*DIY* Fail

[SMXT]

Post your DIY fail pix/stories here. Can be your own mistakes or the ones you're fixing cuz someone screwed up before you moved in.

[Quads]

This should be interesting.

[SMXT]

The tile ceiling in my basement has sagged in various sections, almost to the point of falling, on three occasions and has fallen once. All said, I have probably rehung more than 1/2 of the ceiling. Of note, none of the tiles that I have fixed have ever failed. Today, I dedided to fix another sagging section that probably brings me up 3/4 of the ceiling that I've had to repair.

I really hadn't thought about why this was happening until today.

Notice anything?

http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/3/11/30/f_ceiling002m_065f722.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/3/11/30/f_ceiling002m_065f722.jpg&srv=img03)
http://img34.picoodle.com/img/img34/3/11/30/f_ceiling004m_80cdf27.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/3/11/30/f_ceiling004m_80cdf27.jpg&srv=img34)

That's right, whoever hung this ceiling thought it would be a good idea to use 1/4" staples to go through a 1/8" flange to hold these things up. I can't say that I spent alot of time thinking about it on my prior repairs. I just grabbed the longest thing I had on hand and went at it. I was probably using 3/8-7/16" staples left over from making a poker table rail. Today, I happened to pick up the ceiling tile staples from Arrow that were 17/32" knowing that I was going to take on this project.

So what happens when you use 1/4" staples to hang celing tile?
http://img33.picoodle.com/img/img33/3/11/30/f_ceiling001m_4be0bcd.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/3/11/30/f_ceiling001m_4be0bcd.jpg&srv=img33)

:fail:

[Simps]

Haha. Great thread. I'll have to post pix later but I started to tile the master bathroom floor about 2 months ago. It's still at the backerboard stage with the toilet sitting in the shower.

The wifey is none too pleased with me right now.

[big0mike]

Not me but still a pretty good :fail:

http://www.wideopenphotography.com/photos/xray01.jpg
http://www.wideopenphotography.com/photos/xray02.jpg

1st time using a nail gun... http://www.wideopenphotography.com/photos/emoticons/th_SmlyROFL.gif

[Wedge Rock]

http://www.matazone.co.uk/sillyimages/blog/DIY-mistake.jpg

[Haps]

No pics but around 6 months ago I was redoing my kitchen cabinets. The cold water supply for the kitchen sink got bent and was suspect during the removal of the old cabinets so I cut it off and was putting in a new section.

For some reason it continued to be a royal pain in the ass. Somehow on this one joint I always ended up with a pinhole leak. So lots of getting the wife to run downstairs to the apartment below(vacant) at the time to shut on the house water supply. Check for leaks etc.

Well she had to go shopping. So I solder it up and think I got it so I go downstairs and turn on the water. I head upstairs to check and sure as shit I can hear a small leak. Mainly air as it's pushing it out of the line. So there I am with my ear next to the pipe trying to see where the hole is when boom off flies the entire pipe I had been soldering on.

Water flies straight up to the ceiling and starts raiing all over the kitchen. I slam my thumb over the pipe and try to hold it back but I'll I'm really doing is shooting a concentrated spray all over my self. It's slowed a bit. So I had to make a decision. How long do I hold out like this waiting for the wife to come home, or do I just make a run for it.

Whoosh is the sound of the waterfall behind me as I dash out of the house and back into the apartment downstairs to shut the water off. What a fucking mess all over the kitchen.

[sunsetpizza]

No pics but around 6 months ago I was redoing my kitchen cabinets. The cold water supply for the kitchen sink got bent and was suspect during the removal of the old cabinets so I cut it off and was putting in a new section.

For some reason it continued to be a royal pain in the ass. Somehow on this one joint I always ended up with a pinhole leak. So lots of getting the wife to run downstairs to the apartment below(vacant) at the time to shut on the house water supply. Check for leaks etc.

Well she had to go shopping. So I solder it up and think I got it so I go downstairs and turn on the water. I head upstairs to check and sure as shit I can hear a small leak. Mainly air as it's pushing it out of the line. So there I am with my ear next to the pipe trying to see where the hole is when boom off flies the entire pipe I had been soldering on.

