c/diy-renovations

16

oliver_mitchell•4h ago

I finally saw what 2 years of bad caulking does to a shower tile

Pulled out the old grout last weekend in my master bath and found black mold growing behind the caulk line on the floor side, has anyone else run into this with silicone vs acrylic caulk?

17

skyler_anderson65•18h ago

My neighbor's drywall trick saved me 40 bucks on a patch job

I was trying to fix a hole in my hallway drywall last weekend and my neighbor Bob came over and showed me how to use a scrap piece of drywall and a hot glue gun to make a perfect patch instead of buying one of those metal mesh kits. He said he learned it from a YouTube guy named Vancouver Carpenter and it worked way better than I expected, no mesh showing through. Has anyone else tried this method or found a cheap hack for drywall patches?

12

river_scott•1d ago

Neighbor talked me out of using MDF for my basement shelves and I'm glad I listened

I was dead set on using MDF for a big shelving unit in my basement because it's cheap and smooth. My neighbor Dave who's been doing woodwork for like 20 years saw me loading up my truck and said "you're gonna regret that down there" because of the moisture. He explained that MDF swells like crazy even with just a little dampness and after one humid summer you'd have warped shelves. So I switched to plywood instead and it cost me about $80 more but after 6 months down there everything is still dead flat. Has anyone else had MDF fail on them in a basement or garage?

28

the_ben•1d ago

Cut a support beam during a kitchen reno in Phoenix last year

I was demoing a wall in a 1950s house and accidentally notched into a load bearing beam with my sawzall. Had to call a structural engineer for a $400 fix and now I always check with a stud finder before cutting anything.

19

hayden587•3d ago

Paid $600 for a pre-fab cabinet set and it took me longer to level than building from scratch.

Everyone says pre-fab saves time, but I spent three weekends shimming and adjusting those cheap plywood boxes, and my custom-built ones in the garage went together in two days with real wood... anyone else regret skipping the lumber yard?

16

torres.jason•3d ago

That $20 caulk tool I swore was a gimmick actually works better than my finger

I spent years using my finger to smooth caulk lines on bathroom tile. Figured that cheap plastic tool at Home Depot was just a waste of shelf space. Finally grabbed one after doing a whole shower surround last month because my thumb was killing me. Used it on the final corner joint and got a perfect bead with zero mess in half the time. Still feels weird to admit a $5 piece of plastic beat my technique. Anyone else hold out on a simple tool way longer than they should have?

11

the_dakota•3d ago

Is spending extra on a moisture meter worth it or a waste?

I dropped $120 on a pinless moisture meter before refinishing my basement floor in Portland. It caught hidden damp spots near the old concrete slab that saved me from covering up a mold problem waiting to happen. But my buddy used a $20 pin meter on his kitchen reno and got the same basic info without the fancy screen. The high end one gave me readings down to 0.1%, but I honestly didn't use that feature after the first check. Did the extra cost actually pay off for me, or did I just fall for nice marketing? Has anyone else gone cheap here and regretted it when things went wrong later?

6

jaken23•4d ago

Three years of painting trim before I realized I was supposed to backbrush

Caught myself just rolling on that Malibu white in my brother's kitchen last month and the texture looked like orange peel, then my buddy laughed and said 'you know you gotta brush it out, right' and now I'm wondering what else I've been missing.

4

aaron_ellis42•6d ago

Patching drywall took me 5 tries before I got it right

I spent three weekends trying to fix a hole in my living room wall from a doorknob slam. First attempt I used too much mud and sanded it down to a crater. Second time I put the mesh tape on wrong and it bubbled up like a blister. By the fourth try I was ready to just hang a picture over it and call it a day. Finally on attempt five I figured out I needed to feather the edges way further than I thought. Has anyone else struggled with something this simple for way too long?

14

ryan_clark40•7d ago

Spent 6 hours trying to level a single cabinet door in my kitchen

I was hanging new shaker cabinets in my kitchen last Saturday and one door just would not sit right. I kept adjusting the hinge screws back and forth, thinking I had it perfect, then closing it would show a 1/4 inch gap on the bottom. After fiddling for what felt like forever, my buddy walked over and pointed out the cabinet box itself was twisted a bit from the wall being out of plumb. Had to shim the whole box 3/16 of an inch before the door finally hung straight. Anyone else ever chase a problem like that only to realize the frame was the real issue?

12

henry_moore55•8d ago

That $12 paint sprayer from Harbor Freight I bought on a whim

Picked up the cheap purple Wagner sprayer for a fence job last month. Figured it'd clog after 10 minutes or just make a mess. Has anyone else had decent luck with bargain spray gear?

16

morgan316•8d ago

Burned out on half-assed drywall repairs in my own house

I used to just slap joint compound on any hole or crack and call it good. Took me about 10 minutes and it looked fine from 5 feet away. Then last winter I had to patch a 2 foot by 3 foot section in my living room after a pipe leak. That quick fix approach left a wavy mess that caught the light from the window. Had to sand it all down, redo it with mesh tape and three thin coats over two days. Now I actually take the time to cut out clean squares and back them with plywood before mudding. Anyone else switch from speed to quality after one bad job stared you in the face for months?

