OT: HOME DIY....Gripes...Advice...and Memorable Nightmares

[LwrcasefaN]

Some might say that I have a DIY addiction. In any case, I've experienced things worth sharing. What do you have to share? Here's a few of my favorites.

1. DIY shows can be inspiring, BUT don't think it will be as simple as it looks. For starters, you don't have 30 helpers and cheap subcontractors hiding off camera.

2. Start with small projects first...like a door or window until you understand the process...the ENTIRE process. For example, don't start a project involving electricity....if you have no clue how to turn off the power.

3. Good luck finding a contractor who will CONSULT with you for a SMALL fee on a DIY job. You may as well pay them to do it by the time you pay their fee.

4. If you don't have patience or like surprises...ESPECIALLY in an older home, then don't start.

5. RENT large tools if they aren't going to be used often or if you don't have room to store them.

6. Your social media FRIENDS are not coming over to help. They don't know you like THAT! lol

 

[CL82]

Start with small projects first...like a door or window until you understand the process...the ENTIRE process

Hanging a door or a window is not a project for a newbie DYIer. The concept is easy enough, but getting things perfectly plum and square takes practice. JMO

 

[huskeynut]

I've done a lot of DYI in my day. Not so much anymore. I do more woodworking projects now. They are not immediate and I can take my time. I really enjoy cabinetry.

I had an advantage growing up, my father was DIY'er. Then one of my first jobs was working with one of my uncles who was a contractor/ subcontractor. I didn't know it then, but I retained a whole lot of what my father and he said on the the jobs we had to do.

So, first rule is to have the right tool(s) for the job. And purchase quality tools. My circular saw is 45 years old and still cuts thru wood like butter with a quality blade.

Plan out your job. Make sure you have all the correct steps included. My sure you have all the materials you will need. I'm planning a free standing shelf unit my wife requested. Not just straight cuts but angle cuts. I already know that the bulk of the cuts will be done with my compound miter saw and its work bench. I know that the edges will be rounded using my router and router table. BTW - the router with table is a fantastic tool especially if you are into cabinetry and the like. It allows you to have that finishing touch that takes the project from plain to wow. And people will notice.

Read, read read!!!!!!!! Do your research. I had volumes of books on "how to" do things like framing, hanging door jams and etc. The books have a great deal of "handy tips" that make life so much easier. Of course, today just go online for a YouTube video.

Pay attention to details.

Don't take on any project you are not comfortable with or is above your skill level. Take your time.

Measure three times and cut once!!!

Always have a clean, obstacle free work area.

When using power tools with electrical cords, always keep the cords away from the work area. And don't use the flimsy household cords.

Keep your tools clean and in good working order.

Take your time, don't rush. If you don't feel up to working on the project on a given day - don't.

But most of all, enjoy the work you do. There is a lot of self satisfaction in doing a project and doing it well.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

1. youtube is ur friend.
2. take a pic before u disassemble anything.
3. measure twice, cut once.
4. check the pawn shop when looking for expensive tools.
5. timber saws are marvelous, just remember that they can cut a volkswagon in half. don't cut volkswagons, or urself, in half. the gas version used out in the field is spectacular, yet also not rec'd for anyone who does not compete in the 'world's strongest person' competition.

 

[bantamlaker]

Don't take on any project you are not comfortable with or is above your skill level.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

always wear eye protection, even if ur project does not include power tools. u'd be surprised at how many times, even things three rooms away from where ur doing ur project, can somehow, magically, fly directly into ur eyes.

 

[Bigboote]

Any plumbing project will require one more trip to Home Depot than you plan. Actually after about the first dozen, I have so much extra stuff and weird wrenches that that’s no longer the case.

I echo the sentiment not to skimp on tools. When I got my radial-arm saw, I was aghast that I was spending 10 minutes using my new saw and 3 hours putting the bookcase together and finishing it. But as someone told me at the time, it’s better than 3 hours cutting and 3 hours finishing.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

1. youtube is ur friend.
2. take a pic before u disassemble anything.
3. measure twice, cut once.
4. check the pawn shop when looking for expensive tools.
5. timber saws are marvelous, just remember that they can cut a volkswagon in half. don't cut volkswagons, or urself, in half. the gas version used out in the field is spectacular, yet also not rec'd for anyone who does not compete in the 'world's strongest person' competition.

Love the pawn shop suggestion!!

 

[LoboDays]

I learned an important lesson from my father. Call the plumber, carpenter, electrician, handyman and go fishing. He never touched a hammer. Neither did I.

