Ngl I was patching a hole in my living room wall last weekend and I swear it looked perfect after the first coat. Then I came back the next morning and there was a visible dip in the middle like I barely put anything there. I had to do three coats total on a hole that was maybe 6 inches across. It took me like 4 hours waiting for each layer to dry plus sanding in between. Has anyone else found a way to guess how much extra mud you need on the first pass to avoid doing three rounds?
Was helping a buddy run new lines in his basement last Saturday and his neighbor stopped by... old school plumber named Rick. He watched me crimp a ring and said 'you know those brass fittings are gonna corrode way faster than the plastic ones in 10 years.' I always just grabbed whatever was cheapest at Menards, never thought about the long term chemistry inside the pipes. Anyone else run into pros who make you question everything you thought you knew about basic materials?
Found out from a forum last week that paper tape can start peeling after 5-7 years if you didn't use enough mud underneath. Checked my own bathroom ceiling and sure enough, there's bubbles in 3 spots. Anyone deal with this before and just patch it or tear it all out?
Last summer my neighbor Bob came over while I was building a simple bluebird box in my garage in Spokane. He started lecturing me about how I needed to check with the HOA and get a permit for any outdoor structure. I told him it was a 8x8 inch box on a metal pole, not a shed. He kept going on about liability and property values for 20 minutes straight. I just smiled and finished nailing it together. Has anyone else run into someone who thinks every small DIY project needs official approval?
Met an old plumber named Mike at a supply house in Austin last Tuesday, and he said 'that blue goop just eats your pipes from the inside out' - now I'm snake-only after he showed me a corroded copper line from a $3 bottle of Drano.
Last spring I was framing a deck for a homeowner in Arlington and this guy who called himself a handyman comes over from next door. He said I was wasting money putting down a vapor barrier under the deck boards because rainwater just drains through the gaps anyway. I told him politely that was wrong but he kept arguing, saying I was overengineering a simple project. Three months later his neighbor called me to fix his deck boards that were cupping and rotting from moisture wicking up from the ground underneath. That one conversation cost that guy probably $1,200 in replacement lumber and labor. Has anyone else run into a neighbor or friend who gave terrible advice that ended up costing you time or cash?
I spent a whole weekend redoing trim in my living room and the gaps reappeared within a week. Turns out, I was using painter's caulk instead of a latex acrylic one that flexes with the wood movement. Anyone else learn this the hard way after a season change?
I started doing it 6 months ago and now each coat goes on so much flatter with way less dust, has anyone else tried skipping the sanding step for tighter schedules?
Picked up a Klein tester at Home Depot yesterday and after reading the manual realized it can't tell the difference between a real ground and a bootleg ground, so if you're using one to check old wiring you're basically gambling, has anyone else found this out the hard way?
I was building a deck last summer and this old framer walked by my job site. He watched me snap lines for the joist layout and just said "you're pulling the line too high off the wood, you're getting a curve every time." I had been doing it that way for years without thinking. Now I keep the line flat against the surface and pull straight up, and my layout lines are dead straight every time. Has anyone else gotten a dumb simple tip that made a huge difference?
I used to just run a bead and smooth it with my finger. It always looked kinda messy but I figured that was just how it was. Then my neighbor showed me his bathroom he did with a little spray bottle of soapy water and a popsicle stick. The lines are so clean and sharp I couldn't believe it. Anyone else have a simple trick that made them feel like an idiot for not trying it sooner?
So a few months back I was doing some light fixture swaps at my buddy's place near downtown Bham. Had this older guy, probably in his 60s, watching me work on his knob and tube setup. He saw me reach for those push-in Wago style connectors and just shook his head. Said I was asking for trouble with old wiring because the copper gets brittle over time. I kinda brushed him off thinking he was just set in his ways. Well last week I had a ceiling fan start flickering after only 3 months. Pulled it down and sure enough one of the push-in connections had loosened up and arced. Swapped everything over to screw-down wire nuts and it's been solid. Now I'm wondering if I should go back through all my old jobs and switch them out. Has anyone else had push-ins fail on older wiring?
