When newlyweds Jonathan Ashton and Natalie Rucker decided to buy their first home, they sought out a fixer-upper in hopes of increasing its value in a short period of time.
The plan had only one small flaw: Neither of the former apartment dwellers had ever accomplished even the simplest do-it-yourself project. Not that Ashton, 35, let that stop him.
“I sort of have the tendency toward wanting to do things myself,” he said.
Record-low interest rates have transformed many renters into homeowners–and do-it-yourselfers. In fact, purchases by first-time buyers accounted for 4 out of 10 home purchases in 2004, according to a study released by the National Association of Realtors.
Homeowners who once turned to the building superintendent or landlord to fix leaky toilets, clogged sinks and squeaky doors are flying solo now.
“You’d be amazed at how many people that have no experience with do-it-yourself home improvement,” said Lou Manfredini, Ace Hardware’s “Helpful Hardware Man” and host of “Mr. Fix-It” WGN radio. “They’re used to living in an apartments where there’s a super that does all this stuff.”
Not to mention that many young homeowners are from a generation whose parents often were not handy, and so they lack mentors and the most basic knowledge of home repair, Manfredini added.
Like Ashton. “They had already phased out shop class from my high school by the time I got there, so I had to learn real basic stuff, like how to put a new blade on my circular saw,” recalled Ashton. “Really basic stuff.”
First-time fixer-uppers who wander through the North Avenue Home Depot in Chicago often come into the store without understanding the scope of their projects.
“What they really need is some good advice,” said Mary Jo Soto, a department supervisor at Home Depot. “They don’t know exactly what steps they should take or how they should take them or what they’re even going to need.”
Soto and her associates steer the often-frustrated and stressed un-handymen and women to the right tools, guides and supplies, as well as toward the store’s clinic schedule, which includes offerings such as “You Can Lay Ceramic Tile,” “Power Tools 101” and “You Can Install A Faucet.”
“The best thing that a new homeowner can do is plan,” said Soto. “When you have a plan, you have a time limit, you have a budget. You can anticipate what you’re going to need and how much time, and I think that helps alleviate a lot of the stress.”
It also helps to start with a confidence-builder. Armed with a home repair guidebook, Ashton began with one of the easiest home-improvement tasks: painting. Every room in the nearly 100-year-old Oak Park home received a fresh hue, from sage green in the living room to pale lavender in the bathroom.
Next came installing a ceramic-tile backsplash in the kitchen and crown molding to hide the less-than-clean line between the ceiling and walls in the living and dining rooms. Ashton then moved outside to replace the soffits, repair the gutters and fix the roofing over the back porch.
Although Ashton said his wife is “tolerant” of his tinkering and he has gained confidence with each DIY task he has accomplished, he still knows when to call in professionals.
“I don’t do the dangerous stuff, like messing with the electricity,” he said. “Anything that will cause the house to explode or burn down, I’m not allowed to touch.”
Of course, once a homeowner has lived in a place a while, it will begin showing its true workings all on its own.
“You’re going to start noticing a lot more things than you noticed when you first bought the house,” said Manfredini.
Like loose tiles. Cracked caulking. Peeling paints. And so begins the fun.
Carmen Gioiosa, 27, says her Lincoln Park condominium, built in 1891, has been a work in progress since she bought it eight months ago. With help from her dad, she has torn up carpeting, painted, installed a new pedestal sink and tile in her bathroom and opened up a wall to create a pass-through and let light into her kitchen.
Keeping resale in mind, Gioiosa also designed a new kitchen with cherry cabinetry, stainless appliances and a tall pantry on wheels. After gutting the space herself, she hired professional installers.
“I just thought, OK, I think the kitchen’s gotta go,” Gioiosa recalled of her laminated countertop, broken cabinets and 20-year-old appliances.
Next she plans to tile the floor. “It’s still a work in progress,” she said of her condo.
Making time for maintenance
But while new homeowners are more inclined to budget time and money for improvements such as kitchen cabinets or a bathroom sink, routine maintenance and repair can fall through the cracks.
Chores that new homeowners often don’t remember include cleaning gutters, having a termite inspection every spring, servicing the air conditioner or changing batteries in smoke detectors, said Don Norman, president of the American Society of Home Inspectors, based in Des Plaines.
For the most part, it’s the simple stuff, such as furnace filters, that have stumped Gioiosa as a homeowner.
“Things like that, that I would never have thought about a couple of years ago,” she explained. “And now, it’s on the calendar.”
Even learning to working with contractors and handymen to do repairs can be an intimidating and frustrating process for the first-time homeowner.
Home improvement books that advise new homeowners about furnace filters, water leaks and just about anything else that might possibly be in store make great housewarming gifts, according to Manfredini.
“When you buy a car, you get an owner’s manual to let you know how to use the wipers and how to turn the lights on,” he explained. “When you buy a toaster, you get a set of instructions. When you buy a house, all you get is a mortgage.”
Manfredini answers about 60 home improvement questions posted each day to the “Ask Ace’s Helpful Hardware Man” Web page. Many times, he ends up having cyber-conversations with homeowners about their do-it-yourself problems.
And he doesn’t mind a bit.
“I really am on a mission to try to teach people that there’s a lot you can do yourself,” Manfredini said.
“A lot of it is common sense. It is not brain surgery in the least.”
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Start a plan
If you’re a new homeowner, don’t toss that inspection report in a drawer. It can be as valuable after you purchase your home as before. Here’s how:
MAKE A LIST
“If you hired a good inspector, they’ll also make recommendations,” said home improvement expert Lou Manfredini. “Take a look at that inspection report and create a to-do list. And then prioritize that list.”
BUDGET AHEAD
Look to see if the inspector noted the estimated ages of the various systems in a home–such as the furnace, roof or appliances– and their normal economic life span, said Don Norman, president of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), based in Des Plaines.
“The homeowner can use that inspection report sort of as a map or a chart of what needs to be done when,” he added.
For example, if a roof is 10 years old, and it has an economic life span of 16 to 20 years, a homeowner can begin to budget for repairs that will need to be done down the road, explained Norman.
PLAN MAINTENANCE
According to ASHI, accompanying your home inspector allows you to ask questions about the home and how to maintain it. After seeing the property with the inspector, you will find the written report easier to understand and have an idea of what routine maintenance tasks should be done.
— Darci Smith
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You can do it
Don’t know if you have what it takes to do-it-yourself? You may be surprised at how handy you can be. According to Lou Manfredini, national home improvement expert and Ace’s “Helpful Hardware Man,” there is a plethora of projects even a novice can successfully accomplish, like:
Painting. “It’s a very forgiving DIY project. If you make some mistakes painting, it’s not the end of the world because, you know what, you can just repaint the wall again.”
Light carpentry. “You can shave a door [that sticks] down. Sometimes if the door’s sticking, it’s as easy as tightening up the screws in the hinges.”
Caulking. “A novice do-it-yourselfer with a little bit of advice can recaulk their tub for about $5.”
Fixing toilets. “For $24, you can buy the complete kit for inside of a toilet and change it yourself in about an hour.”
— Darci Smith