 

[CL82]

I learned an important lesson from my father. Call the plumber, carpenter, electrician, handyman and go fishing. He never touched a hammer. Neither did I.

A former boss of mine overheard me talking about a project that I was taking on at home. He told the story of being a newlywed and his wife asking him to change a lightbulb. He turned it the wrong way and snapped it off in the socket "forcing" him to hire an electrician. After that his wife never asked him to do any DYI stuff. He shrugged and walked away with a smile of face.

Personally I enjoy taking on a project. I find it relaxing to turn my attention to one thing only.

 

[Beemer]

If you are going to paint a room then for God's sake take the sample of the color you like home with you to see how it looks under your own lighting. True story- I was helping my mother paint her living room. She had really liked a particular shade of brown so not knowing any better she bought it- all the paint she would need for a 22 x 12 room. While we were painting we both thought the color was a little too dark but decided to keep going (this was our first DIY painting project). Once finished we both hated it- it turned out a cow brown color and her lighting just couldn't brighten the place at all.

Another thing- no matter what kind of DIY project you're doing, you WILL spend more time on preparation than actual doing. If you're not good with this then do yourself a favor & hire a contractor. Half assing your prep will wreck your project every single time.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

I learned an important lesson from my father. Call the plumber, carpenter, electrician, handyman and go fishing. He never touched a hammer. Neither did I.

hehe, im thinkin that our pops are related. dad has every tool, hardware, etc known to mankind, to be used by someone not named him.
never turned a screwdriver, shoveled the walk, or washed the car windows.
often, too often, heard at home, 'boys, today we're gonna fix, plant, install, etc,'
whaddaya mean 'we? whenever u say that, it always means my bro and i.'
whenever he started looking for the folding chair, while wearing his weekend shoes, we knew it was time to cancel the days plans.
watering the rose bushes? that is aboot the extent of his real diy prowess.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

If you are going to paint a room then for God's sake take the sample of the color you like home with you to see how it looks under your own lighting. True story- I was helping my mother paint her living room. She had really liked a particular shade of brown so not knowing any better she bought it- all the paint she would need for a 22 x 12 room. While we were painting we both thought the color was a little too dark but decided to keep going (this was our first DIY painting project). Once finished we both hated it- it turned out a cow brown color and her lighting just couldn't brighten the place at all.

Another thing- no matter what kind of DIY project you're doing, you WILL spend more time on preparation than actual doing. If you're not good with this then do yourself a favor & hire a contractor. Half assing your prep will wreck your project every single time.

I don't DIY. But we picked paint for my Mother's room here in AZ after her caregiver accidentally ripped a shelf off the wall and we had to do some damage repair. The caregiving company paid for the painter, and Mom was already not "with it" enough to pick the color.

We chose something "cheerful". It is aggressively bright green, and is both walls and ceiling. I hated it as a room color for my mother, by the way, but now it is my wife's glass studio (unused, sadly, due to her health) and it looks fine for an artist studio.

 

[Aluminny69]

Whenever I try to fix something, I think to myself, somebody does this for a living. They assemble these things all day long. they can probably do it in their sleep. Also, they are working with specialized tools. I'm working with pliers and a screwdriver. Also, by the time I figure out how to fix something, it usually isn't that hard, and I could fix 10 more, except I only have one. So, I file it in the back of my brain under useless knowledge.

Apologies for lack of specifics, but I think DIYers know what i mean.

 

[Skeets]

hehe, im thinkin that our pops are related. dad has every tool, hardware, etc known to mankind, to be used by someone not named him.
never turned a screwdriver, shoveled the walk, or washed the car windows.
often, too often, heard at home, 'boys, today we're gonna fix, plant, install, etc,'
whaddaya mean 'we? whenever u say that, it always means my bro and i.'
whenever he started looking for the folding chair, while wearing his weekend shoes, we knew it was time to cancel the days plans.
watering the rose bushes? that is aboot the extent of his real diy prowess.

Pretty funny. When my wife begins a sentence: "We should..." I know what she means.

I become a basket case when a project involves a point of no return. I installed a "whole house" water filter from Sears with a couple of pressure fittings. I prayed, literally, that after cutting into the water line that I wouldn't end up begging a plumber to make an emergency visit. In the end, it was a piece of cake, but I didn't know that before I started.

Reroofing the garage was less emotional, but once you start ripping the old roof off, you past the point of no return. Lesson learned that I will never need again, those stupid bundles of shingles weigh 72 pounds and there's only 1 way to get then up on the garage roof. First few bundles, no problem, the last few bundles, painful.

