c/diy-home-projects

My bathroom reno turned into a weird plumbing adventure

I was swapping out a sink in my old house last month, and the shutoff valve just snapped off. Water shot straight up, hit the ceiling, and started dripping down like a little indoor rain. I had to run to the basement in my socks to find the main shutoff, which took a solid five minutes of panic. The whole ceiling got soaked and I had to patch and repaint it, which added a week to the project. Now I test every single shutoff valve with a bucket under it before I even touch a fixture. Anyone else have a simple job go totally sideways because of one old part?

Heard a guy at the hardware store say 'caulk and paint make a carpenter what he ain't' and it finally clicked for me.

Thought I could replace a bathroom faucet in an hour, but the old shutoff valves were completely seized.

I spent the first three hours just trying to get them to turn, soaking them in penetrating oil and using two wrenches. Ended up having to cut the old supply lines and install new valves, which took the whole afternoon. What's your go-to trick for dealing with stubborn plumbing fittings?

Appreciation post: I was putting up my new kitchen shelves wrong for a month until my neighbor pointed out the stud finder beeps.

PSA: Saw a deck in Seattle with the posts just sitting on gravel, no concrete at all.

I visited the old hardware store downtown and saw they still sell real linseed oil in metal cans

Three years ago in my old kitchen, I would have never tried to cut my own butcher block countertop, but last month I did it with a circular saw and a homemade guide.

Last week I was oiling it and my neighbor asked where I bought it, which felt pretty good.

My brother told me to use a 3/8 inch drill bit for the shelf brackets. Wrong.

He swore it was the right size for the wall anchors I bought. Drilled six holes in my plaster wall before I even tried the anchor. They just spun right out, leaving huge craters. Had to patch everything and start over with the 1/4 inch bit the anchor box actually said to use. Anyone else have a simple tip that went totally sideways?

My old deck stain job started peeling after just one winter

I stained our back deck in late September, thinking it would hold up fine. By April, whole sections were flaking off like old paint. The guy at the paint store said I probably didn't clean it well enough before I started, which makes sense because I just hosed it down. I had to rent a power washer and spend a whole weekend stripping it all off to start over. What's the best way to prep a wood deck for stain so this doesn't happen again?

Pro tip: I stopped using a level for picture frames and it looks way better

For years, I'd hang a picture by getting it perfectly level with my little 9-inch tool. Then I noticed all my frames looked a bit off because my old house floors and ceilings aren't straight (built in 1952, you know how it is). About six months ago, I started just hanging them by eye, lining them up with a door frame or a shelf instead of the bubble. The visual line matters more than the true level. Now my gallery wall actually looks right. Anyone else ditch the level for hanging stuff in a crooked room?

Pro tip: My kitchen floor tile job went from a mess to done in one weird Wednesday

Last Wednesday, I was laying down that peel and stick vinyl plank in my kitchen. It was a fight, with pieces not lining up and my back hurting. Then my neighbor, Frank, who used to do this for work, came over with a heat gun and a 6-inch putty knife. He showed me how to warm the adhesive just a bit before pressing it down. We finished the whole 120 square foot area in about 4 hours after that. Has anyone else found a simple tool trick that saved a whole project from going bad?

TIL to always check for a wall stud before hanging a heavy shelf

I was in my garage trying to mount a new tool rack when the drywall anchor gave way and the whole thing crashed down. I ended up using a stud finder and some 3 inch screws to fix it right. Anyone have a better way to find studs without a tool?

My dad warned me about using cheap spackle on a drywall patch

He said the $2 stuff from the bargain bin would shrink and crack, but I figured it was fine for a small hole. Sure enough, after two days it looked like a spiderweb and I had to redo the whole thing with the good compound. What's the one piece of DIY advice you got that you wish you'd listened to right away?

My bathroom tile job turned into a two week project because of one wall

I thought redoing my small bathroom floor would take a weekend. The main area went fine, but the wall behind the toilet was way out of square. I spent three days just trying to cut the tiles to fit that weird angle. I went through a whole box of tile trying to get the cuts right with my wet saw. In the end, what I planned for two days took me fourteen. Has anyone else had a simple tile job get totally messed up by a bad wall?

