Handywomen rule in this Mohawk College class
Home Reno for Women class shows how to get the job done
Shop Class
John Rennison/The Hamilton Spectator Pamela Stiles watches as a student uses a brad nailer.
1 of 14
Five minutes before their night class is scheduled to start, a
handful of women bend over a coloured flyer full of weekly sales. One
product in particular garners a chorus of ohhhs and ahhhs. It’s a steal!
It’s so versatile! It’s lime green! It’s a Ryobi 18-Volt JobPlus Base
with Multi-Tool Attachment and it comes with a bonus impact driver!
“If you’re only going to buy one tool,” says Pamela Stiles. “This is the one.”
Stiles, 48, would know. Home renovation has been her bread and butter since she got hooked on it in 2002. At the time, she and her husband had just finished designing and building their Ancaster home — a project she loved so much, she wanted to sell and build again. Instead, at her husband’s suggestion, she whetted her appetite by helping friends with their renovations. In 2006, when she left a design position with Reebok Canada, she took a job at Home Depot, acting as a decorating consultant and instructor of women’s workshops — an opportunity that led to guest spots on home improvement shows Hamilton Life, Real Life and At Home.
This night course at Mohawk College (also offered at the Sackville Hill Seniors Recreation Centre for those over age 55) is just her most recent endeavour. In its third semester, Home Reno for Women consists of a series of five four-week programs that cover tools and how to use them, basic plumbing, painting and decorating, basic maintenance and kitchens. Students learn to frame walls, hang drywall, paint various surfaces, fill holes, do trim work, install cabinets and fans, change lights and more. The classes attract all kinds — superintendents, townhouse maintenance committee members, retirees looking to save money on contractors (or just looking for something to do), recent widows with homes to maintain and people who just want to learn enough to know when contractors are attempting to swindle them. Tonight’s class (tools and how to use them) even includes three men. Stiles doesn’t discriminate. She understands that not everyone is born handy. When a student asks who has more tools, Stiles or her husband, she smiles. “My husband plays tennis,” she says.
This is one of the reasons students love her class. Stiles is excited and enthusiastic, regularly laughing so hard she has to bend over to rest her hands on her knees. She jokes about using sandpaper to do her nails and says she calls her pneumatic nail fastener a brad nailer in homage to Brad Pitt (it’s actually because the tool shoots brad nails).
“Pamela has a great personality,” says Sheila Charkot. “She makes sure we know how to handle the tools but she has fun with us, too.” Charkot, 51, heard about Stiles’ course through friends. She had taken interior design classes in the past, but never home renovation. It was only while chipping away at the finishing touches on the house she and her husband designed together that she considered getting involved in the construction.
“As our lives are getting busier, it’s starting to feel like there is never enough time to complete the last little bit. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity for me to pitch in, learn and make a contribution to the finished work.” She says her greatest takeaway has been an increased comfort level around tools.
According to Stiles, that’s the goal. By teaching people how to operate tools safely, you can remove the fear associated with those tools. Indeed, at the beginning of the night, everyone admits to being nervous around the table saw, but by the end of class, all 20 participants have taken a turn guiding a piece of wood past its spinning blade.
“It’s not so scary, is it?” Stiles yells over the scream of the tool, sawdust swirling around her. She stands beside her students, correcting technique, shouting encouragement and stressing appropriate safety precautions. Because of this, she says no one has been hurt in any of her classes. She did have what she thought was a close call, when a woman operating a mitre saw screamed, but it turned out she was simply thrilled to have used the machine successfully.
“I love being part of teaching people to do things they never thought they could do,” Stiles says. She once spent 20 minutes showing a Home Depot customer how to change out an old toilet. A week later, the woman came in with a bottle of wine and a thank you for Stiles — the lesson saved her an $800 installation. It’s just one of many around-the-house jobs that are easier than most people think and her classes provide a no-judgment environment in which to learn.
“A large part of the success of the program is that women feel comfortable talking about this with other women,” Stiles says. “It can be intimidating to ask questions in a room full of men who ‘know what everything is.’ There is a comfort and a camaraderie with women … it’s such a rush to know you can do it.”
