c/diy-home-projects

Finally fixed that squeaky floorboard in the hallway after 2 years

I moved into my house in Raleigh back in 2022 and that one board near the bathroom door has been driving me crazy every time I stepped on it. Last week I grabbed a box of screws and some wood glue from the garage and spent an hour shimming it from underneath in the crawlspace. Has anyone else dealt with a stubborn squeak that took way too long to get around to fixing?

TIL I was sanding my drywall patches in circles like a total idiot for 2 years

My buddy watched me do one and asked why I was making swirl patterns and then showed me the cross-hatch method. Anyone else find out they were doing something really basic wrong way later than they'd like to admit?

Built a bookshelf last weekend. Used a level. Still wonky.

Checked the level three times. Plumb line too. All said it was straight. Then I put the books on and it leans forward. Looks like it's about to tip over. My floor must be crooked or something. Anyone else have a level lie to them?

Hit my 200th fence post last weekend and it felt weird

I've been putting up split rail fences for a neighbor's property outside Albany for about 6 months now. Last Saturday I set my 200th post and I stopped for a second. Didn't realize I had done that many. I started out using a manual post hole digger and it took me like 20 minutes per hole. Now I use a one-man auger and I can do a post in under 5 minutes if the ground is soft. Still takes me way too long to get them all perfectly lined up though. Anyone else lose track of how many times you've done a certain task on a project?

The warning light at my mom's house that finally got me to learn electrical stuff

My mom lives in one of those old houses in Cleveland built in the 1950s, and last month her kitchen light started flickering real bad. I opened up the switch plate and found cloth wiring that was crumbling apart just from me touching it. Called an electrician who said the whole house needed rewiring and quoted me $4,800. That's when I decided to buy a voltage tester and watch some YouTube videos on basic electrical work. It took me three weekends but I replaced all the old outlets and switches myself, and now the lights don't flicker at all. Has anyone else run into that old cloth wiring from the 50s in their place, or am I the only one dealing with a house built like a time capsule?

Swapped my 3/4 inch plywood subfloor for 5/8 inch tongue and groove OSB and saved $180 on my basement reno

The OSB squeaks way less and lays flatter than the plywood did on my last project, so has anyone else noticed a big difference between the two for subflooring?

Heard a guy at the hardware store say you can just paint over rotted wood...

PSA: Don't cheap out on drain snake cables like I did

I had a clogged kitchen sink last month and had to pick between a $20 manual snake from the hardware store or a $60 one with a drum and a better cable. I went with the $20 one thinking it would be fine for a few small clogs. Big mistake. The cable kinked up on the second use and I had to cut it out of the pipe with a hacksaw. Then I bought the $60 one and it cleared a 15 foot blockage in about 5 minutes. That cheap cable just can't handle real pipe bends or grease buildup. If you've got an old house with lots of turns, spend the extra money up front. Has anyone else had a cheap tool cost them more in the long run?

My neighbor Bob just said something that made me rethink all those hours I spent on drywall

He watched me sanding for the third time and just said 'you know they made powered tools for that in the 90s right' and now I'm wondering how many weekends I wasted with a hand sander, anyone else still doing things the hard way without realizing it?

That one weekend I tried to refinish my deck and everything went wrong

I decided last June to finally strip and stain my old deck. Thought it would take a day, but the power washer broke after 20 minutes. Then I realized the stain I bought was 2 years old and had separated, so that was a bust. Ended up spending $80 on a new washer rental and another $45 on fresh stain. Finally got it done by Sunday evening, but my back hurt for a week after. Has anyone else had a simple DIY project turn into a whole weekend ordeal?

Discovered the hard way that outlet spacers exist

I was trying to shove a GFCI into a shallow box for 20 minutes last night and getting nowhere. Found a random blog from an electrician in Ohio mentioning outlet box spacers for like $2 a pack. Has anyone else found a cheap tool that made a simple job way less annoying?

Critique from a plumber buddy changed how I solder copper pipes

My friend watched me sweat a joint and said 'you're heating the fitting, not the pipe.' I was just blasting the whole thing with the torch until the solder flowed. He made me focus the flame on the pipe just behind the fitting, and the solder sucked right in. Has anyone else had a simple tip from a pro completely change a technique they thought they had down?

Finally found a trick for getting paint off old hinges without stripping them

I spent 45 minutes scrubbing a single hinge with citrus stripper and a wire brush before a guy on my crew said to just drop them in a crockpot of water and dish soap overnight. Has anyone else tried this or have a better method that won't destroy the original patina?

