pay attention to the basic tool identification section since knowing your tools is the first step to any repair.
- Simple Home RepairsDIY Network
Notice how each simple fix is broken into just a few clear steps you can repeat at home.
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