September 27, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Learn how to be ‘Handi-Women’
by SALLY COHEN

Retired engineer David Decker teaches women how to be ‘ Handi-Women.’

Like so many contemporary men and women, Patricia Scarano has been hiring handy men, plumbers and other service workers to fix her broken toilet, repair damaged walls and replace door locks for years. As a single parent, she is responsible to make sure her house is kept in good shape and things are in working order. 

She wanted to learn how to fix a problematic toilet herself. “I’ve spent a fortune on plumbers over the years,” she said, adding she’s called them five times in the last 18 months alone.

As a member of the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce, she learned about local handyman David Decker, 53, who runs a company called Handi-Women, which he started on January 1 this year.

Decker came to her house, but instead of doing all the work himself, he put her to work. “I had to physically do it myself,” Scarano said. “He told me, ‘You are going to have to do the work, so you’ll know how to fix it the next time something happens.”

They identified the problem, went to the hardware store and purchased the needed $6 worth of  materials. Decker then walked her through fixing it.

“It wasn’t even hard,” Scarano said. “It was just something I didn’t know how to do. He’s actually very good at what he does.”

Patricia then signed up for his “Potty Talk” seminar where he brings a toilet mock-up with all the working parts, drains and garbage disposals, to teach basic plumbing. She said Decker’s service was wonderful. It gives women the knowledge and confidence to tackle home repairs.

But Handi-Women is not just for single women. Many satisfied customers have been women whose husbands are too busy with work and family to take care of home repairs, or they don’t know to make the repairs either.   Decker said he’s had husbands call him and thank him for the lessons he’s given to their wives.

Handi-Women was begun to help empower women by providing the knowledge to properly perform basic home repairs. Decker said, “One woman told me she felt so empowered, she wanted to go home and knock holes in the walls just so she could fix them!”Safety is always a priority. Tools used in Handi-Women classes are either designed or sized to fit comfortably in a woman’s hand. “I look for tools with soft handles, smaller grips,” said Decker.

Dave started the business after helping his sister-in-law, Jackie Kelleher, and her daughters remodel her store, Birthmark, in Media, which sells products and services for new mothers. Handi-Women classes are held regularly at local schools, stores and churches. Dave’s happiest moments are when he receives feedback from a woman who has just fixed something that she never before would have had the confidence to tackle.

A retired Navy training manager with an engineering background and an avid handyman, Dave brings a lot of experience into the classroom.