We swing the hammer first. Then we write.
We're a small editorial crew of homeowners, ex-trades, and shop nerds. We swing the hammers ourselves, log the failures, and tell you when DIY is the wrong call. Affiliate links exist; recommendations are not for sale.
What this site is.
MyRepairDIY is a small editorial outfit covering one stubborn question: can I do this myself, and should I? We review the tools you’d actually pick up at the home center, the techniques that survive a real shop test, and the projects where calling a pro is the smarter buy.
We’re aimed at the homeowner who would rather try once before dialing the phone — and the renter who can do more than the lease suggests. Our voice is plainspoken, slightly weathered, and high-trust. We name brands. We name tools. We name the studs that are actually 17.5″ apart.
How we test.
- Shop time, not spec sheets. Tools live on the bench for at least two weeks. Methods get repeated on at least three real surfaces. We log runtime, screw counts, holes patched, swears averted.
- Independent purchases. Most of what we test is bought retail. When a brand sends a review unit, we say so in the piece — and treat it the same as anything else.
- Affiliate disclosed, not directional. We earn a small commission when you click through some links. That money keeps the lights on. It does not buy a ranking, a star, or a softer paragraph.
- Buy-vs-call as a feature, not a footnote. The honest review of any project includes the moment you should put the wrench down. We treat that as the point of the article — not an afterthought.
- Corrections in public. We update reviews when a tool changes, a code changes, or we got it wrong. Updates are labeled with a date and a short note.
Who’s on the bench.
Eli Mercer
Editor · ex-residential GC, 14 years on the tools
Margaret Vance
Senior reviewer · plumbing & supply lines
Hank Reyes
Tools desk · cordless platforms, anything that spins
Priya Anand
Smart-home & electrical desk · low-voltage everything
Jonas Whitman
Exterior desk · decks, gutters, the door that won’t latch
Sasha Kowalski
Buy-vs-call columnist · former trade dispatcher
Contact the shop.
Editorial & corrections: shop@myrepairdiy.com
Privacy & data requests: privacy@myrepairdiy.com