c/diy-home-repair

Switched from premixed spackle to hot mud for drywall patches

I used to use the lightweight premixed spackle in a tub for all my drywall repairs around the house, but it always took forever to dry and would shrink in bigger holes. A couple months ago I tried a 45-minute hot mud for a 3-foot crack in my hallway and that stuff cures hard as a rock with no shrinkage. Has anybody else made the switch and noticed a big difference in how long the repair holds up?

Ran the numbers on old single pane windows vs new double panes

My December gas bill was $230 so I looked up the R value difference and the old panes were losing about 40% more heat than I guessed. Has anyone else run into a crazy difference like that after checking their own utility bills?

Gas vs electric pressure washer on an old deck

I used a gas pressure washer on my parents' deck last summer and it tore strips off the wood because I got too close. Switched to an electric unit with a wide tip and it cleaned the rest perfectly without gouging. Has anyone else noticed the electric ones are way more forgiving on older wood?

Hit 300 credit card charges at Home Depot last year and that was just for lumber and fasteners

I added up every single trip from January to December and realized I was basically renting a parking spot at the lumber aisle, has anyone else run the numbers on what they actually spend at a big box store in a year?

PSA: I used drywall anchors vs toggle bolts for a shelf and one almost killed me

Put up a 6 foot shelf in my laundry room last Saturday using those plastic drywall anchors (you know, the blue ones). By Tuesday morning the whole thing came crashing down at 3am - scared the crap out of me and my cat. Swapped them out for toggle bolts yesterday and that shelf isn't going anywhere now, even with 40 pounds of detergent on it. Why do they even sell those plastic anchors for anything heavier than a picture frame? Has anyone else had a shelf fail like this or am I just unlucky?

Question about patching a hole in plaster walls

I was hanging a new shelf in my living room last weekend and my drill bit grabbed wrong and I ended up punching a hole about the size of a golf ball right through the old plaster. This is a house from 1928 in Cleveland, so the walls are that old horsehair plaster, not drywall. I tried the mesh patch and spackle route but the patch crinkled up and now I have a bumpy mess. My neighbor suggested cutting out a square and putting in a piece of drywall with some metal lath behind it, but I am worried about the thickness matching up. Has anyone dealt with this kind of old plaster before and found a method that actually works?

Vent: That toilet flange replacement took me 6 hours instead of 1

Everyone online says replacing a toilet flange is a quick afternoon job. I got an Oatey twist-n-set kit for $25, thought I'd be done in an hour. Nope, the cast iron pipe was corroded inside and the new flange wouldn't seat right. I had to chip out old lead and oakum with a hammer and chisel for like 3 hours straight. Then the screw holes didn't line up with the subfloor, so I had to drill new ones. Has anyone else run into hidden rot under a flange that turned a quick fix into a full day project?

The day I stopped using a paint can opener and switched to a screwdriver

For like 10 years I always used one of those cheap metal paint can openers you get free at the store. But last Saturday I was painting my garage in Austin and the opener bent on the third can of Behr. Grabbed a flathead screwdriver out of frustration and wow, it pries the lid off way easier and doesn't bend. Has anyone else ditched the fancy tools for just a regular screwdriver?

Had a retired plumber stop by my shop and tell me I was gluing PVC pipe wrong for 10 years

This old guy named Frank came in last Tuesday to pick up a part for his sink and saw me putting together a shower drain. He watched for a minute then goes "you're gonna have problems with that joint in about 8 months." I was like what do you mean, I've been doing this forever. He showed me how I was putting the primer on too thick and not letting it flash off before the cement. I had always just slapped it all on fast and jammed it together. He said most diy guys get this wrong because they rush the chemical weld. Now I'm wondering how many of my past jobs might have leaks down the line. Anybody else get called out on some basic plumbing trick they thought they had down?

Walked into a hardware store in Nashville last week and noticed something weird with caulk prices

I needed some silicone caulk for a bathroom reno and the price tags were all over the place. A regular DAP tube was $4.50 but then the same brand with 'mold resistant' on it was almost $12. I stood there reading labels for like 10 minutes trying to figure out if it was really worth the extra money. Turns out the expensive stuff has a higher solids content so it lasts longer but who knew that? Has anyone actually tested both side by side and noticed a real difference?

That $15 foam gun saved me a ton of headaches

I always thought those aerosol foam guns at the hardware store were a gimmick. For years I just used the straw cans of expanding foam for sealing gaps around windows and pipes. Last month I had to seal a bunch of rim joists in my crawlspace in Nashville and got sick of wasting half a can each time. Picked up one of those basic foam gun kits for $15 at Lowes and honestly it changed my mind. The foam comes out way more controlled and you can actually reuse the gun for weeks if you clean it right. Plus no more shaking the can until your arm falls off. Has anyone else tried those for bigger jobs or is it just me?

