“I understand why the pros charge so much.”
“I taught myself, with the help of YouTube, how to tile a floor.
It was SO MUCH WORK.
I can’t imagine if I’d decided to tile a larger area.
I will always pay to have someone lay tile in the future.”
My dad started this project when I was in high school, and now I am in my mid-20s.
gabsbarbosa22
3.
“We pulled up the carpet and had to redo the stairs.
“The only project we got in over our heads with was cutting down an old apple tree.
That was trivial; we ended up calling a tree service to cut it up and haul it away.
But that apple tree nearly killed us.”
Angelica Paganelli
5.
I learned a lot about home repair and taking the time to do something properly.
I will, however, NEVER replace brick grout ever again.
“We attempted to fix our backyard.
That was a disaster.
toomanykidsnotenoughtime
7.
“Hanging the slab doors.
That’s easily the number one project I regret taking on.”
“I tried to fix a clogged faucet.
I spent three days trying to fix it before finally getting a plumber.
Never mess with plumbing.”
Dianalia
9.
“After I got married, I worked full time.
I painted the inside and outside of my 1,800-square-foot house.
It took me a year.”
“My mom injured herself doing DIY wallpaper.
She was lucky it wasn’t worse.
She is now banned from DIY projects and leaves everything to the professionals.”
singingeachtoeach
11.
What was supposed to be a relatively simple ‘facelift’ became a total gut.
We’ve had a lot of experience DIY’ing, so we were okay with the idea of the jobs.
It was the drain of energy that caused the most problems.
My health issues only allowed me to work for about six hours every other day.
“We did a 17-foot-diameter firepit/patio in our backyard last summer without trying to take extra days off.
We bought a kit from a hardware store, and we had four pallets delivered to our house.
Digging up 8 feet of sod was the worst.
Those YouTubers who say, ‘Just cut and roll it’s so easy,’ are lying.
Also, I highly recommend renting a compactor to level the rock.
Best $50 ever spent.”
oldenoughtobeinappropriate
13.
“The deck at my mom’s house.
The fear was real.”
“One of my outside hose bibs started leaking and wouldn’t stop.
Not wanting to waste water or money, I attempted to fix it myself.
YouTube made it look so easy ha!
I gathered all the tools and even borrowed some parts from my job.
What I didn’t have was the strength!
No matter how hard I tried, I could not get the nut off.
I tried every tool in my arsenal, with no luck.
I had to shut the water off to the whole house.
I ended up calling off work the next day so I could call a plumber.
He fixed it in 20 minutes!”
Jaime, 45, Pennsylvania
15.
The drywall guys were going to charge between $500 and $700 to fix the ceiling.
I understand why the pros charge so much.”
“We put in a laminate floor that was supposed to be a simple lock-and-groove thing.
There was no need for a mat or subfloor, just the planks!
At least, that’s what it said on the box(es) of the flooring.
Our three adult kids helped out they did the heavy lifting and all the kneeling.
It ended up taking us twice as long and required four additional trips to the hardware store.
Plus, we had to rent a floor sander.
Mind you, it’s already been seven years.”
Pahz
17.Lastly: “I bought my first house at 23.
It was a small home with an all-original bath and kitchen.
I decided to take on the bathroom first because I figured I could do it during a long weekend.
By the time I was done with the bathroom, two months had passed.
I was super proud of my accomplishment…until my brother-in-law took a look.
He laughed at my upside-down tub surround kit.
That was 40 years ago.
I love DIY projects, but I learned that sometimes you just need a pro.”
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
