[Misc] Mucked up again

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

This weekend, in our new home, i managed to drop a heavy slate bathroom worktop onto the loo, smashing it to pieces. Not only that, it turns out that the loo needs a a rather unusual flush pipe that you cannot buy in the shops. To be honest my ineptitude is getting me down a little, as i frequently seem to muck things up when all I'm trying to do is help (this time i was trying to put put a disinfectant block in the hidden cistern). I've always been crap at this sort of thing, starting aged 2 when i flooded my parents house whilst playing in the bathroom.

Can people please post stories of their DIY disasters to prove that I'm not the only one, and put a smile back on my face. I've been thoroughly miserable ever since.

You are far from the only one. This stuff happens to me all the time. A memorable one was a few years ago. To save money (normally the reason my wife persuades me to do DIY - "we just need to.....[insert seemingly easy but hazard filled tak here] ... ourselves and save a few quid") I was replacing the floor board after we'd had some plumbing done. Plumber was careful to show me where the pipes were, I was so damn careful, and still managed to screw through a pipe.

I heard the noise (because it was under the floorboard by then) and fortunately didn't ignore it. I got the board back up and found the hole and was able to pinch either side of the pipe with my finger and thumb. Water stopped if I held tight. I had to release it to get my phone but managed to call the plumber (on a Saturday), He said he'd come as soon as he could.

This Saturday coincided with the Tour de France coming through Tunbridge Wells and the whole of the East and West of the town were separated by the route, running down the main road. It took the plumber three hours to get through. The cut in the pipe was rough. My thumb was bleeding and the plumber pointed out that he'd put some God-awdul cleaner into the system to flush the radiators, so the cut might sting for a few days. Took bloody weeks to heal!

You're not the only one. Accept that you are good at other things and avoid DIY at all costs. It doesn't make you less of a man, it makes you an aware human being.

 

[Questions]

If it's any consolation I'm as bad as you, tried various home " Improvements" over the years and they have either gone badly wrong, or needed purchase of special tools or equipment you never need again or just look like a bodge job at the end, Unless its incredibly simple I pay to have it done as It's not worth my stress, anxiety and despair. About the only thing I trust myself to do these days is to paint.

Paint ?

 

[seaford]

You have my sympathy.
I too am a walking DIY disaster zone. I want to do stuff, and because I have the wrong tools and little skill, muck stuff up.

Other than rubbing down old paintwork, and then applying the required amount of coats of paint, I avoid all DIY and pay someone to do it properly. It saves me heartache and money, and I liker to think that I am contributing to the local economy by employing local tradesmen/women.

Chin up, things ca only get better.

 

[Goldstone1976]

Not really our own fault, but had a paint tin handle snap at the top of the stairs down to the basement, resulting in 2 litres of white emulsion splattered all down the stairs

View attachment 139315

Ouch.

Umm, can I ask why you were painting bare foot?

 

[Normal Rob]

Thanks guys. It's good to hear that I'm not the only one. Maybe I need to swallow my pride, but its hard when every time you need a piss or a sh1t the reality of my ineptitude smacks me in the face as the loo is still out of action

Fortunately we have a 2nd loo. Just so happens that my wife loves the main bathroom and i've buggered it up within a month of living here. Here's hoping I can source the right part.

 

[pasty]

Is that Brighton wallpaper?

Yes it is, Found it in B&Q.

 

[Southern Scouse]

This is why I don't do most DIY. If I can't do it and if I can't afford to get it done then it doesn't get done.

This has always been my mantra.
However, the girlfriend of the last two years does the plumbing, carpentry (Makes her own decking and trellis), Paints and even climbed on the roof to remove some foliage sprouting from the chimney. It seems that when I sliced through the electric cable with the hedge clipper she decided that it was safer for body, soul and home if I left all that stuff to her.
It’s a hard life.

 

[Baldseagull]

This weekend, in our new home, i managed to drop a heavy slate bathroom worktop onto the loo, smashing it to pieces. Not only that, it turns out that the loo needs a a rather unusual flush pipe that you cannot buy in the shops. To be honest my ineptitude is getting me down a little, as i frequently seem to muck things up when all I'm trying to do is help (this time i was trying to put put a disinfectant block in the hidden cistern). I've always been crap at this sort of thing, starting aged 2 when i flooded my parents house whilst playing in the bathroom.

Can people please post stories of their DIY disasters to prove that I'm not the only one, and put a smile back on my face. I've been thoroughly miserable ever since.

Dropped a large tile whilst tiling around a bath, which despite having protection in the bath, put a hole in the bath. Cut through a mains pressure copper pipe under a floorboard with a circular saw. Put a tin of paint down on top of a screw in the back of my van, which put a small hole in it, but didn't allow it to leak till I picked it up, and I didn't notice it leaking till I had walked up the drive, into the house, and up the stairs. Stepped off a step ladder, into a paint tray. This is from 25 years worth of DIY mind, but then again, not all the mishaps.

 

[el punal]

For those of us where any project is a minefield of misery I recommend D.I.Y.