Check out the details for upcoming classes by visiting www.mohawkcollege.ca/continuing-education and looking under general interest courses.
akenny@thespec.com
905-526-2487
“If you’re only going to buy one tool,” says Pamela Stiles. “This is the one.”
Stiles, 48, would know. Home renovation has been her bread and butter since she got hooked on it in 2002. At the time, she and her husband had just finished designing and building their Ancaster home — a project she loved so much, she wanted to sell and build again. Instead, at her husband’s suggestion, she whetted her appetite by helping friends with their renovations. In 2006, when she left a design position with Reebok Canada, she took a job at Home Depot, acting as a decorating consultant and instructor of women’s workshops — an opportunity that led to guest spots on home improvement shows Hamilton Life, Real Life and At Home.
This night course at Mohawk College (also offered at the Sackville Hill Seniors Recreation Centre for those over age 55) is just her most recent endeavour. In its third semester, Home Reno for Women consists of a series of five four-week programs that cover tools and how to use them, basic plumbing, painting and decorating, basic maintenance and kitchens. Students learn to frame walls, hang drywall, paint various surfaces, fill holes, do trim work, install cabinets and fans, change lights and more. The classes attract all kinds — superintendents, townhouse maintenance committee members, retirees looking to save money on contractors (or just looking for something to do), recent widows with homes to maintain and people who just want to learn enough to know when contractors are attempting to swindle them. Tonight’s class (tools and how to use them) even includes three men. Stiles doesn’t discriminate. She understands that not everyone is born handy. When a student asks who has more tools, Stiles or her husband, she smiles. “My husband plays tennis,” she says.
This is one of the reasons students love her class. Stiles is excited and enthusiastic, regularly laughing so hard she has to bend over to rest her hands on her knees. She jokes about using sandpaper to do her nails and says she calls her pneumatic nail fastener a brad nailer in homage to Brad Pitt (it’s actually because the tool shoots brad nails).
“Pamela has a great personality,” says Sheila Charkot. “She makes sure we know how to handle the tools but she has fun with us, too.” Charkot, 51, heard about Stiles’ course through friends. She had taken interior design classes in the past, but never home renovation. It was only while chipping away at the finishing touches on the house she and her husband designed together that she considered getting involved in the construction.
“As our lives are getting busier, it’s starting to feel like there is never enough time to complete the last little bit. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity for me to pitch in, learn and make a contribution to the finished work.” She says her greatest takeaway has been an increased comfort level around tools.
According to Stiles, that’s the goal. By teaching people how to operate tools safely, you can remove the fear associated with those tools. Indeed, at the beginning of the night, everyone admits to being nervous around the table saw, but by the end of class, all 20 participants have taken a turn guiding a piece of wood past its spinning blade.
“It’s not so scary, is it?” Stiles yells over the scream of the tool, sawdust swirling around her. She stands beside her students, correcting technique, shouting encouragement and stressing appropriate safety precautions. Because of this, she says no one has been hurt in any of her classes. She did have what she thought was a close call, when a woman operating a mitre saw screamed, but it turned out she was simply thrilled to have used the machine successfully.
“I love being part of teaching people to do things they never thought they could do,” Stiles says. She once spent 20 minutes showing a Home Depot customer how to change out an old toilet. A week later, the woman came in with a bottle of wine and a thank you for Stiles — the lesson saved her an $800 installation. It’s just one of many around-the-house jobs that are easier than most people think and her classes provide a no-judgment environment in which to learn.
“A large part of the success of the program is that women feel comfortable talking about this with other women,” Stiles says. “It can be intimidating to ask questions in a room full of men who ‘know what everything is.’ There is a comfort and a camaraderie with women … it’s such a rush to know you can do it.”
Check out the details for upcoming classes by visiting www.mohawkcollege.ca/continuing-education and looking under general interest courses.
akenny@thespec.com
905-526-2487
No comments:
Post a Comment