I find really good advice from This old house forums and articles. I also read a lot of contractor forums. I feel like much of that advice is sound.

Some large big box stores offer free diy classes.

Izzy Mn do you think they're good classes? Is it enough to go back and do it yourself after attending?

I usually look online and youtube. I look at many how to sites. I only went to a tile store class. It was helpful because you could ask questions specific to your job.

Agree with HandyMac. Multiple sources. As you gain experience, you'll be better informed and can evaluate your sources with a critical eye.

I do like YouTube because it's Show & Tell. There's a lot of bad stuff on there but there are also some excellent sources. My current YouTube favorites are The Essential Craftsman and DFWCrown-The Finish Carpenter. I watch them for Infotainment!

What seems to have worked for me is

1) Read. Everything. All the time, for decades. Fine Homebuilding, Journal of Light Construction, Old house Journal, (I was a charter subscriber to all three of these), books galore, ranging from my 1832 "New England Church Builder" through the architecture and construction texts of the last 100 years, to well-recommended more recent work

2) At any opportunity to watch a pro at work, watch. If possible ask questions. Many pro's really seem to enjoy it if someone is interested in their work, and happy to expound at length about what they do and why. Be cognizant that they are there to earn a living not talk to you, unless you are paying them by the hour.

3) Resort to the web and youtube for specific details of tasks you can't observe in person. Watch how 10-20 people approach the same piece of work to derive the common threads and sort out the bozos. Use your head to figure out which represent best practice, which are good enough, and which are not.

4) Hire a pro to give you a lesson or take a class at the local technical HS/college

5) Practice. Be prepared to rip whatever you did out and try again if it was wrong. Several times if necessary. Education is expensive, by the time you re-tile a shower for the third time you will probably be much better at it and will know whether you can do it right the next time or should hire a pro.

6) When you're in over your head admit it and hire a pro. I will never have the time or interest to practice plastering the 50-60 hours a week for two years that it takes to become skilled at it. I have a great plasterer who comes in and makes my work beautiful at the end.

My experience of HGTV is that it tends to be unrealistic or wrong or both. TOH tends to be unrealistic, but generally they do things well. YouTube is a huge mixed bag with gems found frequently in the sea of dross-- you need to have read enough to tell the difference!

>>gems found frequently in the sea of dross-- you need to have read enough to tell the difference!

This is true all over. I tend to consult various sources and I can sort of tell when one or more is goofy, or when an apparently experienced and reasonable source is saying not to do something that others are recommending, for good reasons. After awhile you get a feel for it.