c/diy-gone-wrong

Hot take: I think everyone's obsession with peel-and-stick backsplash is a huge mistake. My kitchen looked like a war zone for a week.

My brother told me to use a cheap putty knife for a drywall patch and it was a disaster

He swore up and down that a five dollar tool from the big box store would work just fine for a small hole in my bedroom wall. In my experience, you get what you pay for. I tried to smooth the joint compound with that flimsy thing, and it just flexed and left ridges everywhere. After three attempts at sanding it down, the patch looked worse than the original hole. I ended up having to cut out a bigger section and start over, this time with a proper six inch taping knife. It cost me an extra weekend and about forty bucks in materials to fix my fix. Has anyone else had a simple tool totally ruin a project?

My 'simple' deck repair turned into a full rebuild after one wrong cut

I figured I could just replace three rotten boards on my back deck last Saturday. Grabbed my circular saw, set the depth wrong by a quarter inch, and sliced right through the main support joist. That one mistake meant I had to pull up the whole section, buy new pressure treated lumber, and spend the entire weekend on it. Ended up costing me an extra $300 and two days I didn't have. Honestly, sometimes a small fix is a trap that leads to a huge job. Anyone else have a tiny error blow up a whole project?

So I hit 37 failed attempts at building a floating shelf

The bracket system from Home Depot just would not stay level in my plaster wall, no matter how many toggle bolts I used. Some people online say to just use a French cleat for everything, but others swear by these specific brackets if you hit the studs. Has anyone actually gotten those things to work in an old house?

Thought I could tile my kitchen backsplash in an afternoon, lol

The spacers kept sliding out of the wet thinset, so every row was crooked. I spent 4 hours just trying to get the first 3 square feet straight, then had to pull it all off. Ended up taking me the whole weekend to finish a job I thought would be done by dinner. Anyone got a trick for keeping those little plastic spacers in place on a vertical surface?

My attempt to build a floating shelf ended with a hole in the wall

I had to choose between using the drywall anchors that came with the kit or buying the heavy-duty ones my friend suggested, and I went cheap. After hanging my favorite mug on it, the whole thing ripped out and left a fist-sized hole in the plaster. What's the best way to patch this without making it look worse?

Tried to build a floating shelf with wood glue versus pocket screws

Honestly, I used wood glue and brackets for the first one and it fell off the wall after a week. Ngl, the second one with a Kreg pocket hole jig is still solid after six months. Anyone have a better fix for drywall anchors?

Hot take: I see so many folks skip the primer on laminate cabinets and then wonder why the paint peels.

My uncle watched me try to fix a wobbly chair leg with duct tape and just said 'Kid, that's not a fix, that's a wish.'

My 'quick' tile backsplash turned into a 4 day nightmare

I figured I could knock out a small kitchen backsplash in an afternoon, lmao. The tiles were fine, but the adhesive was a total mess and I kept getting it everywhere. It took me a full day just to clean the excess off the counter and wall. The spacers kept slipping, so I had to redo a whole section twice. What should have been a 6 hour job ended up taking four entire days of work. Anyone have a better method for keeping those tiny mosaic tiles straight?

Showerthought: I hit 17 different shades of 'off-white' on my living room wall before I gave up

Honestly, I was trying to match this old trim color in my 1920s house. I bought a bunch of those little sample pots, thinking I'd nail it in maybe 5 tries. Ngl, after the 10th swipe, they all just looked like different versions of dirty cream. My partner walked in and said, 'Is the wall sick?' I spent over $80 on just those tiny paint cans. Part of me thinks I should have just painted the trim instead, but the other part is stubborn and wanted to 'save the original character.' Has anyone else gotten stuck in a paint matching rabbit hole where you just had to scrap the whole plan?

I poured a concrete patio slab that cracked in a month

Ignored the advice to use wire mesh and just mixed the bagged stuff by hand, thinking it would be fine. It cost me about $300 in materials and a weekend of work before it started spiderwebbing. Anyone know a good method to fix this without a full tear-out?

Serious question, has anyone else tried to replace a light fixture and found a wiring nightmare?

I was helping my friend in his 1970s house in Springfield last week, swapping out a basic ceiling light. We shut off the breaker, but when we opened the box, there were 7 different wires, not the 3 we expected. A previous owner had just twisted everything together with electrical tape, no wire nuts. My friend said, 'It worked before, just copy it.' I spent 2 hours with a voltage tester and my phone out, mapping it all before I felt safe to connect the new fixture. Has anyone else run into a hidden junction box like that? What's your go-to move to sort it out?