I saw a guy fill a quarter-inch gap in his baseboard with spackle last week at Home Depot, and it's going to crack out in a month. Why don't people just grab some wood filler for bigger gaps, has anyone else seen this?
I was loading up plywood for a subfloor and he asked if I had accounted for the joist direction - turns out I had them all lined up wrong, and he showed me the proper layout right there in the parking lot. Has anyone else had a random stranger at a supply yard catch something that would have cost you days of work?
I was in my basement last weekend pouring self leveling concrete over a low spot near the drain. The stuff started setting way faster than the bag said, and before I could work it out it hardened into a 2 inch ridge. Has anyone else had self leveler go bad on them mid pour or did I just mess up the mix ratio?
Borrowed a buddy's 4000 PSI unit last summer to clean my back deck in Phoenix. Didn't think to check the tip or test a small spot first, just went full blast on the redwood. Took off a quarter inch of wood in some spots and left deep gouges that looked like someone took a chainsaw to the boards. Ended up spending a weekend sanding everything down and staining it just to make it presentable. Anyone else learn the hard way that more power isn't always better with a pressure washer?
My neighbor Jim insists pressure treated wood is the only way to go for a deck that lasts, but I saw a cedar deck at a park last week that's been there 15 years and still looks solid. He says the chemicals in pressure treated stuff are fine now, but I'm worried about warping after a few seasons here in Portland. Anyone dealt with both and got a real preference?
When my basement pipe started dripping last summer, my uncle said just wrap duct tape around it and it'll hold. Left it for 3 days then came home to 15 gallons of water on the floor. Has anyone actually had duct tape work for a pipe or was he just messing with me?
Picked up a new belt sander from Home Depot last Saturday to refinish a pine table in my garage. Got through sanding one leg and the motor started smoking and just quit. Took it back Sunday and the guy at the counter said I wasn't the first person that week with that same model. Anyone else had a tool fail right out of the box like that?
I saw three different posts this week where people sealed the drain flange to tile with silicone. That traps water under the flange and rots the subfloor out. Why not just use plumber's putty like it's been done for decades?
I was caulking my bathroom baseboards over the weekend and my old gun kept dripping everywhere. Read a random comment on here about how the cheap $15 one with the smooth rod is actually better than the expensive ones for small jobs. Took me like 20 minutes to finish the whole room with zero mess for once. Anyone else find a cheap tool that worked way better than you expected?
I was redoing my master bath and thought a 50 CFM fan would be fine like the old one. Then I actually looked up the HVI rating standard and found out you need at least 1 CFM per square foot of floor area. My bathroom is 80 square feet so I should have an 80 CFM fan minimum. Found this on the Home Ventilating Institute website after I already bought the cheap one at Home Depot. Who else has been running too-small fans and wondering why their mirror fogs up?
I was cleaning out my garage last weekend (finally) and decided to sort through this pile of old paint cans from like 2014. Turns out, latex paint that's been sitting that long can actually separate into a nasty sludge that's technically considered household hazardous waste here in Austin. I had to take 12 cans down to the city's special drop-off spot on a Saturday morning. Anyone else been hoarding old paint longer than they should?
I was hanging cabinets in my buddy's kitchen in Portland last weekend and his fancy Bosch unit kept beeping where mine said there was nothing. Turned out my $12 magnetic one from Harbor Freight missed three studs completely, so I screwed into drywall anchors where there was actually wood behind it. Now I'm redoing half the install and I feel like an idiot. Anyone else have a tool fail on them at the worst time?
I tried to save a few bucks last fall and used the grocery store brand foam in my basement rim joists. The stuff dripped everywhere and I didn't wait long enough before trimming it. Next thing I know I got a warning from the town because it wasn't fire rated and they spotted it during a gas line inspection. The can was maybe $8 but the fine and redo cost me close to $400. Anyone else run into issues with the cheap stuff catching fire codes wrong?