c/diy-home-projects

Finally fixed my squeaky stairs with a $6 tube of stuff from Ace Hardware

I had this one step on my split-level that would squeak every time you stepped on it, drove me nuts for like 6 months. Tried screws, glue, even baby powder once, nothing worked. Then a guy at the Ace on 3rd Street told me to grab some Smart Strip lubricant and squirt it between the tread and the riser. It's been quiet for 3 weeks now, anyone else have a random fix that actually stuck?

Changed my mind about spray foam after seeing a guy's attic in Phoenix

I was dead set on fiberglass batts for my garage. Cheap and easy. Then I helped my buddy Mike pull down some old drywall in his 1980s house. The fiberglass up there had rodent nests and air gaps everywhere. He had roofer friends who talked him into closed cell spray foam for the new build. I watched them seal every tiny gap in about 4 hours. No settling, no gaps. It cost $2,200 more but his energy bill dropped 40 bucks a month right away. Has anyone else switched insulation types after seeing the long term difference?

Rant: That $60 drain snake from Home Depot was a complete waste of money

Bought one of those handheld drum augers to clear a clog in my kitchen sink last month. Figured it would save me a plumber fee. Nope. The thing got stuck on the first bend and the cable kinked up like a cheap spring. Ended up having to cut the pipe under the sink to get it out. Plumber came anyway, charged me $180 to fix my mess and clear the actual clog. Has anyone found a drain cleaner that actually works on tough kitchen clogs without ruining your pipes?

Thought I'd knock out a backsplash in a weekend - took me 12 days

Cutting tile around outlets and corners ate up way more time than I planned, and my miters were looking rough until about the third try. Anyone else have a simple project that snowballed into something way bigger?

Is caulk really better than backer rod for big gaps?

I was sealing a 3/4 inch gap around my basement window frame last weekend and used caulk like always. It took two tubes and still sagged out after drying, looked terrible. Has anyone tried backer rod on gaps this big and had better luck with less material?

That time at Home Depot a contractor showed me I was using the wrong drywall knife.

I was grabbing some mud for a bathroom patch job and this old timer pointed at my 6-inch knife and said 'grab a 12-inch for finishing, you're adding hours of sanding.' First time I tried it I finished the whole room in two passes instead of six. Anyone else get handed a tool tip from a stranger that totally changed their workflow?

Figured out a trick for patching drywall holes without sanding

I had a bunch of small nail holes and a couple dime sized spots in my hallway that I kept putting off because I hate sanding dust. Tried using spackle with a damp sponge instead of sanding after reading a tip on a blog. You just apply the spackle, wait about 10 minutes, then wipe it smooth with a wet sponge before it fully hardens. It took me maybe 30 minutes for 15 holes and the finish was flat with zero dust. Has anyone else tried this method or found another way to skip the sanding step?

Shoutout to the cheap trim router that ended my nightmare door hinge saga

I spent 4 months shimming a single hollow core door hinge over and over, finally bought a $30 trim router and fixed it flush in 10 minutes flat. Anyone else waste half a year on a job that a simple tool solves instantly?

Pro tip: my PVC planter project went south fast until I switched to ABS pipe

I spent a whole Saturday building a vertical planter out of 3-inch PVC for my herbs on the balcony. The glue joints kept failing under the weight of wet soil and I lost half my basil plants. A guy at Lowe's in Portland told me ABS pipe has better grip with the cement, and after redoing it with 4-inch ABS last week the thing is solid as a rock. Anyone else had better luck with one type of plumbing pipe over another?

That cheap paint sprayer from harbor freight was a total waste of $60

I bought one of those $60 HVLP paint sprayers to do my kitchen cabinets last spring. Figured it would save me time over brushing and rolling. First pass went okay but then it started spitting chunks of paint halfway through a door. Cleaned it three times and it kept clogging on me. Ended up trashing it and finishing the whole kitchen with a brush and a foam roller. The finish actually looked better with the roller too. Has anyone had better luck with a budget sprayer than I did or is it all just junk until you spend over $200?

Spent 6 hours painting a room before I realized I used the wrong sheen

Tried Romex staples vs. plastic clips for a basement rewire in Omaha last week

Honestly, I've used staples my whole life but for this 60 amp circuit I ran I gave those zip-tie style clips a shot. The clips held the wire way better against the joists and I didn't have to worry about nicking the sheathing. Has anyone else switched over to clips for bigger gauge wire?

Just counted my spare paint cans and hit 14, which means I'm basically running a small hardware store out of my garage.

