c/diy-home-projects

Ripped a chunk out of my drywall using a plastic toggle bolt anchor

I used those cheap plastic toggle anchors to hang a heavy mirror in my hallway and the whole thing pulled out after 3 days, taking a golf ball sized piece of wall with it. Stick with metal toggle bolts if you're hanging anything heavier than a picture frame, has anyone else had these plastic ones fail on them?

Caulked my baseboards with toothpaste once because I ran out of caulk at 9pm and it actually held for 3 months

I was patching up gaps in my living room trim after a flooring swap and the hardware store was closed, so I figured what the heck and used white toothpaste, and somehow it didn't crack or yellow until I finally got around to doing it right, anyone else ever use a weird substitute that worked way longer than it should have?

Just found out my deck stain cost me way more in labor than material

I was adding up what it cost to re-stain my back deck here in Portland. Turns out the stain itself was only $45 a gallon, but I spent close to 12 hours over two weekends doing it. That means my own time, even at minimum wage, was like $160 just for the labor part. Has anyone else ever actually run the numbers on what their DIY time is worth?

Went to Home Depot last Saturday and half the lumber racks were filled with warped 2x4s

How are we supposed to build anything straight when you gotta dig through 50 boards just to find 3 decent ones?

My garage floor epoxy job that looked great for exactly 6 weeks

I spent a whole weekend last spring laying down that fancy epoxy floor coating in my garage. Looked amazing for about 6 weeks, like a showroom floor. Then I parked my car on it after a rainy day and the tire marks just... stayed. Used the heavy degreaser they recommended and it took the shine right off in patches. Anybody had better luck with a different product that actually holds up to daily car parking?

Helped my dad swap a toilet flange on Saturday and it changed how I think about plumbing

He showed me how a $8 wax ring from Ace Hardware does the same job as the $25 one I bought at Lowe's last month. Then he said 'most of this stuff is just plastic and rubber, don't overthink it.' Has anyone else found a cheaper part that worked just as well as the expensive version?

Visited the ReStore in Portland and changed my mind about used tile

Always thought secondhand tile was a waste of time. But they had 400 square feet of slate for 90 cents each. Picked up enough for my mudroom floor, saved around $300 easy. Anyone else find hidden gems at those places?

I finally gave up on the $30 caulk gun from the big box store

A guy at a Habitat ReStore in St. Paul told me to try a $12 dripless model after I complained about wasting $30 on an expensive one that kept dripping. He showed me how the rod on his gun worked smoother and didn't leave a stringy mess on the tube. Now I save a lot of time and frustration on bathroom trim projects. Has anyone else found a cheap tool that works better than the pricey version?

Hot take: those magnetic stud finders actually work better than the electronic ones

Spent years using a $40 electronic stud finder that beeped at random spots in my drywall. Grabbed a $8 magnetic one from Ace Hardware last weekend after the electronic one failed me again. Found 3 out of 4 studs on the first try with the magnet. Has anyone else had way better luck with the simple cheap version?

Overheard a guy at Home Depot talking about paint rollers

Some older gentleman was telling his wife that the cheap white roller covers shed lint because they're cut with recycled fibers, not wrapped tight. I grabbed a $9 Wooster instead of the $3 pack and my bedroom walls actually look smooth for once. Anybody else notice how much the roller quality messes up the finish?

Rant: The hardware store on 5th Street had the worst shelf labels I've ever seen

Unpopular opinion: paint sprayers are overrated for small rooms

Spent last Saturday cleaning a Graco sprayer for 2 hours after painting my 10x12 spare bedroom in Phoenix. A roller would've taken the same time and saved me the headache of masking everything. Anyone else find sprayers more trouble than they're worth for tiny spaces?

My neighbor said to skip primer on kitchen cabinets, big mistake

My neighbor Tom told me to just sand and paint my oak cabinets without primer to save time. I did it on a set of 4 cabinets in my kitchen in Austin and the paint started peeling off after 2 weeks. Now I have to strip them all down and start over with a proper bonding primer. Has anyone else had luck fixing this kind of mess without completely redoing everything?