Water flies straight up to the ceiling and starts raiing all over the kitchen. I slam my thumb over the pipe and try to hold it back but I'll I'm really doing is shooting a concentrated spray all over my self. It's slowed a bit. So I had to make a decision. How long do I hold out like this waiting for the wife to come home, or do I just make a run for it.

Whoosh is the sound of the waterfall behind me as I dash out of the house and back into the apartment downstairs to shut the water off. What a fucking mess all over the kitchen.

Now THAT's what this thread is all about! YES!!!!!111 :)

:fail:

[Trann]

Whoosh is the sound of the waterfall behind me as I dash out of the house and back into the apartment downstairs to shut the water off. What a fucking mess all over the kitchen.
Paranoia has prevented me from making this particular spectacular fail: I turn on the water at very, very, very low pressure to start; when the running stops and I've found no leaks, I go back and step it up to half; if still no leaks, I open it all the way. I've found my leaks early and without damage.

I figure that by the time the pipes are refilled, the pressure still builds and can reveal a leak but with far less flow behind it.

[Irish]

No pics but around 6 months ago I was redoing my kitchen cabinets. The cold water supply for the kitchen sink got bent and was suspect during the removal of the old cabinets so I cut it off and was putting in a new section.

For some reason it continued to be a royal pain in the ass. Somehow on this one joint I always ended up with a pinhole leak. So lots of getting the wife to run downstairs to the apartment below(vacant) at the time to shut on the house water supply. Check for leaks etc.

Well she had to go shopping. So I solder it up and think I got it so I go downstairs and turn on the water. I head upstairs to check and sure as shit I can hear a small leak. Mainly air as it's pushing it out of the line. So there I am with my ear next to the pipe trying to see where the hole is when boom off flies the entire pipe I had been soldering on.

Water flies straight up to the ceiling and starts raiing all over the kitchen. I slam my thumb over the pipe and try to hold it back but I'll I'm really doing is shooting a concentrated spray all over my self. It's slowed a bit. So I had to make a decision. How long do I hold out like this waiting for the wife to come home, or do I just make a run for it.

Whoosh is the sound of the waterfall behind me as I dash out of the house and back into the apartment downstairs to shut the water off. What a fucking mess all over the kitchen.

LOL, been there done that, but mine was fortunately in the basement, so it wasn't as big of a mess.

[doughboy63]

Plumbing is one of those things that looks easy, but very quickly you realize why they can charge so much per hour. I still take on most plumbing jobs myself. We moved into a new house about a year ago, and my neighbor is a master plumber and an awesome guy, SCORE!

[big0mike]

No pics but around 6 months ago I was redoing my kitchen cabinets. The cold water supply for the kitchen sink got bent and was suspect during the removal of the old cabinets so I cut it off and was putting in a new section.

For some reason it continued to be a royal pain in the ass. Somehow on this one joint I always ended up with a pinhole leak. So lots of getting the wife to run downstairs to the apartment below(vacant) at the time to shut on the house water supply. Check for leaks etc.

Well she had to go shopping. So I solder it up and think I got it so I go downstairs and turn on the water. I head upstairs to check and sure as shit I can hear a small leak. Mainly air as it's pushing it out of the line. So there I am with my ear next to the pipe trying to see where the hole is when boom off flies the entire pipe I had been soldering on.

Water flies straight up to the ceiling and starts raiing all over the kitchen. I slam my thumb over the pipe and try to hold it back but I'll I'm really doing is shooting a concentrated spray all over my self. It's slowed a bit. So I had to make a decision. How long do I hold out like this waiting for the wife to come home, or do I just make a run for it.

Whoosh is the sound of the waterfall behind me as I dash out of the house and back into the apartment downstairs to shut the water off. What a fucking mess all over the kitchen.

Now THAT's what this thread is all about! YES!!!!!111 :)

:fail:
While not nearly as dramatic...

I had to change our my garbage disposal a few months back. Got the new unit, fought with the old one to get it off, screwed it up, plugged in all the hoses including the dishwasher return. Turned on the water: no problem. Turned on the dishwasher: SPLASH... water spraying everywhere outta the return.

