c/diy-home-projects

My $20 yard sale miter saw finally bit the dust after 6 years of abuse

Upgraded to a new sliding compound miter saw last weekend after that old one threw a blade at me. Has anyone else made the jump from a basic saw to a slider and found it worth the extra space it takes up in the shop?

Spent 4 hours trying to fix a single baseboard gap

Got a new house last year and noticed a huge gap between the baseboard and hardwood floor in the living room. Figured it'd be a quick caulk job, maybe 20 minutes tops. But the gap was like half an inch in some spots, way too big for caulk alone. Ended up pulling the whole baseboard off, cutting a new piece of quarter round, and wrestling with my miter saw for way too long. Has anyone else dealt with a gap that just wouldn't quit? How'd you handle it?

Stop using drywall anchors for everything heavier than a picture frame

I pulled 12 anchors out of a bathroom wall last weekend in Omaha after the previous owner used them for a towel bar. They stripped the paper and crumbled the gypsum so bad I had to patch 6 holes. If you need to hang cabinets or shelving with any real weight, use toggle bolts or find a stud. Why do people still think those plastic anchors can hold 50 pounds?

Framing nailer jammed mid-project and I nearly lost it in the backyard

I was building a shed in my backyard last Saturday, halfway through the roof framing, and my nailer jammed so bad I couldn't clear it with the manual. Tried hitting it with WD-40, then a hammer, then just sat there staring at it for ten minutes. Finally realized the collation strip was twisted from me loading it wrong in a rush. Fixed it in 30 seconds and finished the roof by sundown. Has anyone else had a tool fail from a simple loading mistake?

Cracked my basement floor trying to level it with the wrong product - self leveler vs. patching compound?

Drywall mud vs. setting compound - tried both on a basement project and got totally different results

Started finishing drywall in my basement last month. Used regular mud on the first wall. Worked fine but took forever to dry. 24 hours between coats. Switched to setting compound for the second wall. Dried in 45 minutes. But it was way harder to sand. Like rocks. Now I'm wondering which is actually better for a first timer. The regular mud gave me more time to fix mistakes. The setting compound was faster but less forgiving. What do you guys use for a small home project? Is the speed worth the hassle?

Patched a hole in drywall but the texture came out way rougher than the wall around it

I used a spray can of orange peel texture on a living room patch last weekend and it looks like a golf ball compared to the original wall. Any tips on blending texture so it doesn't stick out so obvious?

Showerthought: did my concrete crack because I poured it too thick or too thin?

I redid my driveway slab last fall at about 4 inches deep and it's got hairline cracks already, but my neighbor used 3 inches and his is fine after 2 years. Is the old wives' tale about thick pours being more prone to cracking true or am I just bad at curing?

Just realized I've been caulking tubs wrong for like 8 years

I always smoothed the bead with my finger but it kept getting that thin edge that peels off after a few months. A tiler buddy walked by my bathroom last weekend and said 'you gotta tool it with a little plastic scraper instead, finger leaves too much moisture.' He showed me on one edge and the finish was way cleaner. Anyone else pick up bad habits from just never being told different?

Debate: Precut studs vs cutting your own on site

I used to always order precut studs for my basement framing because it saved time, but last month I had a wall that was 3 inches off level and the precuts made everything worse. Now I buy 12 footers and cut each one to fit the actual space - what side are you on for framing odd corners?

Had a talk with my neighbor about his deck last weekend and it totally changed how I see my own rebuild

He told me he spent $400 on hidden fasteners for his cedar planks and I thought he was crazy until he showed me how clean the surface looks with no screw heads. Has anyone else gone the hidden fastener route on a deck project and felt it was worth the extra cash?

Rant: My neighbor's $20 junk sander cost me an entire Saturday

Borrowed a belt sander from the guy next door for a deck refinishing job. He swore it worked fine but the belt kept slipping off every 5 minutes. After 4 hours I gave up and drove to Home Depot to rent a real one for $35. Finished the whole deck in 2 hours flat. Has anyone else learned the hard way that borrowing cheap tools just wastes more time?

Back when I picked linoleum over tile in the kitchen...

About 12 years ago I was redoing my kitchen in Columbus and had to choose between cheap linoleum sheets and actual ceramic tile. I went with the linoleum to save $400, and honestly it held up fine for about 7 years before it started peeling near the dishwasher. Tile would've been more work upfront but I wonder if it would've saved me the hassle of replacing it last spring... has anyone else gambled on a cheaper flooring option and regretted it later?

