Growing up I had a Dad who would rather fix things himself and take us out for ice cream with the money he saved. As far as I was concerned, there wasn't anything my Dad couldn't tackle, but there were a few very important lessons about the home I picked up along the way. Even if there's not a handy Dad in your family, these are still great ideas to impress upon your children early so they will have smooth sailing when they have their own home someday.
My Father obviously taught me more than 5 things throughout my life. I'm leaving out good stuff like how to BBQ an entire pork shoulder (properly), play the harmonica, ride a bike, fix a flat tire, and rebuild an engine. Although great, they don't really relate to the house. Here are a few that do and are worth teaching your children:
1. Know How To Operate The Breaker Box & Find A Flashlight: Growing up we lived at the end of a heavily tree-lined street backed by a creek. Anytime the winds picked up there was a chance we'd lose power. Knowing where flashlights were was important, especially as I hit my tween years and was home alone. Before I could drive a car, I knew how to flip the main breaker back on to our house.
2. How To Turn Off The Water To The House: Although I'm still not a wizard at plumbing I did learn two very important things that have allowed me several times to save my floors and furnishings from flooding. My dad taught me how to turn off the water at the toilet and also how to turn it off to the whole house. It might sound silly, but the first time I lived on my own and things start overflowing, even if I didn't know how to fix the problem, I could still lessen the damage.
3. How To Level A Ladder: Many parts of the exterior of our home were quite difficult to reach without the help of an extension ladder. The ground wasn't always level as we had a driveway that wrapped around and down behind the house. My dad used this homemade contraption to keep himself in the air without any problems and I've used it later on in my own homes - brilliant!
4. How To Clean The Gutters: When I set out on my own and found myself renting a home where we were expected to do all the household maintenance, knowing how to clean my gutters came in quite handy. Although my father would never let me be the one on the ladder when I was younger, I still knew how the process worked and to this day have never spent money on a professional gutter guy.
5. How To Drywall, Paint & Trim Out Walls: When I was younger my parents put up walls in our basement to make a home office for my mother. It became oddly cathartic to sand the drywall mud smooth and eliminate all traces of the joints. Painting our own place was standard and we changed wall colors many times, but Dad also showed me how to use the miter saw to cut trim to finish off the look.
What did your Dad teach you? Has there been a moment that you were glad you knew how to do something when it came to your home to save you money or that you were embedded with quick thinking reflexes? Let us know below!
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My dad is incredible. I value everything my dad has taught me over the years, and even now approaching my 32nd year, I still call him and rely on his advice. Things he taught me:
Respect the land- I grew up on a farm in Southwest Georgia. Not only did he teach his youngest daughter (me) to drive a tractor, but to plant, harvest, and feed and care for livestock. We were organic before it was popular, and the chickens were so free range that they chased me in my grandfather's yard. I use to help him pick okra in the heat of summer, and watched him harvest peanuts in the fall. Many times, we ate from the fruits of our labor.
Read and get your education- I was taught to read at age 3 by my dad by sitting in his lap every night to the Wallstreet Journal. Yes, the Wallstreet journal. Though we read children's books, he also taught me to stay current with events around us and in the world. He has always stressed the importance of education and keep your mind sharp.
Yard work- I have never been afraid to plant, trim, or mow anything. My front yard was a pasture, and imagine mowing that lot in the summer even on a riding lawnmower.
Never be shy to do it yourself- Be it a sander, drill, saw, or nail gun, he taught me. He taught me to paint, tile, and grout. He even built by himself a two car garage for him and my stepmom.
Never let my gender deter me- He understood the importance of empowering me and told me never let anyone tell me I can't do something just cause I am a girl. I can't describe enough how much that has always meant to me.
Next week he will turn 74. I love you, Daddy!
My dad is not the fix-it-yourself type at all. My husband, on the other hand, is not afraid to tackle any home task and I know our kids will learn so much from him. I'd add to this list: How to change a light fixture.
How to be curious and able to take things apart and repair them. While I may not always do that, I know that I am able to.
My mom actually taught me more DIY lessons than my dad (quietly, so my dad wouldn't realize how handy she actually was).
But my dad did teach me how to hang things - shelves, pictures, curtains - very important stuff.
My dad taught me how to change a flat tire (by making me practice on all 4 wheels of the family car before being allowed to drive it). I can't tell you how many times that's come in handy - including once on the Jersey Turnpike with 2 strapping young men with me who had no idea what to do. A few years later I had to teach my husband!
My dad in my eyes was/is superdad. I did everything with him around the house from installing gutters to laying concrete to digging up new flower beds.
The biggest thing he taught me was its not hard to be accurate in measurements and things of that nature and a little planning, you can do any task and probably in half the time as the other guys. There's no reason to pay someone to fix something you have 2 perfectly good hands and could fix on your own. I still believe that.
1. how to operate a drill
2. how to hammer in a nail without smacking your finger(s)
3. how to operate a table saw
4. how to stain/paint wood evenly
5. how to do-it-yourself at all costs
6. how to avoid reading instructions, and be happy with the end result, even if it's completely different
7. that no project is too big...for him. because if i can't do it myself, i know he has the time, expertise and tools to be nice enough to do it for me!
It's nice that so many people have good memories of their fathers. In future posts like this, it might be more inclusive to title the post something like "5 Things I Learned About The House From Fatherly Men". Not everyone grew up with a father.