As in Don’t - Include - Yourself.

 

[Live by the sea]

This weekend, in our new home, i managed to drop a heavy slate bathroom worktop onto the loo, smashing it to pieces. Not only that, it turns out that the loo needs a a rather unusual flush pipe that you cannot buy in the shops. To be honest my ineptitude is getting me down a little, as i frequently seem to muck things up when all I'm trying to do is help (this time i was trying to put put a disinfectant block in the hidden cistern). I've always been crap at this sort of thing, starting aged 2 when i flooded my parents house whilst playing in the bathroom.

Can people please post stories of their DIY disasters to prove that I'm not the only one, and put a smile back on my face. I've been thoroughly miserable ever since.

My advice , never ever attempt to do any DIY certainly not in a kitchen or a bathroom . Always employ the experts. Too much stress and you will never get the finish you are looking for .

 

[BN9 BHA]

My advice as a plumber.

Never try plumbing DIY on a Friday afternoon or anytime over the weekend, unless you know exactly what you are doing.
Friday afternoon most plumbers have had enough and do not want a call from someone at 5.30 that has decided to take their kitchen sink waste apart to clean it and then can’t work out why it’s leaking when they put it back

 

[Happy Exile]

When Mrs Exile was very heavily pregnant she went away for a weekend and I decided to fit a new bathroom suite as a surprise, having never attempted something so ambitious before. An hour before she got home I filled the bath with water so I could put the sealant around the edge properly, feeling very pleased with myself, then pulled the plug out only to find I'd not connected the waste pipe. Fairly disastrous.

Not my mistake but someone elses: invited to test a new dimmer switch I discovered the earth wire hadn't been connected properly and was touching the metal plate. Insert your own jokes about it being shocking etc.

 

[Gabbafella]

About 18 months ago, me and the Mrs decided that the white tiles around the bath looked boring and we needed a new shower and screen. Never tried anything like that before so I thought sod it, and used those infamous words, "how hard can it be?"
Started at the end of the bath, tiles came off like a dream. Got about 1/4 of the way along the wall and suddenly the concrete ended and the plasterboard started, as did my problems. I tried a couple of tiles and made a hole in the wall. Couple more tiles and the hole then was rather big. Probably should've stopped there.......so now the whole wall has come down and I'm searching for videos on YouTube about how to plaster.
What should've taken me maybe a weekend, ended up taking me about a month, several hundred pounds on tools and materials, a very bad back and a slightly annoyed girlfriend.
Bathroom looks lovely now, although I hated every damned second of that shitty room, never again.

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

Absolutely hopeless at most DIY jobs, I looked for a home maintenance company to do some work and noticed one called Bodgit & Scarper so gave them a miss.
My tool box consists of Super Glue and No More Nails.

 

[timbha]

Not sure about scale but they do break down into lumps, and then block the flush valve/syphon so you have constant running water, and then need a plumber to sort..
Always use one which goes in the pan, not cistern..

That’s probably what I meant

 

[Doonhamer7]

Mrs D7 can set the timer to when I will lose my rag when botching DIY - tuns out she now also applies to any online application requiring lots of detail, nor will I touch anything on my car. Despite all that I’m a Chartered Engineer

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Not really our own fault, but had a paint tin handle snap at the top of the stairs down to the basement, resulting in 2 litres of white emulsion splattered all down the stairs

View attachment 139315

Are you sure you weren't doing an insurance job to be able to get a decent stair carpet ?

 

[WATFORD zero]

My advice as a plumber.

Never try plumbing DIY on a Friday afternoon or anytime over the weekend, unless you know exactly what you are doing.
Friday afternoon most plumbers have had enough and do not want a call from someone at 5.30 that has decided to take their kitchen sink waste apart to clean it and then can’t work out why it’s leaking when they put it back

But shirley fixing a couple of creaking floorboards before laying a carpet on a Friday is fine. What could possibly go wrong

 

[Worried Man Blues]

First house put mirror wall tiles next to the bath, always kept my eye on them when bathing incase the b******* fell off and sliced a bit of my anatomy off. Painted the toilet wall with ceiling stipple to cover up cracks but stipples were so vicious my hands bled taking the troos off had to redo it. When I moved I always kept an eye open to see if it had burnt down due to my apprentice electics!
Don't touch a thing anymore, safer that way.

 

[dazzer6666]

My late dad could do almost anything around the house. He never had a settled career as such, having loads of different jobs in his time some of which were in the trades (bricklaying, roofing etc) but many of which weren’t. He built a full extension including a bathroom on our first cottage, put a conservatory on another, changed kitchens, completely redesigned and finished patios and gardens and other such stuff. He was an expert gardener.

I will drill a dozen messy holes in the wall trying to put up a curtain rail. I can just about use a paintbrush with acceptable results, but will make a heck of a mess. Wallpapering takes me forever. I daren’t touch anything plumbing or electrical for fear of flooding or blowing up the house or killing us all. I’ve had the garden fully covered with slabs and astroturf because I couldn’t get grass to grow properly.