12

knight.diana•9d ago

That cheap $20 stud finder from the hardware store lied to me and I drilled right into a copper pipe

Last Saturday I was hanging shelves in my living room in Phoenix and that thing said clear, so now I've got a wet patch in the drywall and a plumber coming tomorrow for $150, anyone else have a junk tool fail on them like that?

3

ericschmidt•9d ago

TIL most people are putting up drywall wrong and it blows my mind

I keep seeing people on here and on Youtube just staggering their drywall joints wherever but never actually cutting them over a stud or joist. That means you're just asking for cracks to show up in 6 months when the house settles. I noticed it after my neighbor bragged about finishing his basement in a weekend and now has a crack running right down the middle of his ceiling. So which is it, are you team "butt joints anywhere" or do you actually take the time to plan your seam locations? Has anyone else dealt with this or am I just being too picky?

11

hugo236•14d ago

Wasted $150 on a cheap tile cutter from the hardware store

Bought a manual tile cutter for a bathroom floor job, thought I was saving money. It snapped tiles wrong every other cut, wasted a whole box of porcelain. Has anyone else had better luck with renting the wet saw instead?

1

oliver_mitchell•14d ago

I used to drywall with a 6 inch taping knife and it drove me crazy

For years I did all my drywall mudding with a 6 inch knife. It took forever and left these ridges I had to sand down. About 6 months ago I finally bought a 12 inch knife and a mud pan. Now I do a whole room in like half the time and the finish is way smoother. I don't know why I stuck with the small knife for so long. Has anyone else made a simple tool swap that saved them hours on a job?

19

blair_allen•14d ago

Spent $400 on a cheap tile saw and regretted it immediately

Bought a no-name tile saw off Amazon to do my kitchen backsplash last month... first cut was fine, second one threw the blade guide out of alignment. Has anyone else had luck with the cheap saws or is it worth just renting the good ones from Home Depot?

23

pat_park•14d ago

Old trick for stripping paint that actually works

I spent like 3 hours using a heat gun on my old front door trim and got nowhere. My dad came over and handed me a bottle of soy-based gel stripper from the hardware store. Just slathered it on, waited about 40 minutes, and the paint came off in sheets with a plastic scraper. Way less mess than sanding and no burning smell. Has anyone else tried the citrus-based stuff or is soy the way to go?

21

jaken23•15d ago

Warning: That 'free' pallet wood from the grocery store almost cost me big time

I grabbed a bunch of pallets from behind a Food Lion near me last week, thinking I'd save $60 on lumber for a raised garden bed. Then I noticed one had a tiny oil stain and started reading up on MB and HT codes some pallets have chemical treatments you can't just sand off. Has anyone else dealt with this or am I being too paranoid?

14

shanel13•18d ago

Unpopular opinion: painting trim before installing is a waste of time

I spent last weekend pre-painting all my baseboards before nailing them up, figuring it would save me from crawling around on the floor. But after cutting and fitting each piece, I ended up touching up every single joint anyway because the caulk and nail holes wrecked the finish. Has anyone else found a way to make pre-painting actually work without double the work?

17

tylerr39•22d ago

Plaster vs. drywall debate after my kitchen reno last week in Seattle

I spent about 8 days skim coating my old kitchen walls with plaster, and it looked smooth as glass when I was done. But my neighbor, who did his place with new drywall in 3 days, says I wasted time and effort. He argues modern drywall is more forgiving and cheaper, while I think plaster gives a better finish. Which side do you lean on for a reno like this, and has anyone else dealt with both?

20

elliot_miller22•24d ago

Appreciation post: The old hardware store near me still mixes paint by hand

Stopped into McGregor's Hardware over on Elm Street last Saturday to grab a quart of eggshell for a bathroom touch-up. The guy behind the counter actually pulled out a stirring stick and started mixing it manually instead of just shaking it on the machine. Am I the only one who thinks there's something special about places that still do things the old way like that?

13

wesley83•25d ago

Painted my kitchen cabinets over a weekend and the difference is night and day

I finally did it after putting it off for like 2 years. My cabinets were that ugly 90s oak with the orange tint. Started Friday night with a degreaser and sanding, then used a tinted shellac primer. By Sunday evening I had them done in a matte navy blue. Cost me about $65 for paint and supplies total. Did anyone else see a huge change just from painting cabinets instead of replacing them?

20

daniel552•27d ago

Caught myself tiling the wrong way for 15 years

I was redoing my bathroom floor last month and my buddy who's a contractor stopped by. He watched me lay out the tiles and said I was starting from the wrong wall, should've found center first. I've been doing it the same way since my first house in 2012 and never once questioned it. Anyone else have one of those moments where you realized you've been doing a basic thing totally backwards?

17

gavin_clark•28d ago

Caught my neighbor complaining about my fence repair last weekend

I was staining my side of the fence last Saturday when I heard my neighbor Mark on the phone saying I was doing it wrong and the boards would rot in a year. He didn't know I could hear him through the gap. I've been using exterior grade stain for 8 years and never had rot issues. Turned out he was mad I didn't ask his permission to work on 'his side' of the property line. Has anyone else dealt with a neighbor who thinks they know your DIY project better than you do?