Author Topic: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project  (Read 5378 times)

Jon Bon

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What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« on: May 03, 2018, 05:31:05 AM »
What thing do you love to do the most that people most often pay for?
Mowing the lawn?
Painting?
Digging ditches?

What do you hate most in the world?
Tile?
Roofing?
Finish carpentry?


For me I love doing rough framing. I love the tools use in the process, miter saws, compressors and nail guns? Yes please. I love how fast it goes and how you can literally build a room from nothing in a few hours. My second choice would be after you build that room you wire up some outlets and lights. Pretty incredible amount of progress that you can make in such a short amount of time to have a lighted room in a single day where there was not one before!

What do I hate you ask?

God damn drywall mud. I can do it, but it NEVER looks right. I always think I have it, paint it, and notice a shitload of mistakes that I now have to look at for all time. A good drywall guy is priceless!

What say you?!




Gone Fishing

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2018, 07:24:05 AM »
Favorite DIY-My stone hearth for my woodstove.  Looks awesome!

Least Favorite DIY-Piddly repairs.  Seems like something relatively small is always breaking.  Probably wouldn't take more than a couple hours to fix, but probably involves crawling or working in tight spaces.

brute

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2018, 07:36:03 AM »
Favorite: new stuff that makes my life easier, like this weight tree. Cost $18 in materials, the tools I already had and don't want to figure out amortization on them.

Least favorite: Detail work, like sanding down bumpy edges on things no one will ever see, or detail cleaning my meat grinder.

lthenderson

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2018, 07:44:57 AM »
I love to do just about any household remodeling project, from pouring concrete and framing down to building my own cabinetry and furniture. The one job I hate is mudding and sanding drywall. When I do my next house, I've decided I'm going to hire it out from now on.

Khaetra

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #4 on: May 03, 2018, 10:54:55 AM »
I don't mind doing drywall work, tiling or painting.  I've done enough of it over the years that it looks like I actually knew what I was doing when done :D.

What I hate (and do hire out) is yard work.

Roboturner

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #5 on: May 03, 2018, 11:04:19 AM »
I love to do just about any household remodeling project, from pouring concrete and framing down to building my own cabinetry and furniture. The one job I hate is mudding and sanding drywall. When I do my next house, I've decided I'm going to hire it out from now on.

This. Also repairing any sort of plumbing is annoying for me.

acroy

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #6 on: May 03, 2018, 11:46:35 AM »
Love:
yardwork, installing fixtures, building furniture, paint/stain, general mechanical repairs
Just replaced a broken garage door spring - very satisfying.


hate
drywall - can't make it look 'right'
plumbing - always takes 3x as long as it should and 2-3 trips to the store

AZDude

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #7 on: May 09, 2018, 01:30:11 PM »
Love: Any landscaping project, plumbing projects.

Hate: Electrical work, wiring, etc... Also, roofing.

Papa bear

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #8 on: May 09, 2018, 02:06:49 PM »
Love: electrical. Running wires, hooking things up, planning circuits, all fun.

Hate: roofing. And the last 5% of any project because it works! And I don't want to do it anymore.


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Sibley

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #9 on: May 09, 2018, 02:39:54 PM »
Love: entirely depends on my mood. Painting, landscaping are often on the list, but can also be on the hate list.

Hate: Plumbing and anything to do with the attic or crawl space.

Whoever it was that loved carpentry in the Midwest, can you come over for a day? I've got some little projects. :)

Edit: I've started a new project - using stripper on the garage to remove the paint since plain scraping wasn't cutting it. I HATE HATE HATE this process. I have to cover my skin and wear chemical resistant gloves - which means rubber. Outside. In summer. Plus, given the sun/shade pattern in my yard, it makes doing this REALLY time sensitive, there's really only one part of the day that I can work right now. This is worse than plumbing.
« Last Edit: June 15, 2018, 01:27:48 PM by Sibley »

CatamaranSailor

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #10 on: May 09, 2018, 02:47:59 PM »
I pretty much hate all DIY projects while I'm in the middle of them...

