Photos provided.
Learn how to stop problems around the house before they start.
A simple fix to that dripping pipe in the bathroom could prevent a major leak. Keeping your refrigerator running smoothly is as simple as cleaning out the dirt and dust from its coils. Avoid catastrophic fires by changing out your furnace filter.
You don’t need to rely on anyone else to take care of these and other chores around your house. In Rebuilding Together Saratoga County’s FREE home maintenance classes, you can learn how to do them yourself.
BE YOUR OWN HANDYMAN
“It’s a great class for people looking to move out on their own, single women, and people looking to purchase a home who have always relied on a landlord or superintendent to fix things for them,” said Michelle Larkin, Executive Director of Rebuilding Together Saratoga County.
Open to anyone over the age of 16, and geared toward beginners, Larkin said even those familiar with basic maintenance learned a few new useful tips when they first offered the classes last fall.
“It’s universal, everybody wants to know this stuff,” she said.
The four-hour classes feature presentations and hands-on training, answers to your home repair questions, advice on when to call in a professional and how to locate the right one.
Participants receive a FREE bucket of tools to take home with them, a home maintenance checklist and a copy of Dare to Repair: A Do-it-Herself Guide to Fixing (Almost) Anything in the Home by Julie Sussman.
“We’re trying to get people to feel more comfortable with the concept of self-reliance and that this is stuff they can do themselves,” said Larkin.
MONEY IN YOUR POCKET
Regular home maintenance saves you money, sustains your home’s value and keeps you safe, which is at the heart of Rebuilding Together’s mission.
“Our goal is to have another resource for the community to help keep them in their homes and to make sure everyone is warm, safe and dry,” said Larkin.
Developed by Project Manager Lawrence Boutillette, Assistant Project Manager Maria Northrop and Pam Stott of Curtis Lumber, with sponsorship assistance from Adirondack Trust and others, there will be two Basic Home Maintenance Classes offered this March.
Attend Friday, March 15 from 12:30 until 4:30 p.m. or Saturday, March 23 from 1 until 5 p.m. at Rebuilding Together Saratoga County, 132 Milton Ave., Ballston Spa. Registration is required and class size is limited. Call 518-587-3315 to sign up for your spot in one of these free classes.
