To learn handyman skills of the basic level is important for a man, especially one who’s living alone in an apartment or a condo. When you know your way around the toolbox, you not only save some money for future needs but also inculcate the feeling of self-assurance and ownership around your house. It’s completely alright to leave the heavy work such as deep plumbing, or electrical work to the pros, but it’s essential to acquaint yourself with the basic stuff such as learning handyman skills. So, if you’re looking forward to learning handyman skills, start with the below-mentioned basic handyman skills list. 

The Basic Handyman Skills List

Once you get the knack of them and your confidence expands, you can up your level and try some more handyman stuff. Let's get started with our list. 

1. Fixing a loose tile

A loose tile generally precedes a broken tile, in which case you’ll leave with no choice other than to replace it and call a person to help you with that. To prevent the waste of time and money, let’s fix the loose tile at home. 

For this, you will need to preheat the iron and run it over the loose tile and its surrounding area. Once the tile is no longer attached to the ground, gently lift it. Then, clean the area with the help of alcohol and if there’s still some adhesive left, you can use a putty knife for that. Once you’re sure that the area is clean and there’s no residue of the old adhesive, apply a new adhesive to the area and the back of the tile. Then, gently replace the tile. To prevent the formation of an air bubble, you need to use a rolling pin to make sure that the tile is placed properly. 

2. Keep a stud handy

Instead of using stud finders that make you dependent, you can find the stud yourself. For those who don’t know, studs are vertical beams that are used to support walls, furniture, helpful during mounting decorations and TV screens. 

3. Replace the caulking of sink, bathtub, or shower

Caulking skills are required especially when there’s leakage around your sink or bathtub. For those who are unaware, caulking is the sealing material or a line of putty that gathers the basin to the wall or the floor. Caulking needs to be resealed once every year. 

For this, you need to take a plastic putty knife and scrape off the old caulking. Once you’ve successfully achieved that, you need to spot clean the entire surface with the help of alcohol. Once cleaned, you need to apply a masking tape above and below the place you’re applying the caulk. Next, with the help of the caulk’s tube, normally advised to choose the one with silicon, you need to load it into the caulking gun and follow the rest of the injunctions that are printed on the package. 

After reading the instructions carefully and following suit, gently move the caulking gun through the seam that you want to patch while pressing down its trigger through regular intervals. Once you’ve successfully applied it, smoothen and flatten it with the help of your fingers so there is no excess caulk left. You can leave the caulking to dry off for a day or two. 

4. Attach a bookcase to a wall

If you have a plethora of tomes with you, it’s time to make a shelter for all of them. With the help of a stud, you can make a bookshelf for them which should be attached to the wall, adding the aesthetic element to the entire house. 

For this, the first thing that is required of you to do is to find the studs in the wall on which you want to attach the bookshelf. Now, there are different ways to carry on this project which majorly depends upon the type of bookcase you want to build on the wall.

For instance, if your bookshelf does not have a back, you can measure and space two L-brackets which are approximately 25 inches apart. While you’re doing this, make sure that one of them is a stud. With the help of a pencil, you can mark the drill holes on the wall and the shelf. Next, you need to screw the L-bracket to the underside of the wall and the shelf. 

On the other hand, if you are planning to have a bookshelf which has a back, it’s a bit complicated but not impossible. You need to first take the measurements of the case. Whatever you get, subtract its frame and then cut an approximately one-fifth piece of the lumber to match. Next, you need to drill approximately three pilot holes which are placed evenly at the height of the top shelf of the case. 

Next, you need to mark their locations on the lumber and then place them to drill second pilot holes to line up the lumber with the walls. Once you’ve successfully done that, you can screw the board to the wall. Make sure that the screws are long enough so that they can pass through the board and into the wall stud. The last step is to attach the two L-brackets to the underside of the bookcase before keeping the bookshelf to its original space. 

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5. Plaster a hole

When you remove or relocate a wall painting, the most annoying things are those unwanted tiny but visible holes and bumps which keep a watch on you throughout the day. To get rid of this problem, you will need a spackle, some paint, and a putty knife. 

The first thing that you need to do is to spot clean the area so there are no residue orbits left. Once you’ve done that, apply some spackle over the hole with the help of a putty knife and press a smooth layer over the holes. Next, leave it to dry for approximately two to three hours. If you think an extra layer is required, then by all means go forward. 

Give our handyman skills list a try

This is the basic handyman skills list that every man should consider especially if they’re an amateur. Once you are well acquainted with all of them, you can go forward and explore some other interesting handyman stuff. Hope you found this list useful!