 

[Beemer]

I've always been thankful our father taught my sister & I how to use tools. He started us off on hand tools then once we mastered those he taught us how to use power tools. Those skills have come in really handy through the years, I've saved a ton of money plus it can be fun to do things yourself. Although now I can no longer use big power tools, I've had to downsize to smaller drills, sanders etc. as I'm not as strong as I used to be.

 

[Bama fan]

I mixed concrete for a small pad, cut stringers, cut treads, fabricated a pipe railing, and replaced the stairs from our back porch today. I have the necessary tools, and have done enough DIY to get through it all without incident. But I made a dozen trips to the garage for this and that, once to the hardware for an item I knew I had but could not find, and it took the best part of the day. It is done, I am sore everywhere, and was so grateful for the cold beer at the finish. I know I could never make a living doing this stuff, and I salute the guys who do.

 

[Bigboote]

I've always been thankful our father taught my sister & I how to use tools. He started us off on hand tools then once we mastered those he taught us how to use power tools. Those skills have come in really handy through the years, I've saved a ton of money plus it can be fun to do things yourself. Although now I can no longer use big power tools, I've had to downsize to smaller drills, sanders etc. as I'm not as strong as I used to be.

Ditto. At work many years ago, a buddy and I had a summer student. She drove a pickup truck, and not a little one, an F150, maybe even a 250. One day we had to move a hole in something, and my buddy gave this young woman a hand drill and asked "Do you know how to use this. Total blank stare, I was incredulous.

Later I asked him, "How did you know to ask that?" He asked if he sounded condescending.

I replied that I wouldn't even have thought of asking the question and I thought he was brilliant. But then I have a good father who taught me well.

 

[CL82]

Someone once asked me how’s I know how’s to do DYI stuff. I thought about it and answered “Years of holding the flashlight.“

 

[eebmg]

Get a lawyer specializing in suing yourself.

 

[Ozimoto]

When I became a volunteer firefighter in the early 1980's we had guys in the station who could take the trucks apart and repair them in house. Motors, fire pumps, tanks, you name it.

The guys coming in now barely know which end of a wrench to use. Repairs are certainly more challenging as a lot of stuff is controlled by electronics rather than old school mechanical controls, but I can't help wondering if the emphasis on "everyone goes to college" and the attitude that "trade schools are for losers" that many people have today is doing this country (and a lot of young people) a great disservice.

I am relatively competent at most DIY stuff that I undertake, but I don't have the patience to do most things well. My attempts at dry wall and painting don't turn out well for the most part, but when I tackle mechanical type stuff that usually is a win for me. However, to quote Dirty Harry, "a man's got to know his limitations."

 

[Beemer]

When I became a volunteer firefighter in the early 1980's we had guys in the station who could take the trucks apart and repair them in house. Motors, fire pumps, tanks, you name it.

The guys coming in now barely know which end of a wrench to use. Repairs are certainly more challenging as a lot of stuff is controlled by electronics rather than old school mechanical controls, but I can't help wondering if the emphasis on "everyone goes to college" and the attitude that "trade schools are for losers" that many people have today is doing this country (and a lot of young people) a great disservice.

I am relatively competent at most DIY stuff that I undertake, but I don't have the patience to do most things well. My attempts at dry wall and painting don't turn out well for the most part, but when I tackle mechanical type stuff that usually is a win for me. However, to quote Dirty Harry, "a man's got to know his limitations."

IMO you are absolutely dead on about the emphasis on going to college & downplaying the trades. What you have now is a large number of people who have no clue and have to "pay someone to do that for me" provided they can actually find someone they can pay to do that for them because so few people go to trade school these days. These folks also have zero idea if they're being ripped off or not because they just don't know what goes into repairs, installations etc.

 

[Zanzman]

IMO you are absolutely dead on about the emphasis on going to college & downplaying the trades. What you have now is a large number of people who have no clue and have to "pay someone to do that for me" provided they can actually find someone they can pay to do that for them because so few people go to trade school these days. These folks also have zero idea if they're being ripped off or not because they just don't know what goes into repairs, installations etc.

Trade high schools here in Ct have a waiting list

 

[Skeets]

IMO you are absolutely dead on about the emphasis on going to college & downplaying the trades. What you have now is a large number of people who have no clue and have to "pay someone to do that for me" provided they can actually find someone they can pay to do that for them because so few people go to trade school these days. These folks also have zero idea if they're being ripped off or not because they just don't know what goes into repairs, installations etc.

There's an amazing number of things you can fix by watching a you tube video. Then there are some things that are simply unfixable.

 

[Ozimoto]

You tube is a big help for sure. My son and I have done some pretty basic car repairs following guidance from You tube videos.