My dad, being a mechanic, showed me the basic maintenance of a car such as changing the flat tire or oil. I was the sidekick, the one who, despite having 2 brothers, got called up to help with the showerhead, the roof, etc. I am his daughter/son I guess. My dad, how I love thee.
@rapunzel,
I get what you're saying but that seems a bit like saying don't do any posts on Father's Day on here because not everyone has a father. For the most part, people do and like other similar themed posts, if you don't many are happy to comment about how their mothers or others were without the post being so neutral. My husband didn't have a father and I know if he read this, he'd just start talking about the great things his mom taught him.
Sometimes, I think my father can do everything. It's actually kind of amazing considering that he's almost entirely self taught; his own father died when he was in college. He's definitely not a replacement for a contractor, but he could easily make a few bucks being someone's handyman.
My father too showed me where to turn off the water to my suburban house. It sounds silly to some, but I had no idea that there was a water cutoff in the little plastic box in the ground. We grew up in a rural place with a well, so my parents' house didn't have anything like that.
We just finished renovating my half bath. I've learned how to do basic plumbing (replace valves, hook up a toilet and a faucet), tile, install baseboard, repair and texture walls (this I taught myself), and install a toilet. I think I'm far better off and far more independent than some friends of mine who will forever be dependent on paying someone else to do DIY-level jobs for them.
1. Buy, don't rent, a home. (It was decades ago).
2. Buy a house, not a condo. (Again, it was decades ago.)
3. Raise, lower, and align window blinds gently.
4. Turn appliance dials gently.
5. Wash walls before painting them.
And to be fair, my mother has taught me a number of handyman skills, too. Dads can't take all the credit here.
How to get lost playing in the dirt. My Dad is an amazing gardener. I won best sunflower for my county because of him (okay - he won it really!)
I'm just now tackling the garden on our 80 year old cottage - I learned so much by osmosis and love calling him for advice now.
Not sure I'll ever embrace fish emulsion, though!
For those hoping over from Apartment Therapy, it's OhdeeDAD week here at Ohdeedoh, which is why the emphasis is on Fathers.
You're welcome to post good advice from either parent or Father figure in your life, it's all welcome here!
How to operate a drill and why you need a different bit for brick walls.
how to change the oil and tire - (this came in handy later on when on a trip from the Hamptons, I was the only one amongst 3 Manhattan boys who could do this)
how to turn the water on, how to use the circuit breaker,
how to put up fencing
how to sew
how to look at something and know if it was something you can tackle or not..
Since moms may be included:
1. Make beds.
2. Dust furniture and accessories.
3. Wash dishes.
4. Iron linens.
5. Sweep floors.
My mother taught me how to tell good fabric from cheap by running a hand over it; how to make a roux; her enormous vocabulary; how to read, write, and/or edit anything; how to love poetry; how to throw a party for 2 to 200 guests; and how to research anything.
My dad survived a massive heart attack when I was 11 years old. I learned from him not only how to care for a house (he's the kind of person who will move a window if it will look better 8 inches to the left) but also how to change your whole life if need be. He also taught me how to sew.
My father was an asshole.
CanadianTired, then perhaps your father taught you how not to be like him? :)
That's pretty much what my dad taught me. I was adopted by him at age 3 (when he married my mom) and then after they had kids together, was constantly tossed aside in favor of the natural kids. The favoritism is still blatant to this day, 21 years later. So my dad taught me how NOT to parent, and I think if I ever adopt a child I will know exactly what to do/how to treat that child so s/he does not grow up feeling like I did. Thanks dad!
How to operate a drill, how to multiply, how to level, draw a straigt line. How to cut peices of pipe/rope etc of equal lengths. How to build a roof, how to build foundations, how to knock down a non-support wall. How to insert windows, how to insert ceilings. how to do basic woodwork, how bridges work. How to do electrical wiring...the list goes on. He is a civil engineer who sees his house as a hobby, lol!
My parents weren't very handy or into home repairs and improvements. They were more about preservation and domestic tidiness, which are less exciting, but also useful. It seems that many AT commenters got a lot of their self-confidence and unusual creative abilities from their folks--lucky offspring!
Why do people have to litter Father's Day posts with negative comments about Fathers? Sure, there's some crappy dad's out there. There are also countless amazing ones. People don't fill up Mother's Day blogs with posts about how their mother's were over-bearing, or judgemental, or jealous, or what-have-you. Give the dad's their day, people.
My grandmother taught me, purely by example, how you can jury rig a solution to a thousand household problems with just the things you have on hand, in particular twine, nail polish, aluminium foil and clothespins. I now use clothespins all over the house myself.
1. how to drive a manual car
2. how to change and rotate tires on said car
3. how to set the timing on that same car
4. how to iron a shirt properly
5. Because he adopted me when I was a girl - I learned that families are made through love, not necessarily blood ties.
Thanks Dad!
xoxo
He taught me never to give up.
My dad taught me
- you can find awesome stuff on the streets
- you can fix everything
- thrift stores are the best
- Stainless steel kitchen tools/dishes are pretty and durable
- everyone needs a toolbox (he gave me one full of useful tools when I left for college)
...and so many other things!!
He's the best, thanks dad!!
My dad taught (and is still teaching) me so much! For the last two years I've also had the added blessing of an awesome father-in-law who has taught me as well. Between the two of them I now know:
-how to navigate by the sky and a few major landmarks
-how to use power tools
-how to care for a lawn
-the value of patience in both teaching and learning
Most importantly, both my dad and FIL have taught me that with hard work and determination I can do pretty much anything I set my mind to.