Opinions Matter

c/diy-and-home

20

gibson.robert•1d ago

Caught a wall leak from a can of spray foam expanding too much in Phoenix

Was sealing some gaps around a window frame in my guest room last Sunday. Grabbed a can of the big gap filler stuff without reading the fine print. Sprayed it in the crack and walked away for 15 minutes. Came back and it had oozed out like marshmallow fluff and dripped down the stucco outside. Took me an hour with a putty knife and mineral spirits to clean it up without damaging the paint. Anyone else have a DIY project backfire from something you thought was simple?

20

nancy824•2d ago

I swore those expensive smart thermostats were a rip off till I saw my electric bill drop $45 in one month

My old thermostat was a basic dial unit from 1998. I figured a smart thermostat was just a gimmick for people with money to burn. Then my buddy installed one and showed me his usage data from the app, clear proof it cut his AC runtime by hours each day. I bought a used one off Facebook for $60 and my July bill went from $210 to $165. Has anyone else seen real savings or did I just get lucky?

9

ben486•3d ago

I finally tried building a raised garden bed last weekend and it was a disaster

I spent $60 on pressure treated wood and screws, measured everything three times, then realized I'd cut two of the side boards 6 inches too short because I read the plan wrong. Has anyone else had a simple DIY project just spiral into frustration for no good reason?

15

the_susan•3d ago

The time I tried to refinish my own hardwood floors

I rented a drum sander from Ace Hardware and thought I knew what I was doing after watching a few YouTube videos. Ended up gouging a 3-foot-long divot in the living room because I let the sander sit still for 3 seconds. Learned the hard way that you gotta keep the sander moving constantly or it'll eat through the wood like butter. Anyone else ruin a floor and have to patch it with wood filler?

18

anthony_jenkins61•3d ago

That fancy smart thermostat cost me an extra $150 on my electric bill

I bought this wifi thermostat six months ago thinking it'd save me money by learning my schedule. Turns out it kept overriding my manual settings and running the AC when nobody was home. I didn't catch it until my July electric bill jumped $80 compared to last year. Checked the app history and it had been cooling an empty house for 8 hours a day. Anyone else had a smart home gadget backfire on their utility costs?

21

elizabetha92•4d ago

Took 4 hours to hang one set of shelves - here's why

I was putting up some heavy floating shelves in my living room and thought it would be a quick 30 minute job. Turns out the stud finder kept beeping false positives because of old plumbing pipes behind the drywall. After drilling 8 pilot holes and patching 5 of them back up, I finally got them up at 10pm. Has anyone else dealt with wonky stud finders in older homes from the 1950s?

27

spencer_perry77•6d ago

Plywood vs. MDF for a garage workbench I built last week

I had to pick between 3/4-inch plywood and MDF for a new workbench. Went with plywood at $45 a sheet from Home Depot because I figured it'd hold up better against moisture. Sanded it down and oiled it with Danish oil, thing is solid as a rock. Anyone else have strong feelings about workbench tops?

20

angelas78•8d ago

That week I tried to re-tile my kitchen backsplash solo was a disaster

Last spring I decided I could save $400 by doing my own backsplash in the kitchen. I watched like 5 YouTube videos and thought yeah I got this. Day one went fine until I realized my tile cutter was dull and I was chipping every other piece. By Wednesday I had thinset crusted on my jeans and the grout dried way too fast because my kitchen was like 85 degrees. My wife came home and just stared at the crooked row near the outlet and said "babe maybe we call someone." I actually ended up spending $150 just on extra tile to fix my screw ups and a whole weekend ripping out what I did wrong. Has anyone else had a DIY project that ended up costing more than just hiring it out from the start?

7

wendygrant•10d ago

Spent $60 on a cheap laminate floor cutter and it paid off in one room

I was about to rent a real flooring saw for $80 a day but went with a $60 manual snap cutter from Amazon instead. Ran 400 sq ft of click-lock laminate in my living room last Saturday. It cut clean every time as long as I scored deep enough on the first pass. Did anyone else try one of these and actually have it last more than a single project?

30

piper_flores69•10d ago

Built a shelf with pocket holes vs regular screws and the difference is wild

I tried building the same bookcase twice last month. First one I just used regular deck screws straight into the particleboard. The second one I borrowed a pocket hole jig from my neighbor Bob. The pocket hole shelf didn't split or wobble at all even when I loaded it with hardbacks. Has anyone else noticed a big difference switching to pocket holes for basic shelving projects?

11

palmer.jana•12d ago

I finally visited IKEA for the first time last weekend and their kitchen cabinet assembly instructions are worse than the furniture assembly ones

Spent 4 hours trying to figure out why a drawer rail wouldn't slide right, turned out the diagram skipped a step that would've saved half the time - has anyone else found IKEA's kitchen manuals way less clear than their regular stuff?

6

robert_rodriguez66•12d ago

Paid $150 for a fancy closet organizer kit that totally flopped

I ordered one of those modular closet systems online last spring cause I was tired of my clothes piling up. The shelves were flimsy and the brackets didn't even line up with the studs in my wall, so I spent an extra day patching holes and returning it. Has anyone else had better luck with a specific brand that actually holds up?

19

joel_young•13d ago

Dropped $200 on a fancy smart thermostat and my utility bill actually went down $18

I figured it was just a gimmick but the scheduling alone cut my heating usage by a decent chunk... has anyone else seen real savings from one of these things?

