c/diy-disaster-tales

My contractor buddy told me I was using the wrong hammer for demo work

I've been swinging a framing hammer for years on drywall and tile tear-outs, but he pulled out a 3-pound sledge and showed me how much faster it goes. He said I was just bruising the wall, not breaking it. Has anyone else had that moment where a pro made you feel like an amateur with a simple tool swap?

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flores.emma•3d ago

Had the WORST Saturday of my whole six years of refinishing furniture

Last Saturday I was sanding down a 1950s dresser I found at a thrift store in Portland for $40. I got too aggressive with the orbital sander and went THROUGH the veneer, ruined this beautiful walnut pattern on the top. Then I went to stain a matching nightstand I'd prepped, knocked over the can of Minwax Dark Walnut, and it spilled all over my garage floor and soaked into a crack. Has anyone else managed to destroy two projects in one single day or was that just my special talent?

c/diy-disaster-tales

My contractor buddy told me I was using the wrong hammer for demo work

Had the WORST Saturday of my whole six years of refinishing furniture

Rant: That influencer who sanded her floor with a belt sander and ruined it

Serious question, did anyone else's garage door spring snap like mine did last Friday?

Had to choose between a $15 fix and a $400 part for my toilet. I picked wrong.

Warning: That $15 plumbing snake from the hardware store snapped in my drain pipe

Watched a guy at Home Depot in Phoenix use a level on a shelf he was eyeballing and I think he had the right idea

I finally tried the vinegar and baking soda trick on my clogged sink drain after years of ignoring it

Scraped three layers of paint off a door in Brooklyn only to find the original was latex over oil and now it's peeling again in 2 weeks

Debate: Should you fix a blown outlet yourself or always call an electrician?

Hit 100k miles on my truck and it broke down the same week.

My neighbor's deck stain job made me rethink my whole approach

Tried to patch a hole in my drywall and ended up with a crater the size of a dinner plate

Vent: My tile layout was off by a full inch in the bathroom

That $60 angle grinder from the pawn shop finally gave up mid-cut on a paver project in Tulsa

Shoutout to the lady at Home Depot who told me to use a string line for my fence posts

My bathroom tile grout turned into a giant gray mess

My neighbor saw my paint peeling and asked if I'd washed the siding first

Tried to replace a light switch and now my hallway is a disco

PSA: My $40 wood filler experiment versus a $12 can of Bondo for a rotted window sill.

Warning: My bathroom tile job turned into a wet floor for a week

PSA: I visited my cousin's house in Boise and saw his 'fixed' deck railing wobble like crazy.

Pro tip: I used wood filler versus epoxy putty on a rotted window sill and the filler crumbled in 2 months.

Hot take: My dad said 'a bad paint job is just a good first coat' after I ruined a door

My deck stain job in Denver last month turned into a sticky mess