Human SkillsBeing Your Own Repairman
When nobody is coming out to your valley
6 minIntermediateUpdated
- Stock the tools and spares that actually prevent a crisis
- Diagnose a failure before replacing parts
- Recognise the jobs that legally require a professional
The kit and the spares
Tools are the easy part: a good set of spanners and sockets, screwdrivers, pliers, mole grips, a cordless drill, a hacksaw, a file set, a multimeter, a torque wrench and a decent bench vice. Spares are what actually save you, because they are what you cannot drive two hours to buy on a Sunday. Keep a shelf with pipe fittings and unions in your sizes, PTFE tape, hose clips, a spare pressure switch, a tap washer set, fuses, a spare pump impeller or the whole spare pump, wire, terminal blocks, fence staples, a spare chainsaw chain, spark plugs, fuel filter, and assorted stainless bolts.
Diagnose before you replace
Most failed repairs are guesses. Work the chain from one end: is there power, is there fuel, is there flow, is there pressure. A multimeter tells you whether voltage reaches the motor, which instantly separates a wiring or switch fault from a dead pump. Change one thing at a time and test, because changing three things teaches you nothing. Ask what changed just before it failed, since that is usually the cause. Take a photo before dismantling anything, and lay parts out in order. A shelf full of replaced parts that did not fix the problem is the signature of skipped diagnosis.
Sharpening and basic metalwork
A dull tool is dangerous because it needs force. Learn to sharpen: a coarse then fine stone or diamond plate for knives and chisels at a consistent angle, a file for axes, mower blades and hoes, and a round file for a chainsaw chain at the angle stamped on the tooth. Drill steel slowly with pressure and cutting oil rather than fast and dry. Learn to cut and file a clean edge, to drill out a sheared bolt with a centre punch and progressively larger bits, and to free a rusted nut with penetrating oil and patience rather than a longer bar and a broken stud.
Pumps, pipes, fences and small engines
Pumps: loss of pressure is usually a leak, a failed pressure switch or a waterlogged expansion vessel, not a dead motor. Pipes: isolate, drain, cut square, and use the right joint for the material, with compression or push-fit for repairs in awkward places. Fences: tension comes from well-braced corner posts, and a sagging fence almost always means a corner has moved, not that the wire stretched. Small engines need only three things, and when one fails, check them in order: fuel that is fresh, a spark at the plug, and clean air. Stale petrol over a winter causes more workshop visits than any mechanical fault.
Where the line is
Self-reliance means knowing your limits precisely. In Portugal, as across the EU, fixed electrical installations, consumer units and any grid connection are the work of a certified electrician under DGEG rules, and gas installation and appliance work requires a certified gas fitter with a certificate of conformity. Anything structural, removing a wall, altering a roof, or a building that needs approval, needs an engineer or architect and a municipal licence. Doing these yourself can void your insurance, make a sale impossible, and kill someone. Do the plumbing, the pumps, the carpentry, the machinery. Pay for the electricity, the gas and the structure.
Check yourself
Motors fail rarely. Leaks, pressure switches and expansion vessels cause most pressure problems, so check those first.
Fuel, spark and air, in that order, solve most small-engine faults. Stale petrol is the single most common cause.
Fixed electrical installations are regulated work for a certified electrician. Doing it yourself risks lives, insurance and any future sale.
Changing several parts at once may fix the symptom but teaches you nothing, and you will repeat the guesswork next time.
Try it for real: Build a spares shelf and fix one thing properly
- List the five failures that would stop water, heat or transport at your place
- Buy the one spare part each that you cannot get locally within a day
- Pick one broken item and diagnose it in writing before touching a spanner
- Repair it, then write the failure, cause and fix in a workshop notebook
- Mark on your list which of those five jobs legally needs a professional
🛒 Gear for this skill
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Written and checked by the Human Skills team against the sources below. How we check our content
- DGEG (Direcao-Geral de Energia e Geologia)
- EU Machinery safety guidance
- Red Cross First Aid