Spent $80 on a fancy paint sprayer and ended up trashing my kitchen cabinets

I thought I'd save time by using a Wagner sprayer on my oak cabinets last weekend. What a disaster - the paint dripped everywhere and I got orange peel texture on every door. Now I'm spending Sunday sanding it all down by hand. Has anyone else had better luck with those things or is brush and roller just the way to go?

Rant: People slapping peel-and-stick tile over old linoleum without prepping first

I helped a friend pull up her kitchen floor last weekend and found three layers of tile just falling apart underneath because nobody bothered to clean or level the subfloor first. If you don't scrape off the old glue and fill the dips, that new tile will be buckling within six months. Am I the only one who thinks prep work is half the job?

Finally fixed that crooked shelf in my hallway after a year of looking at it

I had this cheap IKEA shelf in my entryway that was always tilted to the left no matter how many times I adjusted it. Last weekend my buddy came over and pointed out I was using the wrong anchors for drywall. He showed me how to use snap toggles instead of those little plastic ones and it took maybe 20 minutes total. The shelf is now rock solid and perfectly level. I even hung up a few coats on it to test it out and nothing budged. Feels good to finally have that done. Has anyone else dealt with stuff like this where the fix was way simpler than you thought?

Found a trick for patching drywall that actually saved my sanity

I spent last weekend fixing a hole the size of my fist in the living room wall. Tried the mesh tape and compound method, but it kept bubbling up on me. Switched to using a fiberglass patch kit from Ace Hardware for $12, and it set flat in about 20 minutes after pressing it down with a drywall knife. Anyone else had better luck with those patch kits over regular tape?

Used to think those cheap laser levels were a gimmick until I bought one for $25

Wanted to hang some cabinets in my garage and got tired of messing with a bubble level, so I grabbed one off Amazon and it got everything level on the first try. Has anyone else had a cheap tool surprise you actually works?

Took me 6 hours to fix a leaky shower valve I thought would take 30 minutes

Had to replace a cartridge in a Moen faucet and the old one was completely seized. Used a puller tool from Home Depot for $15 and still had to soak it in vinegar for 2 hours. Anyone else run into a cartridge that just wouldnt budge?

Tried painting over old wallpaper instead of stripping it. Big mistake.

I thought I was saving time in my hallway by just priming over the ugly floral paper and slapping on some fresh paint. The primer seemed fine at first, but after about 3 days bubbles started showing up everywhere. Now I got peeling patches all along the seams and it looks worse than when I started. Had to spend $60 on a steamer and a scoring tool to take it all down anyway. Lesson learned: doing it right the first time saves you a headache and extra cash. Anyone else have wallpaper removal horror stories?

The great baseboard debate: nail vs. adhesive...

I keep seeing people in my neighborhood groups swearing by construction adhesive for baseboards, but after pulling up a buddy's trim job from 2 years ago in Denver, every single piece came off clean with zero damage to the drywall... How is that a good thing? Am I crazy for thinking nails and a stud finder are still the way to go, or is this ‘no nail’ thing actually better for something I'm missing?

Can we talk about painting trim without tape?

I know everyone says you gotta tape off trim before painting, but I tried freehanding it with a good angled brush last weekend on my living room baseboards. It took me about 2 hours less than taping and the lines came out just as clean. Has anyone else ditched the tape?

I spent 6 months painting trim the wrong way - a painter at Home Depot fixed me

So I was at the Home Depot in Portland picking up more paint for my baseboards and an old painter walked by and asked why my brush strokes were all showing. He showed me how I was loading too much paint and not brushing in the right direction. I had been doing it backwards for every single room in my house. Has anyone else had a random stranger at a store teach them something that simple?

My uncle the carpenter swore by drywall screws for deck boards and I learned the hard way

He told me last spring that deck screws were a waste of money and to just use the box of drywall screws he had sitting around. 10 years of experience he said, never had an issue. By August I had three boards popped loose and one snapped clean in half when I stepped on it. Had to pull up half the deck and redo it with actual coated deck screws, cost me about $60 extra and a whole Saturday of my summer. Anyone else ever get bad advice from a family member that set you back way more than you saved?

That neighbor who insisted my fence was leaning the wrong way

So I'm out in my backyard last Tuesday setting up a new cedar fence section, pretty straightforward job. This guy from three houses down walks over, no hello, just points at my posts and says "you're putting that in backwards, the wind'll take it out by spring." He spent 20 minutes explaining how prevailing winds work around here, even drew a diagram on my shed with sidewalk chalk. I nodded along, waited till he left, then put it up exactly how I planned anyway. Has anyone else gotten unsolicited DIY advice from a complete stranger that made zero sense?