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Home maintenance checklist and DIY basics: look after your home safely

Six short lessons: know your limits, keep life-safety devices working, follow a seasonal checklist, avoid asbestos and lead risks, do simple jobs safely, and hire licensed trades. No electrical, gas or structural work. Built on USFA, EPA, FTC, NHS, HSE, GOV.UK and Queensland Government guidance.

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About this course

Home maintenance checklist and DIY basics: look after your home safely.

Starter · About 1 hour of learning · 6 lessons · 16 quick checks · 1 download

  • Who it's for

    Homeowners and renters in Australia, the UK, the US and elsewhere who want to look after a home safely and know when to call a professional.

  • How it works

    6 guided lessons in your browser, with worked examples, exercises and a quick check after each lesson. Progress is saved in this browser only, and you can restart at any time. You start with just your first name and email, and you can take one whole course that way. After that, a free account lets you continue past lesson 1.

  • Sources we rely on

    13 published sources, mostly regulators and official bodies, listed below so you can check the original guidance yourself.

By the end you can

  • Tell safe homeowner tasks apart from work that needs a licensed trade
  • Keep smoke alarms, CO alarms and safety switches working, and respond to gas or CO warnings
  • Build a monthly, seasonal and yearly home maintenance checklist
  • Avoid disturbing asbestos and lead paint in older homes
  • Do simple jobs safely, hire licensed professionals and keep a home log

Downloads

  • Home maintenance checklist and log .docxA stop-and-call list, a licensing-by-country starter table, a life-safety check, a monthly to yearly maintenance checklist, an older-home hazard check, a starter tool kit, a quote comparison checklist and a home log, with Tom’s worked example.

Rules by country

Australia
Queensland: electrical work is never a do-it-yourself job; it is dangerous and illegal. By law, all Queensland homes must have smoke alarms. Asbestos is common in houses built before 1990; assume it is there until an accredited laboratory test is done. Licensing for electrical, gas, plumbing and building work is set by each state and territory.
United Kingdom
Part P (England): more dangerous electrical work must be done or signed off by a registered competent electrician. Gas work: Gas Safe registered engineers only; HSE advises servicing gas appliances at least annually. NHS: a CO alarm in each room with a fuel-burning appliance. Gas or CO concerns in Great Britain: National Gas Helpline 0800 111 999.
United States
USFA: test smoke alarms monthly, put one on every level, replace them 10 years from manufacture; install CO alarms outside each sleeping area and on every level. EPA: pre-1978 homes are more likely to have lead paint; asbestos removal only by trained, accredited professionals. FTC: confirm a contractor’s license with your state or county.

Learning time

About 1 hour of learning. May count towards your CPD or professional development; check your professional body's rules. Estimated from reading time, exercises, quick checks and downloads.

Sources

Check the originals.

How these courses are made. Spotted an error or out-of-date rule? Send a correction.

General information only. Life courses don't give health, financial or legal advice.

Publisher

Who publishes this course.

Published by trainyourself.org, a trading name of Combine TRS Pty Ltd (ABN 42 112 983 678), Brisbane, Australia.

How it's made: researched from published official, government and vendor guidance, then run through automated quality checks against our course depth standard and automated source checks that match each rule to its official source, listed above. Read how these courses are made.

Last updated:

General information, not legal, financial, medical or professional advice. Spotted an error or an out-of-date rule? Send us a correction.

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