Four of those are less than half-full from projects I finished two years ago, so I'm finally forcing myself to mix them into one weird gray color this weekend just to clear space - has anyone else done a "paint smoothie" and regretted it?

I was using a regular drill for concrete anchors for two years before a guy at the hardware store in Portland asked me if I'd burned out my motor yet.

I was set on a full kitchen reno until a chat at the hardware store

I was in the lumber aisle at the local Home Depot, holding two paint swatches and feeling sure I needed to gut the whole kitchen. This older guy, maybe a retired contractor, was picking out some oak boards. He saw me looking lost and just said, 'You know, sometimes the best upgrade is the one you don't do.' He told me about his own place, how he spent a whole weekend just re-grouting his tile, painting his old cabinets a fresh white, and putting in new drawer pulls. He said it cost him under $300 and his wife loved it more than the $15,000 quote they got. That stuck with me. I went home, looked at my solid maple cabinets again, and realized I was about to fix something that wasn't broken. Has anyone else done a simple refresh that saved them from a huge, costly project?

Update: I built a small deck three years ago and the wood is already warping

I used pressure treated pine from a local yard in Phoenix, and after one hot summer the boards started to cup pretty bad. I'm thinking I should have sealed it right away instead of waiting a year. Has anyone had better luck with a different type of wood out here?

My bathroom tile job was a disaster until I tried a $5 trick with a plastic bag

I was putting up subway tile in my guest bath and the spacers kept letting the tiles slide down before the thinset set. After two rows fell off, I was ready to quit. I saw a video where a guy used a plastic grocery bag cut into strips as temporary supports. I tried it, wedging the strips under the bottom edge of each tile for about 20 minutes. It held them perfectly level while the mortar started to grab. Has anyone else found a weird household item that saved a project?

I thought replacing a bathroom faucet was a quick afternoon job, but the corroded supply line nuts under my sink in Phoenix fought me for almost 5 hours.

What's the longest a 'simple' plumbing fix has taken you?

My dad said 'paint is paint' when I asked about his old shed, but I'm not so sure.

He used the cheapest exterior latex he could find at the hardware store 15 years ago, and it's still holding up fine in our Michigan winters. I just spent $60 a gallon on a fancy 'self-priming' paint for my own shed after reading all the reviews. Now I'm wondering if the expensive stuff is really worth it for basic outdoor jobs, or if the old-timers have a point about not overthinking it. What's your rule for choosing paint on a budget project?

I was sure those peel and stick floor tiles were gonna be a disaster

My bathroom floor was a mess, so I grabbed a box of those sticky vinyl squares from the hardware store for like $30. I figured they'd lift up in a week. Put them down on a clean, dry floor six months ago, and they haven't budged an inch, even right by the shower. Anyone else had a shockingly good result with a product you totally doubted at first?

Appreciation post: my kitchen floor went from dull to bright after a $15 bottle of cleaner

I have this old vinyl floor that looked flat and cloudy for months, no matter how much I mopped. Last week I picked up a specific cleaner called Revive from the hardware store, just to try it. I followed the directions, let it sit for ten minutes, then scrubbed with a stiff brush. The difference was crazy, like I peeled a film off the whole floor. It's been three days and it still looks way better than before. Has anyone else found a simple product that fixed a job you thought was too big?

My plumber said 'you can't patch that pipe, you have to replace the whole run' and it made me realize I've been doing too many temporary fixes on my 1978 house.

I've been patching old galvanized plumbing for years, but after his quote for $2,300, I'm finally going to learn how to run PEX myself and do it right. Anyone have a good tutorial for a complete beginner tackling a whole-house repipe?

Everyone says to just use a stud finder, but mine kept giving false readings on my plaster ceiling. Spent 4 hours trying to hang a light fixture.

I've been using the wrong blade for cutting laminate flooring this whole time

I was installing some Pergo in my living room and kept getting these awful, chipped edges, no matter how slow I went. My brother, who's a contractor, stopped by, took one look at my 40-tooth framing blade on the miter saw, and just laughed. He told me to swap it for a 100-tooth crosscut blade, and the next piece came out perfectly clean. Anyone have a favorite brand for those fine-tooth blades, or is a generic one from the hardware store fine?

Remember when you had to buy a whole new door for a stripped screw hole?

I had a closet door in my old house, the top hinge screw just spun and wouldn't hold. I was about to go buy a new slab, which felt like a waste. My neighbor, a retired carpenter, saw me struggling and said, 'Just jam a few toothpicks in there with some wood glue.' I let it dry overnight, drove a new screw in, and that door hung solid for the next five years. Anyone have a better fix for this, maybe with a different material?