It can cost a lot to hire a handyperson to make repairs to your garden equipment and furniture. Most people wait until several things have broken to call someone out, so that they can avoid a hefty call-out charge every time. However, there are actually many small repairs that you can make by yourself so that you can keep costs down – and you won’t have to live with broken equipment and furniture for months on end.
Handyperson knowledge
The reason that a handyperson isn’t called a plumber, electrician or otherwise, is because handypeople have a multitude of different skills and may or may not specialise in one area. These people have a vast amount of knowledge and a knack for fixing things!
A handyperson is a legitimate career path, so if you want to offer your services as a handyperson to other people, you’ll have to get the relevant qualifications. However, if you’re making small repairs in your own garden, all you’ll need are some basic tools and a little help from YouTube – like this handy video from SFIXX about garden repairs using tape.
There aren’t many subjects that aren’t covered on the internet when it comes to DIY repairs – but one thing you should never fiddle around with, if you’re unqualified, is electricity. Keep your repairs to basic items such as non-electrical equipment and furniture, and leave more complicated repairs to the experts.
Your garden handyperson tools
To become a garden handyperson, you’ll need tools. You don’t need to spend hundreds of pounds on the latest tech – you can even find a toolkit secondhand online or from a charity shop for decent prices.
Your toolkit should contain:
Screwdriver
Just two types of screwdriver will help you out with a number of jobs: flathead (with a flat, straight head) and Phillips (a head with pointed edges in the shape of a cross).
Wire cutters
Wire cutters are a gardeners best friend, and will aid you in putting up chicken wire defenses for trees and using wire to support climbers.
Hammer
A medium-weight hammer in good condition will be able to aid you if you’re putting up bird boxes and ornaments, putting together furniture, drawing nails out of wood, and more.
Drill
When you need something fixed to an outside wall, you’re making your own garden furniture, or you need to remove tightly secured screws, a drill is your best friend!
Repair tape
If you’ve got a rip in your kids’ paddling pool, a cracked pipe, a broken plastic watering can, or any other small rip or crack, it’s nothing that a heavy duty, good quality repair tape can’t fix!
The wonders of repair tape
You might think that tape shouldn’t be used as a tool to repair items in your garden; however, when you’ve got a leak in your garden hose, and it’s 30 degrees C outside, and all of your local DIY stores have sold out of hoses, there’s nothing more relieving to have in your tool kit than repair tape. It’s the one tool that could save you in this situation!
SFIXX produces a great Patch Seal Waterproof Repair Tape that works hard to seal in water. Plus, it even works under water, and in cold or hot conditions! So if you’ve got a cut on the inside of a blow-up jacuzzi, you can fix it just in time for a relaxing evening soaking up the bubbles.
QVC are selling a comprehensive pack of three SFIXX repair tapes in three different colours – white, clear and black – so you don’t have to worry about seeing an ugly swatch of tape that doesn’t match the item that requires repairing. Each roll of tape is 59.1” in length by 5.9” in width, and you only even need to use a small amount depending on the size of the repair, so it’ll last you ages!
Coming soon to QVC.
Put your handyperson skills to the test
Now that you’ve got the knowledge and an idea of what should go in your toolkit, put your handyperson skills to the test by making your own small repairs! Maybe you’ve got a gutter that needs resealing, or even a slightly busted windowframe. Whatever it is, get your toolkit (and repair tape, of course) and get to it!
What needs repairing in your garden?
Michael has been involved with gardening and plants since he was just five years old. He is a self-professed Plant Geek, and was listed in the Sunday Times top 20 most influential people in the gardening world, thanks to his plant hunter role at Thompson & Morgan. Michael was responsible for new plant introductions such as the Egg and Chips plant and the FuchsiaBerry and keeps busy travelling the world in search of new plants as well as lecturing worldwide, including stints in Japan. He is very active on social media – so why not give him a follow at @mr_plantgeek or Facebook. You can also listen to The Plant Based Podcast with Michael and co-host Ellen-Mary on iTunes, Spotify and Google.
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