'I signed up for a DIY course. Turns out there's lots to learn about internal walls — and it's worth knowing' 

All homes need some level of maintenance, and you can get great satisfaction out of being able to do as much as possible of that yourself, writes Jennifer Sheahan

Vertical lengths of timber ('studs') — usually spaced between 400mm and 600mm apart — are screwed into 'plates', a length of timber fixed to the floor and ceiling.

I don't know if it’s middle age or what, but I’m firmly in my DIY era and loving it. I was always fairly handy, taught well as the only daughter of a father who could do pretty much anything needed around the house. A while back, I signed up for an evening DIY course, wanting to hone those skills and reduce my dependency on calling someone in for the bigger jobs. (If you've tried to get a tradesperson in recently, you'll know that particular despair.) All homes need some level of maintenance, and I get great satisfaction out of being able to do as much as possible of that myself.

The course has given me a proper framework for approaching home maintenance the right way, and introduced me to techniques I'd never have thought to try. We started off learning about how to build and repair internal walls, a topic I wasn’t prepared to be quite so intrigued by because I know how to hang stuff up, but turns out there was lots to learn — and it’s worth knowing.