Pro tip: That $8 dollar water key from the hardware store saved my outdoor faucet repair

Last weekend I was trying to fix a leaky spigot on the side of my house here in Portland. I kept trying to turn the water off at the little handle inside the house but it was stuck and I couldnt get it to budge. My neighbor came over and handed me this cheap metal water key he had sitting in his truck. It hooked right onto the curb stop in my front yard and shut the main water off in like 10 seconds. I spent an hour wrestling with the inside valve before that and the key just made everything easy. The leak turned out to be a worn out washer that cost me 50 cents at the local shop. Has anyone else found a simple tool like that that just makes a job way less frustrating?

Tried using a heat gun to speed up paint drying and warped a whole window trim piece

Was repainting my bedroom trim in Austin last Saturday and figured the heat gun would save me time, but the old pine got too hot too fast and now I've got a wavy mess that's gonna take twice as long to sand and redo - anyone else ruined a project trying to rush the drying?

Spent 3 weekends trying to fix a toilet that just needed the flapper replaced

Broke a tile cutter blade doing a bathroom floor last Tuesday

I was halfway through tiling my guest bathroom in Austin when the blade on my $60 manual tile cutter just snapped. I thought I could push through a thick porcelain plank without scoring it enough first. Had to stop everything, drive to Home Depot, and grab a new carbide wheel for $12. Now I always double score the cut line before snapping, anyone else mess up the simple stuff because you got in a hurry?

Hit 100 drywall patches this month without a single crack

I've been fixing up my old house in Phoenix and the walls are basically made of paper and bad decisions. Last month I counted and I patched 100 nail pops and screw holes from previous owners. Not one of them has cracked yet even with the 110 degree heat making everything expand. I used hot mud instead of premixed and that made a huge difference. Has anyone else noticed hot mud holds up better in crazy temps?

Pro tip: Use a wet rag to catch drywall dust when sanding

I was refinishing my living room ceiling last weekend and the dust was getting everywhere, no matter how much plastic I taped up. My buddy who does this for a living told me to wet a bath towel and lay it under where I'm sanding, then wet it again when it dries out. That damp towel caught like 90% of the dust before it could float around the room. Has anyone else tried this or got a better way to keep the mess down?

Found out my 50 year old house has zero insulation behind one wall

Was patching some drywall in the guest bedroom last week and decided to peek behind the baseboard. Stuck my phone in with the flashlight on and realized the whole exterior wall is just studs and siding, no insulation at all. Checked the attic and saw the fiberglass batts stop at that section too. Looked up the house history on the county assessor site and it turns out the previous owner added that room as a sun porch in the 70s and never insulated it. No wonder that room is freezing in winter and an oven in summer. Has anyone else found a random uninsulated wall in their old house?

Taping drywall joints used to take me forever until I switched methods

I'd always spread the mud, then tape, then mud again. Now I put a thin layer of mud down first, bed the tape in it, and smooth it all at once. Cut my time per sheet by about 15 minutes. Anyone have a better trick for avoiding bubbles under the tape?

Pro tip: check your caulk gun before you start the whole bathroom

Honestly, I spent last weekend redoing the tub in my guest bathroom and the caulk line looked terrible, all lumpy and uneven. After about 20 feet of fighting it, my neighbor came over to borrow a ladder and just said, 'Your plunger rod is bent, dude.' I had been using a cheap gun I got 3 years ago and never noticed the metal rod was warped. Has anyone else had a simple tool issue totally ruin a job?

Just realized my basement went from damp to bone dry after I fixed the grading outside.

For two years, the corner by the old workbench always felt clammy and had a musty smell. I finally spent a weekend moving about 20 wheelbarrows of dirt to build up the soil slope away from the foundation. That was six months ago, and now the air down there feels completely different, no more dampness at all. Has anyone else fixed a moisture problem just by fixing the ground outside?

Talking to my plumber uncle made me see my bathroom reno differently

Honestly, I was about to start tiling my shower with the cheapest stuff from the big box store. My uncle, who's been a plumber for thirty years, stopped by and just said, 'You're putting a $2,000 shower valve behind a $1 tile. That's like putting a cheap roof on a new house.' Ngl, it hit different coming from him. I never really thought about how the finish work protects the expensive guts of a project. He told me about a job he fixed last month where the homeowner's DIY tile failed and ruined a $900 mixing valve. Now I'm rethinking my whole material list and maybe spending a bit more on the waterproofing and tile. Has anyone else had a pro point out a flaw in your plan that totally changed your approach?

Update: I finally fixed that squeaky floorboard in the hallway

It only took a Phillips head screwdriver and about ten minutes, but I'd been stepping over it for a solid year. Anyone have a good trick for finding the exact joist under the carpet?

My kitchen faucet handle snapped clean off this morning while I was doing dishes.

It's an old single-handle model and the plastic cartridge inside just gave out. I'm debating whether to try replacing just the cartridge for about $25 or if I should upgrade the whole faucet, which seems like a bigger job. Has anyone had luck with a cartridge swap on a Moen faucet that's over 10 years old?

Bought a $40 stud finder that just beeped at everything

I was trying to hang a shelf in my old house in Tacoma and thought a cheap one would do the trick. It went off over drywall, over a pipe, even over an outlet, so I ended up putting a screw right into a wire. Had to call an electrician for a $300 fix. Anyone have a stud finder brand they actually trust?