Feb 22, 2008 6:37 am US/Mountain
Denver Woman Teaches Other Women To Repair Homes
DENVER (CBS4) ―
-
-
Judy Browne is a woman determined to make sure any woman feels comfortable making repairs.
CBS
Having a handyman around the house can make everyone's life easier, but Judy Browne is a woman determined to make sure any woman feels comfortable making repairs.
Browne left a 20 year career as a manufacturing engineer and project manager to start teaching women to fix things on their home and to do the job with confidence. That means her classes are not quite the usual ones.
That's because Browne noticed women approach repairs differently while she was volunteering.
"I call it my mid-life crisis. I quit my job and volunteered with AmeriCorps to build house for a year," she said. "The potential is there, the potential is there to feel like, 'oh my gosh, I did a terrible job, my caulking bead is totally uneven.'
"I have women apologize all the time for making mistake and there really isn't reason because we've all made them.
"I personally have been brought to tears by a toggle bolt."
Now Browne is empowering women to protect their investment, their home, with their own two hands. She lectures her students.
"Understand your plumbing system, know where your water shut-off is, know where your electrical shut-off is and where you service panel is. Know how to caulk any where there's water. Water is our biggest enemy, makes up a typical class."
It may sound harsh, but her students say it works. They love not feeling self-conscious about having to ask for help and the savings are a bonus as well.
The classes include lessons on using all sorts of power tools as well as hand tools plus the reminder that doing a job yourself is sometimes the best reward of all.
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
