This book is written for all the women who weren’t blessed as I was to have a father who could not only “do anything around the house”, but who was willing to teach me how as well. This book is for all the women who are tired of asking fathers, husbands, boyfriends, partners, and neighbors to come help them out with a project. This book is for all the women who are tired of hiring a handyman, plumber or electrician to do a simple job and then said to themselves, “that wasn’t very hard, I could have done that.” This book is for all the women who have been tempted to try something but were afraid they would screw it up. And lastly, this book is for all the women who have had the courage to start a project, but didn’t have the knowledge to see it through to a successful completion.
Since I cannot travel to every one of your homes to give you personal instruction, I wrote this book. I hope that when you read this book you will hear my voice talking to you as I have talked to the women in my classes over the years and to the women I have worked with one on one in the privacy of their own homes.
I start the book with a very basic introduction to tools, all the tools you will need to complete the projects I cover in the book. The right tools make every job easier. After you know about tools I tell you about how to go shopping for materials and supplies. This can be an overwhelming and frustrating process and I hope that I have answered the questions that will make shopping easier and more fun for you. Once you have the tools and materials you need I jump right into all the different projects women have asked me to teach them how to do since I started my business. You will learn how to hang things like pictures, curtains and shades and how to repair damaged walls. I will explain how to fix the many problems that happen with doors and how to paint a room successfully.
Then we will move into the bathroom and take on the many water and non-water related projects available there. We will finish up with a group of carpentry projects designed to introduce you to my favorite power tools and a lesson on basic electrical repairs. In the glossary I hope you will find definitions for unfamiliar tools and terms.
By the time you have worked your way through the projects that interest you in this book I hope you will have acquired several things; comfort and familiarity with hand and power tools, an understanding of how to assess and plan for a project, the freedom to say “no” to projects that you don’t feel comfortable with and the realization that you can say “yes” to an unlimited list of projects to improve your home.
