Home Fixes: skills checklist

Most home repairs that feel urgent are small once you know where to look. A toilet that will not stop running usually needs one inexpensive part. A slow sink is usually hair on the stopper. A dead outlet is often a tripped breaker or a GFCI outlet in another room. The difference between a ten-minute fix and a weekend of stress is knowing the first three things to check.

Here you will find the fixes renters and new homeowners meet first: unclogging toilets and sinks without chemicals, fixing a running toilet and a dripping faucet, finding and testing the main water shutoff, resetting a breaker, patching drywall, mounting a TV or heavy mirror safely, recaulking a tub, painting a room, changing the furnace filter, testing smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and assembling flat-pack furniture in the right order.

Two firm limits run through the whole category. Electrical work stops at resetting a breaker or a GFCI outlet; anything behind a cover plate is a licensed electrician's job. And the only gas skill taught is the right one: if you smell gas, leave first and call from outside.