I was painting my kitchen cabinets wrong for a solid month

I was brushing on a water-based enamel, getting super frustrated with the brush marks and slow dry time. My neighbor, who used to paint houses, saw me working and said, 'You're using the wrong brush and not thinning that paint at all, are you?' He was right. I switched to a good quality angled brush and added just a little water to the paint, like he showed me. The next coat went on smooth and dried way faster. Anyone else have a simple tip that fixed a big painting headache?

Overheard a contractor at the lumber yard say to use a paint roller for drywall mud

I was picking up some 2x4s in Phoenix and heard a guy telling his helper to use a cheap foam roller instead of a trowel for the first coat on fresh drywall. He said it goes on faster and leaves less to sand later. Has anyone else tried this method for a smoother finish?

Hot take: I tried using leftover laminate flooring as a backsplash and it actually worked

I had about 10 planks from a kitchen floor job and glued them up behind the sink, but the steam from my kettle made the edges peel after a month. Anyone know a good waterproof adhesive for that kind of thing?

My deck ledger board pulled away from the house last night

Heard a loud crack around 9 PM. The 2x10 ledger attached to my brick veneer was hanging by two lag screws. I used the wrong anchors, the plastic ones that came with the kit. Had to prop it up with 4x4 posts from the garage. Anyone know the right masonry anchors for a fix like this?

I always thought you needed a special tool to fix a wobbly ceiling fan, but my neighbor in Denver said to just tighten the screws on the mounting bracket first.

After ignoring the wobble for a year, I finally got a ladder, found the three screws holding the fan base to the ceiling bracket were barely finger-tight, and fixing them took five minutes with a regular screwdriver, saving me from buying a balancing kit.

Just finished a peel-and-stick backsplash in my kitchen after thinking it was a total gimmick, lol

I saw it at the hardware store for $45 a box and figured it would look cheap and peel off in a week. My partner convinced me to try a small section behind the coffee maker. Three months later, the whole wall is done and it still looks perfect, no lifting at all. The trick was cleaning the wall with rubbing alcohol first, which I almost skipped. Anyone else have a DIY product they were totally wrong about?

My neighbor changed my mind about painting my own fence

I was halfway through slapping a coat of cheap paint on my backyard fence in Tacoma last month, thinking it was good enough. My neighbor, Frank, who's been a carpenter for 30 years, walked over and just said, 'You know, that's gonna peel in a year if you don't sand it first.' He showed me a small section he'd done on his own fence, sanded smooth and primed, and the difference was obvious. I stopped right there, bought an orbital sander, and started over. What's the one piece of advice that saved you from a big DIY mistake?

Bought a cheap paint sprayer for my kitchen cabinets and it cost me more in the end

I got a no-name sprayer for about $80 to save money on my cabinet project. It clogged every ten minutes and left a rough, uneven finish. I ended up having to sand everything down and buy a proper brush set, which set me back another $120. Has anyone found a sprayer under $200 that actually works for a full room?

Vent: my bathroom faucet handle snapped clean off last Tuesday

I was just trying to turn off the cold water and the whole plastic stem inside just gave way... left me with a steady drip. Had to shut off the water under the sink and run to the hardware store for a replacement cartridge, which was about $18. Got it swapped out after watching a video, and the quiet is so nice now. Anyone have a go-to brand for bathroom fixtures that won't break after a few years?

Update: My paint can count hit 50 this weekend

I was cleaning out the garage and realized I've saved every single empty can from projects over the last 8 years. It's a full shelf of metal, mostly from fixing up this old house. Has anyone else kept track of something like this and been shocked by the number?

Shoutout to the guy at the hardware store in Boise who asked if I'd ever tried a 3/8 inch stubby wrench for tight spots

I was struggling with a sink drain in a cramped cabinet for an hour, and his suggestion saved the whole job in about five minutes.