I spend a few minutes loosening and tightening hoses all with no affect.

I head up to Home Depot and tell them my problem. "Did you punch the plug out on the dishwasher return?"

The confused look on my face was all he needed...

[Wedge Rock]

Before my first son was born, I built his crib in the living room... Then pushed it down the hall toward his bedroom... Then took it apart in the hall because I could not make the 90-degree turn required to get it into his bedroom...

[Oz]

New house I finished 6-8 months ago and we moved into it. Basement is ground floor - living space above - basically a split entry. Basement has laundry room/bath, tv/theater room, daughters area to play and a storage area under the stairs.

I spent about 3 days running new can lights, relocating the switches, adding a light, enclosing the ductwork and gas piping, framing a couple of concrete walls, etc...

I planned on insulating the ceilings all the way around to deaden the sound, as well as the walls. I finished sheet rocking the ceiling and looked at the newly framed concrete wall and realized I forgot to insulate the ceiling. Now what? Fuck it - it's done and I'm not about to pull that shit down to insulate a small room. To top it off, my insulation was sitting about 10' from me the whole time in plain sight.

[Shadow]

this thread is about 7 years too late. my previous house (which is now a rental property since I moved into a new house) was absolutely full of DIY fail. I'll have to dig up some pics when I get home.

In the basement I had to throw away dozens of books - they had bullet holes in them. The previous owner used them for target practice. There were plenty of .22 cal casings laying around as well.

Soft copper used for gas line to gas fireplace.

Basement walls had cracks and leaked (caused by aforementioned target practice perhaps). rather than fix the leaks, he ran a gas line to a camp stove and used it to dry out the basement...

Painted a metal entry door with wood stain...

[Irish]

The lunchbox who owned my house before must have had :fail: written all over him. Some of the more amusing ones:

Went to replace the light outside my side door, found this:
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_1150.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_1152.jpg
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_1157.jpg
fugger filled in the electrical box with that "great stuff" expanding foam

Before we completely re-landscaped the front yard, they had a "bush" that took over the entire yard. It was actually several bushed, but morphed into one mass. Notice the mailbox (we had already ripped out most of the sections of bushes at this point):
http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_1496.jpg

[bigslickwood]

A friend of mine (who I believe I've mentioned before, he owned the duplex with the dead body in it) was trying to clear the ice from his driveway and decided to mix up some DIY napalm out of laundry detergent and gasoline...

... when he came to he was roughly 30 feet away from where he had been standing, the cops and fire department were there, and his trees were on fire.

This same guy (I shit you not, the guy was a genius in several regards and a complete moron in others) had a frozen water line so he went under his house with a blowtorch to unfreeze the line. He calls another friend who lived nearby and said, "Man, I've got this fucker cherry red and it still won't thaw, can you come take a look?" The other guy says, "Sure, keep heating things up, spread it around a little bit, and I'll be down in a few."

He shows up and heads under the house, while Kev is still down there heating that line. Friend takes one look and runs. Kevin had several feet of the natural gas line heated cherry red... Amazing he didn't destroy the neighborhood.

Kevin made a fortune in the stock market, but continued working as an equipment technician for years at my old company. The only reason he continued working is because it forced him to stay sober at least a few nights a week. He since found out he had cancer, quit, and spent his remaining days travelling to and getting drunk at as many MLBaseball games as he could get to. He died a few months ago. There are many other stories about this cat, a legend, and my vote for all time King of DIY Fail...

[big0mike]

This same guy (I shit you not, the guy was a genius in several regards and a complete moron in others) had a frozen water line so he went under his house with a blowtorch to unfreeze the line. He calls another friend who lived nearby and said, "Man, I've got this fucker cherry red and it still won't thaw, can you come take a look?" The other guy says, "Sure, keep heating things up, spread it around a little bit, and I'll be down in a few."

He shows up and heads under the house, while Kev is still down there heating that line. Friend takes one look and runs. Kevin had several feet of the natural gas line heated cherry red... Amazing he didn't destroy the neighborhood.

