A big portion of our hard-earned money ends up in the hands of plumbers, electricians, and HVAC technicians. Home ownership brings ongoing maintenance—plumbing included—that can easily top $4,000 a year.
Here’s a list of jobs you (yes, you) can handle yourself. No special skills required. Beyond basic plumbing, almost any part of your home can be DIY:
1) Toilet repair and replacement (this post)
2) Faucet repair and replacement (this post)
3) Cable pulls (internet or cable TV)
4) Window sash replacement and screen repair
5) Tiling and flooring
6) Appliance and water heater repair
7) Door lock swaps and re-keying
8) Light fixture and dimmer installation
9) Basic HVAC and ducting
10) Painting
Toilet repair is one of the simplest but can be frustrating. The most common issues are clogs or a leaking tank. For clogs, you grab a plunger and get to work. For tank problems, you don’t have to worry about dirty water—the tank usually contains only clean water. Still, don’t drink it.
First step for any tank repair: turn off the toilet’s water. The shut-off valve is near the bowl. Then flush to empty whatever’s in the tank so you can work without fresh water flowing in. Your local hardware store can help you pick the right flapper, flush lever, or fill valve for your model. There are tablets sold to keep bowls clean—don’t use them if your toilet is leaking; they’ll quickly color the bowl water.
Replacing parts like the fill valve is straightforward. Take a photo of the tank’s interior with your phone and bring the old part to the hardware store so you get the right replacement.
Side note: if you’re within a couple of miles, walk or ride your bike to the hardware store. It’s less annoying to pedal back for the right part the third time than to drive, and you get some exercise.
To replace the whole toilet, turn off the water supply first—the valve behind the toilet. Flush a couple times and sponge out the rest of the water from the tank. Unscrew the supply line from the tank; you should be able to loosen it by hand. Don’t over-tighten when you reattach it, but make sure it’s snug.
If the floor bolts are badly rusted, you may need to cut them off. Check that the new toilet will fit the space and clear the wall behind it. Once the floor nuts are off, lift the toilet away and set it outside for now. Put a rag in the drain to block odors, then remove the old wax ring with a putty knife and install a new centered wax ring.
Set the new bowl onto the wax ring, press down so it seats, reinstall the nuts, tighten them, and snap on the decorative caps. Attach the water supply and use a bit of Teflon tape to help prevent leaks. Finish with a bead of caulk around the base for stability. Done.
For faucet work, you’ll do a lot of crouching and lying on your back under the sink, but there are no big mysteries. If you’re replacing or upgrading a faucet, turn off the hot and cold supply valves under the sink first. Many quality faucets (Kohler, for example) come with long warranties—our Kohler faucet head was replaced twice under warranty because of clogs, no questions asked.
If flow is reduced, the cause could be old galvanized supply pipes rusting from the inside, or a failing shutoff valve. Galvanized pipes tend to clog over time—replace them with copper or PEX. If the valve is the problem, swap it for a quarter-turn valve; they’re more reliable. Compression fittings are easy—no soldering. Use Teflon tape on threaded connections, wrapping in the direction of the threads, and six wraps is plenty.
This Old House has a great video on fixing leaky faucets if you want a visual guide.
Many of the same ideas apply to fixing leaking drain pipes under sinks. You don’t need to shut off supply valves to work on drains, but keep a bucket and rag handy for water in the trap. PVC drains are simple: you can usually unscrew joints by hand to isolate the problem. From managing rentals I’ve learned to keep run lengths short (fewer joints, fewer failure points) and make sure pieces fit squarely. A tape measure and a hacksaw will save you lots of headaches.
In a typical single-family home—one kitchen, two bathrooms—you’ll probably face two or three repair jobs a year. Parts usually cost no more than about 10% of what a plumber would charge for labor. I learned these skills from scratch, with a few helpful resources:
1) The Reader’s Digest New Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual
2) YouTube
Trust your ability to learn and use the right tool for the job. Avoiding three service calls a year at roughly $150 an hour can save close to $500 annually with basic DIY plumbing skills. Look at that over 40 years: start in your 20s and those savings add up—claims put it near $127,000 by retirement.
Add in the other DIY tasks from the list and the savings grow even more. Expect extra trips to Home Depot and some time spent figuring things out—you’ll probably say a few choice words and maybe pinch a thumb now and then. Still, fixing plumbing, electrical, and other issues yourself is satisfying. The money you save is a bonus, and showing a friend how you did it might earn you a beer or two.