Do It Yourself: Basic Carpentry Skills All Homeowners Need

Do It Yourself: Basic Carpentry Skills All Homeowners Need

There is one skillset that lots of homeowners wish they had. And that is basic carpentry skills! No matter what type of home project or DIY task you decide to have a go at, you will no doubt be faced with working with wood at some point sooner or later. Rather than hiring a professional carpenter to sort all this out for you, why don’t you learn the tricks of the trade yourself? This will work out a lot cheaper than paying someone else to do the job for you! So which carpentry skills are the most important when it comes to doing small jobs around the house? Here are some of the basics that you need to know.

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Plan Ahead

Before you get going with your next DIY job, it is very important that you take some time before you get started to plan everything you need to do. You should write down the tools you will need, and the materials that you will have to buy. It is also worth trying to sketch your ideas down as well. This can help you to see whether your ideas will work and are practical. If your sketch doesn’t look too promising, now is the time to rethink all your ideas and plans. It’s much better to rethink your plans now rather than to get started and waste a lot of materials by going ahead with poorly thought out plans.

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Measuring

You may think that all the skill of carpentry is in putting together pieces of wood, and giving them a nice finish so that the whole project looks professional. However, full-time carpenters know that that isn’t the case. They know that the key to doing a fantastic job is getting the measuring just right. After all, if you miscalculate your measurements by a few centimeters, you will end up not being able to put all the pieces together correctly. And your project will be very likely to fail! Before you start work, make sure you have a lockable and retractable tape measure. This is a carpenter’s most important tool! It will help you measure accurately and efficiently. One good tip is to use the same measurer for the whole job. This way, there is no chance you will be foiled by tape measurers that show slightly different readings.

Marking

OK, so you have measured all your wood at least twice. Now you need to mark it so that you cut it correctly. When you are measuring, make sure you mark where you need to cut with a pencil. Rather than just dotting a little spot on the wood, use a ruler to turn the small dot into a straight line that crosses the whole of the wood. You can then follow this whole line with your saw rather than simply cutting straight from the dot and hoping you are going straight!

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Get The Right Tools

I’ve already touched upon the fact that it is very important to get the right tape measure for your projects. And that goes for all the tools you use for your home maintenance and DIY jobs. No matter whether you need a new saw, some hot melt glue sticks, or some paint, you should try and invest as much money into them as you can. That way, you know you will be happy in the knowledge that you have some really top-quality tools. The tools you use are extremely important, and using the best you can buy will make a big difference compared to cheap tools. They will be able to go a fantastic job, one that looks like a professional did it for you!

Practice Certain Skills Beforehand

It’s a good idea to practice some skills before you launch straight into your project. Otherwise, if your skills aren’t too up to scratch, this could be very noticeable, and your project might look quite amateurish. So, as you can see, it is well worth spending some time to practice as many skills as you can. One key skill that many people aren’t too hot with is hammering and nailing. Take an old piece of wood, your hammer, and some nails. Make sure you keep on practicing until you are able to hammer nails in that are straight and look very neat.

You will certainly find that doing all your own home improvements and DIY jobs are very rewarding and things that will make you feel incredibly proud. So what are you waiting for? Time to get to work!

Tia, and TipsfromTia.com  is trying to keep you looking good and
feeling good, from the inside out. If you’ve got a problem or a tip email me! Be sure to Like and share on Facebook or Follow on Twitter or Instagram.