Nail & Level Homeowner Academy Enroll now

Chattanooga, Tennessee  ·  Home repair courses

Learn the fix before you start the project.

Beginner-friendly courses in drywall, plumbing, tiling, electrical safety and tools. You work at the bench with an instructor beside you, then take the steps home in writing.

See the courses Weekend bootcamps
  • Hands-on, not a lecture
  • No experience needed
  • Tools are on the bench
A student driving a screw into a wood offcut with a cordless drill while an instructor steadies the workpiece at a workbench
At the bench · Chattanooga, Tennessee
  • Drywall
  • Plumbing
  • Tiling
  • Electrical safety
  • Tool skills
  • Weekend bootcamps

The courses

Six courses.
Pick your project.

Every course is one project, done properly from the first measurement to the last. Read what it covers and what to bring, then save your seat.

Hands taping a drywall seam with a taping knife on a wall panel

Beginner course

Beginner Drywall Course

Patch the hole, tape the seam, and get a finish you can paint over.

What you'll learn

  • Measuring and cutting a patch
  • Taping and mudding a seam
  • Sanding a repair smooth

Tools to bring

  • Tape measure and pencil
  • A utility knife if you have one
  • Clothes that can take dust
Save my seat
Hands tightening a fitting under a kitchen sink with an adjustable wrench

Basics workshop

Plumbing Basics Workshop

Leaks, clogs, and the shutoff valve every homeowner should already know how to find.

What you'll learn

  • Finding and closing a shutoff
  • Clearing a slow drain
  • Sealing a leaky joint

Tools to bring

  • An adjustable wrench if you own one
  • Otherwise come as you are
Save my seat
Hands pressing a tile into thin-set with a notched trowel beside them

Intensive

Tiling Intensive

Layout, thin-set, and grout lines that land where you drew them.

What you'll learn

  • Planning a layout before the first tile
  • Cutting around edges and outlets
  • Setting and grouting a small area

Tools to bring

  • Knee pads if you have them
  • Everything else is on the bench
Save my seat

Safety class

Electrical Safety Class

What's safe to touch, what isn't, and the point where you stop and call someone who does this for a living.

  • Reading a breaker panel
  • Safe habits around outlets and switches
  • Knowing your limits before you open a wall
Save a seat →

Tool skills

Tool Skills for Homeowners

The short list of tools worth owning, and how to use each one without wrecking the work in front of you.

  • Measuring and marking
  • Drilling and driving
  • Cutting and clamping
Save a seat →

How it works

Four steps,
start to finish.

The same order of operations every time, whether you take a single evening course or a full weekend.

  1. Pick your course

    Choose the skill you want next. Every course lists what it covers before you commit to a seat.

  2. Check the tools

    Each course says what to bring. If you don't own it yet, come anyway — knowing the tool is part of the course.

  3. Work at the bench

    Hands-on time with an instructor beside you while you work through the project yourself.

  4. Take the steps home

    The order of work, written down, so you can use it on your own house at your own pace.

Weekend bootcamps

Give a weekend.
Get a skill.

Bootcamps run Saturday and Sunday with more hours at the bench. You work one project from the first measurement to the last, with an instructor beside you.

See bootcamp seats
A workshop bench with hand tools and a project underway against a pegboard wall
The bench · Chattanooga, Tennessee

What a bootcamp covers

A bootcamp takes one of the course projects and gives you the time to finish it properly.

  • Drywall basics
  • Plumbing basics
  • Tiling intensive
  • Electrical safety
  • Tool skills

Sign up

Measure twice.
Enroll once.

Tell us which course you want and we'll follow up about the next seat at the bench.

Enrollment card

Beginner-friendly. No experience needed — bring your questions to the bench.

Before you enroll

I've never picked up a drill. Is this for me?

Yes. Every course starts at the beginning, and you handle the tools yourself rather than watch someone else do it.

Do I need my own tools?

Bring what you have. If you don't own it yet, come anyway — learning what to buy is part of the tool skills course.

Where do the courses happen?

In Chattanooga, Tennessee. Send the enrollment card and we'll follow up with the address and the next available seat for the course you picked.