Rant: My garage shelves collapsed last night

Stacked too many paint cans on a cheap wire shelf. Heard the crack around 11pm. Ran out and found five gallons of latex all over the concrete. Spent two hours scrubbing with a wire brush and mineral spirits. Anyone got a solid shelf brand that can handle real weight?

Overheard a guy at the lumber yard say he's been using drywall screws for deck framing for 10 years

I was grabbing some cedar 2x6s for a planter box and this older guy next to me starts telling the cashier how he builds all his decks with drywall screws because they're cheap. Said he's never had one fail. Man, those screws snap under shear stress and they're not coated for weather at all. Made me wonder how many people are out there doing stuff like this without knowing the load ratings. Anyone here ever run into a deck job that was held together with the wrong fasteners?

Just realized my neighbor's deck was built all wrong after watching a YouTube video

My neighbor Dave came over last weekend bragging about his new deck he built himself. He was so proud of how fast he got it done in 3 days. But I noticed he used regular nails instead of hidden fasteners or screws for the boards. Then I saw he attached the ledger board straight into the house siding without any flashing or gap. I watched a video from a builder in Portland that explained exactly why that traps moisture and rots everything out within 2 years. Now I gotta figure out how to tell Dave his deck is gonna fail without sounding like a jerk. Any tips on gently breaking bad news to a neighbor who thinks they nailed it?

My laundry room wall went from beige to bright white in one afternoon

I finally painted over the gross 90s beige in my laundry room last Saturday and somehow the whole room feels twice as big now. But I messed up and got semi-gloss instead of eggshell so now every speck of dust shows like crazy. Anyone else accidentally pick the wrong sheen and regret it for months?

Talked with an old neighbor about his 30 year old drill

He said he still uses the same Craftsman from 1992, just replaces the brushes every few years. Made me wonder if buying a new $150 brushless setup every 18 months is really an upgrade or just planned obsolescence. Anyone else hanging onto old tools way past their prime?

Can we talk about how long it takes to strip old wallpaper?

I spent 8 hours on a single hallway wall in my 1920s house last weekend and barely got half of it off. Has anyone found a steamer that actually works faster than a spray bottle and scraper?

Cracked my bathroom sink trying to unclog the drain with a wire hanger

I was in my tiny rental bathroom in Austin last Tuesday, shoved a bent hanger down the pipe, and the whole porcelain basin split right down the middle, so now I'm patching it with epoxy until I can afford a new one - has anyone else had a DIY fix turn into a bigger mess like that?

Just found out from a county building code PDF that my 1950s house has the original galvanized plumbing that's supposedly rated for 50 years max

I read that galvanized pipes from that era typically start failing around the 50-60 year mark due to zinc corrosion buildup inside, which makes me wonder how my water pressure is still decent after 74 years, but also has me side-eyeing that slightly rusty water when I run the tap first thing in the morning - has anyone else pushed their luck with old galvanized lines or did you replace them before they blew?

My old pressure washer stats shocked me

I was looking up replacement parts for my 8 year old electric pressure washer and stumbled on a fact from Consumer Reports that said the average home owner only uses their pressure washer for 30 minutes total per year. That blew my mind because I used mine for like 4 hours just last weekend cleaning the driveway and patio furniture. Has anyone else found a small home tool that gets way more use than the averages suggest?

Dropped $500 on a smart thermostat last March and my electric bill barely budged, but my neighbor's $30 programmable one cut his by 20%

I'm stuck wondering if the fancy features like geofencing and learning algorithms actually help in a 1,200 square foot house with old windows or if I just got burned by marketing hype, what's your experience with high end versus basic thermostats?

Tried painting my kitchen cabinets with a foam roller and got orange peel texture instead of smooth

I spent a whole weekend sanding and priming my oak cabinets then used a high-density foam roller thinking it would give me that factory finish... ended up with tiny bumps all over like an orange peel. Did I use the wrong nap size or should I have stuck with a sprayer? Has anyone else had better luck with microfiber rollers for cabinets?

Neighbor told me to use a moisture meter before painting my bathroom ceiling

I figured I could just patch the crack and paint over it, but he insisted I check for trapped moisture first. Sure enough, the meter read 18% in two spots, so I ran a dehumidifier for three days and now the patch is holding tight. Anyone else ever skip a step like that and regret it later?