Kevin made a fortune in the stock market, but continued working as an equipment technician for years at my old company. The only reason he continued working is because it forced him to stay sober at least a few nights a week. He since found out he had cancer, quit, and spent his remaining days travelling to and getting drunk at as many MLBaseball games as he could get to. He died a few months ago. There are many other stories about this cat, a legend, and my vote for all time King of DIY Fail...
He's got my vote! Holy shit... :eek:

[JLew1415]

Plumbing is one of those things that looks easy, but very quickly you realize why they can charge so much per hour. I still take on most plumbing jobs myself. We moved into a new house about a year ago, and my neighbor is a master plumber and an awesome guy, SCORE!

Seems an easy concept, good water in, bad water out, but it's really good water in, god damn putrid water everywhere.

[Gadgets]

When I bought my projector I couldn't ceiling mount so I bought a shelf & hardware to put up on the wall.

First time I went to add new cables to the projector the damn shelf collapsed. Had a hell of a time trying to keep the shelf from bashing me in the head while balancing the projector so it didn't crash to the ground.

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g257/Gadgets19/fail1.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g257/Gadgets19/fail2.jpg

[huge1s]

When I was in high school the guy that I worked construnction with (old guy in his 60's) used to have me do work on his house occationally. I was digging in the front yard and ended up slicing the a water line. He used to get pissed about everything anyway, but this really set him off. The pipe was about 4 feet down and i ended up having to dig out a 4x4 trench. Still being pissed, he went and fixed the pipe and told me to bury it. I started to object that we should turn the water on first, THEN bury it. I got screamed at, so I just did what he said. Well, about 15 minutes after burying the pipe, the dirt on top of it starts to rise. Both of us ended up waist deep in mud trying to dig out that pipe again (of course we turned the water off at the main before doing this).

I started construction work when I was 13 working for my god mother's husband (the guy mentioned above) and another guy that was 80 years old. Looking back, the picture of that is funny enough, but I used to do this "trick" on them whenever we were driving around that still cracks me up. We used to drive around in an old toyota truck (the little one) and when all three of us were in the truck (me sitting on the outside passenger seat)....I used to bend down so nobody could see me from another car. So if you were at a stop light and looked over, it looked like there were two old gay guys snuggled up sitting right next to each other....

[SinOrSwim]

LOL huge1s! I used to do the same thing to some friends of mine in High School. A friend had a Chevy Pickup and the 3 of us would go out all the time. Well, once in awhile we used to "scoop the loop"! LOL Anway, there was always one parking lot FULL of people. One night we'd gone by once and there were some very attractive ladies sitting on the hoods of these cars when we were stopped at the light. So, the next time around we are getting close, so I duck down so nobody can see me and my friends were so pumped that these hot girls were pointing and waving they didn't see me crouch! LOL We pull away and that is when they realized it. The F bombs were flying.

[Irish]

More fun for me. I just started a project where I'm splitting my son's huge bedroom into 2 smaller bed rooms for the new baby. I opened up a wall to run some new electric and found this:

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4165.jpg

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd106/irishpenguin75/forums/IMG_4166.jpg

That would be the drainage vent. I live in an expanded cape cod, and it looks like when the morons built out the dormer, they never connected the vent stack extension. We've noticed a slight sewer odor coming from the sink in the adjacent room, but it was never that bad and we attributed it to a leaky trap. Guess not.
:fail:

[Priest]

I just started the remodel on the area in the basement we play poker in. Things are going slow, but the first part of the demo is done. the room has wood paneling, a drop ceiling, and had a closet, etc. It is right next to the HVAC so there was a box out built across the end of the room for the main HVAC line and the heater/water heater exhaust to get where it needs to go.

The morons who built the room had that box out hanging by 2 nails, the ceiling grid itself, and the HVAC line..... it took a long time to remove it without hurting myslef or my helper.... then I got to see that the WH exhaust moves down hill for 2 feet before it tries to go up..... I have wondered why it didnt smell right down there.

I'll try to get a pic of it up soon so you can see this crap. wish I had gotten a pic of how badly the box was built.