5 Home Repairs Every Dad Should Know How to Do Himself

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The Repairs That Separate DIY Dads from "Call the Guy" Dads

Not every home repair needs a professional. In fact, the five most common household repairs are simple enough that any dad can knock them out in an afternoon — and save hundreds of dollars a year in service calls. I've done every one of these myself, and trust me, if I can do it, you can do it.

1. Fix a Running Toilet

A running toilet wastes up to 200 gallons of water per day. The fix takes 15 minutes and it's almost always one of two parts: the flapper or the fill valve.

• The flapper fix: Turn off the water supply valve behind the toilet. Flush to empty the tank. Unclip the old flapper from the overflow tube, take it to the hardware store to match the size, install the new one, turn the water back on. Done. Total cost: about $5.
• The fill valve fix: If the water level is off and adjusting the float doesn't help, replace the entire fill valve. Universal kits run $10–15 and come with clear instructions. Four steps: disconnect, remove, install, reconnect. Your water bill will thank you.

2. Patch a Drywall Hole

Doorknobs, rough-housing kids, and "I was just trying to hang a shelf" situations — they all create drywall holes. Small holes up to 4 inches are a straightforward fix.

• Buy a self-adhesive mesh drywall patch and stick it over the hole.
• Apply joint compound over the patch with a putty knife — thin coats, feathered at the edges.
• Let it dry, sand smooth, and hit it with a second thin coat.
• Sand again, prime, paint. Nobody will ever know. Total cost: $10–15.

Pro tip: buy a small pre-mixed tub of joint compound. You'll use it again. Guaranteed.

3. Unclog a Drain (Without Chemicals)

Chemical drain cleaners are hard on your pipes and bad for the environment. For most clogs, you need exactly two tools: a flat-bottom sink plunger and a hand-crank drain snake.

• Bathroom sink/tub: Remove the drain cover or stopper, pull out any hair (yeah, it's gross — welcome to dad life), then run the drain snake to clear anything deeper. A $15 hand-crank snake handles 95% of household clogs.
• Kitchen sink: If it's a double sink, plug the second drain before you plunge the clogged side. Still blocked? Check the P-trap — the curved pipe under the sink. Put a bucket under it, unscrew the fittings, and clear the blockage by hand. Ten minutes max.

4. Reset a Tripped GFCI Outlet

When outlets in your bathroom, kitchen, or garage suddenly stop working, don't call an electrician yet. Check for a tripped GFCI outlet first — this one fix has saved me two unnecessary service calls.

• GFCI outlets have "Test" and "Reset" buttons on their face. When they trip (usually from moisture), they cut power to that outlet and sometimes to several others downstream.
• Find the GFCI outlet — it might not even be in the same room. Bathroom GFCIs sometimes control garage outlets. Press the Reset button firmly.
• If it trips again immediately, there may be a wiring issue worth a professional look. But nine times out of ten, one press is all it takes.

5. Stop a Door from Sticking

Sticking doors are usually caused by one of three things: loose hinge screws, humidity-swollen wood, or a house that has settled slightly. All three are fixable without calling anyone.

• Loose hinges: Tighten the screws first. If the screw holes are stripped, pull the screws out, stuff the holes with wooden toothpicks and a dab of wood glue, let it dry, and re-drive the screws. Solid fix, five minutes.
• Swollen wood: Run a candle or bar of soap along the sticking edge — the wax reduces friction fast. For a permanent fix, use a hand planer or coarse sandpaper to shave down the high spot, then repaint the bare edge to seal it against moisture.
• Settled frame: If the door is racking (leaning out of square), the fix is tightening or shimming the hinges to pull it back into alignment.

The Bottom Line

These five repairs cover the vast majority of the "honey, something's broken" calls you'll get on a Saturday morning. I've tested every one of them. Between fixing a running toilet and clearing a clogged drain alone, I've saved over $300 in service calls this year. The tools you need are cheap, the skills take one afternoon to learn, and the dad credibility? That's priceless.