11

ivanjones•13d ago

Spent $200 on a cheap pressure washer and it was a total bust

I bought this no-name pressure washer off a local ad for $200 because I was tired of renting one every spring. After 3 uses the pump started leaking and it barely had enough power to strip old paint off my deck like I needed. Ended up borrowing a neighbor's electric unit and realized spending a little more on a known brand would have saved me all this hassle. Now I’m looking at a $400 model from a hardware store but I’m scared to pull the trigger again. Anyone else get burned by a cheap tool and learn the hard way?

17

ryanj60•15d ago

Overheard a guy at Home Depot say 'you don't need a permit for a shed under 200 square feet' and now my whole neighborhood looks sketchy

I was grabbing some lumber last Saturday and this older guy in the parking lot was telling his buddy that rule word for word. I knew right away he was wrong because I looked into this exact thing when I built a 10x12 in my backyard two summers ago. My city in Ohio requires a permit for anything over 100 square feet, plus setbacks from the property line. I ended up paying $120 for the permit and had to dig footings 48 inches deep. That guy probably built his shed two feet from the fence and now half the block has sheds crammed in weird spots. It drives me nuts because one inspection later and you know your building is solid. Has anyone else run into bad advice from people who sound confident but are dead wrong?

3

gavin_knight39•18d ago

Blew $80 on a tile cutter that couldn't handle a straight line

Picked up a cheap trackless tile cutter from a hardware store last month thinking I'd save cash. First cut on a 12x12 porcelain tile chipped the edge and the guide slipped 3mm. Anyone else had luck with the track-style cutters or should I just rent a wet saw?

4

the_betty•19d ago

Question about painting trim before or after installation

I got into a BIG argument with my neighbor Dave last Saturday while we were both working on our houses. He swears you should paint ALL your trim before you install it, then just do touch ups later. I've always installed my baseboards and crown molding first, then caulked the gaps, and painted everything after. He said I'm creating more work for myself and the lines will never be as clean. But I feel like you get a better seal between the wall and the trim if you paint it all together. Has anyone here actually tested this both ways and seen a clear difference in the final result?

10

alicec86•19d ago

That week my basement flooded and I learned the hard way about sump pump maintenance

Last spring we got 6 inches of rain in 3 days here in Portland and my sump pump quit on day 2. I came home from work to 4 feet of water in the basement, ruined my tools and a furnace that was only 2 years old. The pump was clogged with a plastic bag that had been sitting in the sump pit since I moved in. Has anyone else had a sump pump fail during a big storm and found out something stupid simple caused it?

12

the_kevin•21d ago

That time my friend's dad showed me his $30 paint sprayer setup

I was helping my buddy Mike tape off his garage last Saturday and his dad comes out with this beat up Wagner sprayer he got on clearance. He sprayed the whole two-car garage in maybe 20 minutes and it looked better than any roller job I've ever done. Has anyone else had good luck with those cheap sprayers or did I just see a fluke?

4

ray324•21d ago

Pro tip: Don't trust a $15 toilet flange from the hardware store

Last Saturday I was replacing a toilet in my own house, something I've done like a hundred times for clients. I grabbed a cheap plastic flange from the big box store, figured it was fine for a quick swap. After I got the toilet set and tightened the bolts, I heard this tiny CRACK sound. The flange split right where the bolt slot meets the pipe, and water started seeping up from underneath. I had to yank the whole toilet back off, cut out the flange, and drive 20 minutes to a plumbing supply house for a cast iron one that cost $38. The whole job turned into a 4 hour ordeal instead of an easy hour. Has anyone else had those cheap parts blow up on them out of nowhere?

15

the_kevin•21d ago

Rant: That Saturday in Phoenix when my whole shed roof collapsed

I was putting up a new shelf in my shed last Saturday when the whole roof just buckled under the heat. Turns out I used the wrong gauge screws for the corrugated panels, they sheared right off after 3 months of Arizona sun. Cost me $120 in materials and 8 hours to redo it correctly with proper fasteners. Has anyone else messed up a simple shed build with a basic fastener mismatch?

14

the_daniel•22d ago

Rented a floor sander vs bought a random orbital for my oak floors

Went with the rental for the whole living room. Regretted it after hauling that monster up three flights of stairs. Anyone else just skip the big gear and take longer with a smaller tool?

6

adams.henry•22d ago

Tried to fix a leaky shower valve and it took me 7 hours

Started at 9am thinking I'd swap out an old Moen cartridge in like an hour. Had to cut the drywall behind the shower because the retaining clip was seized solid. Then the new cartridge didn't seat right and I had water spraying everywhere. Found out the hard way that my shutoff valves were old gate valves that wouldn't close all the way. Took three trips to Ace Hardware before I got the right part and a pair of channel locks that actually fit. Has anyone else dealt with a shower valve job that just snowballed into a full day thing?

9

morgan915•23d ago

Why does nobody talk about how expensive paint sprayers are to maintain?

I dropped $150 on a handheld paint sprayer last spring for a big fence job, thinking it would save me time. But after just two uses, I had to buy a $40 cleaning kit and a new nozzle because I didn't flush it right the first time. The thing clogs so easy if you don't break it down completely, and now I'm back to using a roller for most stuff. Has anyone else found a cheap sprayer that actually holds up without constant upkeep?

21

sageallen•1mo ago

The neighbor who insisted I was ruining my house with the wrong paint

Last summer I was painting my front door and my neighbor Bob came over to tell me I was using the wrong kind of paint for exterior wood. He said I should have bought a specific marine grade stuff that costs like $60 a gallon. I had already spent $35 on a can of Behr and he just stood there shaking his head while I finished the door. Six months later the paint started peeling in a few spots and I had to strip it all off and redo it. Bob brought me a beer when he saw me sanding and said "told you so" but then helped me pick out the right stuff. Has anyone else had a neighbor butt in with advice that actually turned out to be right?