Found a weird trick for drywall mud that saved me hours

I was patching a hole in my garage last week and kept getting bubbles in the mud. Tried everything, thinner layers, different brands, nothing worked. Then an old contractor buddy told me to add a splash of dish soap to the bucket. Just a tiny bit, like a teaspoon per gallon. Mixed it in and the bubbles vanished completely. No more sanding down those stupid craters. Has anyone else tried this or got another hack for smooth mud?

That time my garage shelf collapsed and took out half my tools

Last month I hung a heavy duty shelf in my garage with drywall anchors instead of finding studs. Woke up to a crash at 2am and found my circular saw with a bent blade and a cracked drill case on the concrete. Anyone else learn the hard way that anchors just don't cut it for tool storage?

That $80 smart thermostat was a complete waste

Installed it last weekend and after 3 days of fighting with the app, I went back to my old manual one. Has anyone else just given up on these smart home gadgets?

3 years into a backsplash that still isn't finished...

I started tiling my kitchen backsplash back in 2021, bought all the subway tile from Home Depot for around $200... got about halfway done and just stopped. The grout lines are all uneven and I messed up the pattern near the outlet covers. Last week I finally pulled out the tile saw again to fix it, but now I can't find the spacers I bought. My wife keeps asking when it'll be done and I keep saying "soon" but it's been 3 years now. Anyone else have a project that's been sitting half-finished for way too long?

That bathroom tile job I thought would take a weekend...

Spent 8 weekends straight redoing my tiny half bath. Tiling is a lot slower when you realize your walls aren't square.

Why does nobody talk about using pressure treated lumber for interior basement framing?

I spent 6 months finishing my basement in Columbus using regular pine studs like an idiot. The moisture meter read 18% after a rainy week and I saw mold spots forming behind the drywall. A contractor buddy came over and just pointed at the base plate. Said I should have used pressure treated for anything touching concrete. I ripped out three full walls and lost $400 in materials. Has anyone else learned this the hard way with their own basement?

Learning the hard way at Ace Hardware last Tuesday after a loose pipe flooded my basement

The guy at the checkout told me to use Teflon tape AND pipe dope together on that brass fitting, and after watching the water pour in from a gap I thought was sealed, I've never skipped both since - anyone else get burned by bad plumbing advice from a store clerk?

Everyone says drywall anchors are fine, but I found concrete screws work way better for hanging heavy shelves

Last month I wanted to hang a giant bookshelf in my living room and kept reading online that toggle bolts or those plastic anchors would hold it just fine. I got frustrated after the third anchor stripped out in my old plaster walls and I was standing at Home Depot staring at everything. On a whim I grabbed some Tapcon concrete screws and a masonry bit even though my walls aren't concrete at all. Turns out these screws bite into the wooden lath behind the plaster way better than any anchor I have used. The shelf has been up for 5 weeks now with like 40 pounds of books on it and it hasn't budged a millimeter. Has anyone else had way better luck using masonry screws in old plaster walls instead of the standard plastic anchors?

Just realized those cheap foam paint rollers are actually better than the expensive ones

Swore by the $12 microfiber rollers for years until a friend handed me a 3-pack of foam rollers from the dollar store and my last kitchen cabinet project had zero orange peel texture for the first time, has anyone else noticed this or did I just get lucky?

Drove 3 hours to a big box hardware store and their lumber section was a disgrace

I made a special trip to the Lowes in Modesto last weekend because my local place never has decent 2x4s. Figured a bigger store would have better stock. Walked into their lumber aisle and it looked like a tornado hit it. Boards were warped, split, covered in mud, and half of them were leaning in a pile on the floor. I spent 20 minutes digging through maybe 200 studs and found maybe 5 that were straight enough for the shed frame I'm building. What's the point of having a huge selection if nobody bothers to keep it organized or pull the garbage ones? The worker I asked just shrugged and said they get blamed for it but the truck unloaders drop everything off in a mess. Has anyone else run into this at your local stores, or is mine just really bad?

My neighbor who builds decks said my fence post holes weren't deep enough

After he told me I needed to go down 42 inches for our clay soil instead of the standard 30, I redid all 12 posts and that fence hasn't budged an inch through three freeze-thaw cycles - has anyone else been told to dig deeper than the guide says?

Tried painting my kitchen cabinets without sanding first

Big mistake. Did it last Saturday and now the paint is peeling off in sheets after just 3 days. Anyone know how to strip this mess off without ruining the wood underneath?