Thought I could fix a wobbly ceiling fan with a zip tie

The mounting bracket was stripped, but I cinched a heavy-duty zip tie around it as a temporary brace and it's held for 3 months. Has anyone else used a weird hardware store item to bail out a bigger repair?

Just realized my homemade deck stain was a total mess

I mixed a custom stain using leftover paint and linseed oil to save cash, but a friend who builds houses saw it and said 'that's gonna peel in a month, you didn't seal the wood first.' He was right, it all flaked off after two big rains. What's the right first step for an outdoor wood project like that?

My plan to fix a leaky kitchen faucet with a YouTube video and a prayer

I was in my kitchen last Tuesday, armed with a cheap wrench and a 15-minute tutorial. I turned off the water, took the handle apart, and then heard a loud pop and a hiss. The whole cartridge assembly shot out and water started spraying everywhere (I mean, it hit the ceiling). I had to run to the basement to shut off the main line, and my floor was soaked. Has anyone else had a simple faucet fix turn into a major plumbing call?

Shoutout to my attempt at a custom floating shelf that cost me a weekend and $90

I tried to build a floating shelf for my living room using a tutorial that said it was easy. I bought a nice piece of oak, brackets, and everything. After hours of measuring and drilling, I mounted it and it looked great for about ten minutes before the whole thing tilted and ripped out of the wall, taking a chunk of drywall with it. Turns out I hit a stud with only one screw and the weight was all wrong. Has anyone actually gotten these things to stay up without professional help?

I was convinced my 'freehand' tile cuts were fine until my bathroom wall looked like a jigsaw puzzle

Last Tuesday, I decided to retile my shower niche without a guide, just eyeballing it with my wet saw. After 3 hours, I had a pile of weirdly shaped pieces that left gaps you could fit a dime into. My partner walked in, stared for a solid minute, and said 'looks like a toddler did that.' I had to pull it all out and buy a $40 angle finder from Harbor Freight. Anyone else have a simple tool that saved them from a total mess?

My attempt to build a floating shelf ended with a hole in the drywall

I was so sure I had the studs marked right, but when I drilled the last bracket, it just went straight through into nothing. My partner walked in, looked at the dust on the floor and the bracket hanging loose, and just said, 'Babe, I think your stud finder needs new batteries.' I spent the next hour patching a fist-sized hole. Anyone have a better method for finding studs in an old plaster wall?

Warning: My attempt to build a floating shelf ended with a hole in the wall

My partner said 'you measured the studs wrong, it's all drywall anchors' after the whole thing ripped out. I bought a $40 stud finder the next day, anyone have a brand they trust?

My attempt to build a floating shelf in my Portland apartment ended with a hole in the wall

I tried to mount a 4-foot oak shelf above my TV using drywall anchors. I must have hit a weak spot because the whole thing ripped out, leaving a fist-sized hole in the plaster. Has anyone else in an old building had this happen and know a good fix?

So I tried to build a floating shelf after watching a five minute video

I saw this quick clip online where a guy made a shelf with just a board and some hidden brackets. Looked so easy. I went to the hardware store, got a nice piece of pine, and those special brackets. I measured once, drilled the holes, and hung it up. It looked great for about an hour. Then I put a single plant on it. The whole thing ripped out of the wall, taking a huge chunk of drywall with it. Turns out I hit exactly zero studs. The video never said to find studs, it just said 'mount into the wall.' I spent the next day patching a hole the size of my hand. Has anyone found a good way to hang heavy stuff on drywall without hitting a stud?

Tried to build a floating shelf in my Denver apartment last Tuesday and it's now a permanent part of the wall.

I used a stud finder that must have been broken, because I drilled into a pipe and now my landlord is involved. Anyone know a good drywall repair person in the area?

My attempt to build a floating shelf in my Phoenix apartment last month ended with a hole in the drywall and my cat staring at me.

I was so sure the anchors were rated for 50 pounds, but the whole thing came down at 3 AM with a crash that sounded like a car wreck, and now I'm looking at a $200 repair bill, so has anyone actually had luck with those toggle bolts in old plaster walls?

Question about using a cheap paint sprayer for a kitchen cabinet job

I had to pick between renting a good sprayer for $80 a day or buying a cheap one for $40, and I went with the cheap one. It clogged after the first cabinet and left drips all over my maple doors, so I spent three hours cleaning up the mess. Has anyone found a sprayer under $100 that actually works for a full room?