Former NHS Home Repair Students
I know some Brownstoners have taken the course in the past. Were you able to put your skills to good use this summer? Did you team up with a class member and assisted them in doing more repairs? The Fall 2010 class begins in September, what do you think should be improved?
I know some Brownstoners have taken the course in the past. Were you able to put your skills to good use this summer?
Did you team up with a class member and assisted them in doing more repairs?
The Fall 2010 class begins in September, what do you think should be improved?
any idea if this course will be offered again in 2011? any other places that offer this type of course?
I’d love to find one a little closer to home (Bay Ridge)
Tiling was fantastic. I learned a lot. I feel very confident of my ability to tile just about anything. I guess that one was pretty in depth.
Any thought on the tiling?
Greetings Mopar,
Thanks for the feedback. This thread has proved more feedback than the course evaluations.
Hi Tyronem —
I took the first class. Some of the things I mention were indeed covered. I’m saying I would have liked to cover them in more depth. It might be helpful to have a three-session class structured around something like “top ten homeowner repairs” like Gale suggests above.
Repairing holes and cracks in plaster and skim coating would be an extremely valuable skill to teach.
Since I took the class, I’ve partially installed a kitchen faucet in a wall-hung farmhouse sink. That’s about it as far as skills related to the class. I’ve done a lot of painting and scraping. We’ve had plenty of electrical, plumbing, and skim coating that I’ve hired others to do. I have a lot of plaster repair that I need to do myself in the future.
I know the class can’t cover everything, but maybe it should assume that many of us will be dealing with old brownstones rather than textbook Home Depot new construction. For example, toilets can have lead bends, wood floors and linoleum, so removal and installation is a little different than over tile. Sinks can have fixed pipes with old non-standard parts. Etc.
Anyway, thanks very much for the classes, they’re greatly appreciated.
@DIBS -Bwahhahhaa!
I thoroughly enjoyed the courses. Count myself as one of those women with limited knowledge beyond a hammer and nail. I have always loved Home Depot and Lowe’s but now…I’m a super user!
What I loved most about the class is the foundation it gave me regarding construction/renovation/repair. I don’t necessarily have the total skill set to do everything! But I sure as heck know when I need to let a contractor come in and what I should expect from him when he does come in.
Hubby & I took both beginner and advanced classes with Mark. He’s a wonderful instructor, and I must say, very good-looking, if not quite as gorgeous as the guy in the picture.
We learned many of the basics, and we now do most of our own small home repairs, though we still hire contractors for big stuff. Mark told the class that ‘any contractor who isn’t proud to have you watch him work is taking shortcuts you don’t want.’ We’ve kept that in mind ever since, and that alone has been worth the price of the classes to us. The class was a great value, by the way. We have recommended it to our friends.
That said, I would like less instruction and more hands on from the very beginning, that is, explain to us the uses of the various types of hammers while we’re trying them out. I would also like to see a class devoted to ‘top ten home repairs’, such as plumbing leaks, spackling walls, etc. Hope that’s helpful.
Hubby & I took both beginner and advanced classes with Mark. He’s a wonderful instructor, and I must say, very good-looking, if not quite as gorgeous as the guy in the picture.
We learned many of the basics, and we now do most of our own small home repairs, though we still hire contractors for big stuff. Mark told the class that ‘any contractor who isn’t proud to have you watch him work is taking shortcuts you don’t want.’ We’ve kept that in mind ever since, and that alone has been worth the price of the classes to us. The class was a great value, by the way. We have recommended it to our friends.
That said, I would like less instruction and more hands on from the very beginning, that is, explain to us the uses of the various types of hammers while we’re trying them out. I would also like to see a class devoted to ‘top ten home repairs’, such as plumbing leaks, spackling walls, etc. Hope that’s helpful.
Greetings Mopar:
Thanks for the note regarding correcting plaster and fixing a faucets. However, installing toilets (1st level) is taught in the class as well as lighting fixtures. In the second level, you learn how to install a ceiling fan. Did you take the second level? Has what you learned been put into practice?