When they are finished I'm like .."yeah baby!"

I will say I HATE HATE HATE working on any project where NOTHING is standardized....

My first house was built by drunk monkeys. Nothing was standard....the plumbing, the electrical, the spacing of the studs in the walls, the windows (all wood, each one custom built-poorly), the door sizes. Even the mail box was weird. I will say, it was SOLID....nothing but a Force 5 tornado would have knocked it down. But OMG was it a pain to fix stuff.

You know what they say? "They don't make them like they used too...THANK GOD!"

GuitarStv

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #11 on: May 09, 2018, 02:48:36 PM »
Love - framing, hanging drywall, muddling/taping, painting, installing doors, caulking stuff, any bicycle related work, sewing ripped clothing back together with dental floss, any bicycle related work


It's fine:  Electrical work, replacing a toilet/sink, landscaping, yard work, installing flooring and cabinetry


Hate - sanding drywall, anything in our attic, anything on our roof (very steep and very high up is scary)


The 'hate' stuff is generally dirty, uncomfortable, and scary.  :P

Carrie

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #12 on: May 09, 2018, 02:50:57 PM »
Today we're paying someone to replace siding on a dormer. (Plus proper underlayment, replace rotten soffit & fascia, painting of new siding.) We could have done it.... but it's on the roof and our temps today are mid-upper 80's.

Things I've enjoyed: landscaping, painting, building a door, building furniture, laying a floor, drywall repair.  DH enjoys building things, electrical, some basic plumbing. He just installed speakers in our ceiling (run through attic) that was fantastic & money saver.


thurston howell iv

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #13 on: May 09, 2018, 05:22:20 PM »
I like most all DIY- Why? Because I'm saving money and not paying someone to do it and probably learning or honing a skill set!  DW and I tackle all DIY projects together from house renovations, car restorations, tv, amplifer, washing machine, and even computer repair. It's usually minor stuff, but it all ads up.

That said, I like tiling but will pay someone because my knees can't take it.
I can do drywall, but it's an art and I'm no artist.
I don't mind yard work and gardening but I'm no green thumb.
I prefer not to be on any roof if I can help it.
I can do plumbing but hate having to fix other people's "fixes"- They're usually a mess and done that way because the right way is WAY harder.

Electrical is tougher for me. Since I'm a novice I'm always triple checking the book or youtube to make sure I don't zap myself.

DW and I are gear heads so we love wrenching on cars.

I absolutely hate auto electrical and intermittent issues (been working on one for a while now- still stumped)



TheWifeHalf

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #14 on: May 10, 2018, 07:48:30 AM »
Favoritie:
Working on the 1 acre yard. For years I couldn't do much inside because of construction, so I released my pent up creative mind and worked on the side yard's 'cottage garden.' The back was 'decorated' with  active kids in mind (had a golf putting green until they were old enough to go to the golf course by themselves), but the side yard, after the septic system was done, was all mine!

I say ALL MINE because TheHusbandHalf only had one rule he cared about - No trees over the septic system.

He does things when I ask him that usually involve more strength and possible machinery and has never complained about the little money I spent.
As we took trip with the kids, we always seemed to go to a botanical garden in whatever city we went to.
When we bought our house, the older guy next door had planted a garden that could be seen through the window by the invalid woman who lived here. When he moved (or died?) the guy on the other side of him bought his house, tore it down, and we got about 15' added to the side of our property - including his flower garden.  I have bought a few things, but he had so many things there that I have just divided them over the years and used them.

This photo is what the side yard looks like today. Underneath is the septic tank, see, no trees! I did pay $100 for the golf club bird bath, one of my more expensive garden art objects. There's an old farm bell and out back, the outside water pump from THH's grandma's farm.

Hate:
I'm limited in what I can do so there's not really anything I hate. I absolutely love the DIY projects I an do. Often when THH (and my Dad when he was alive) worked on something, my job was to make sure they were fed. It's the farmer way, that my Dad grew up with, and it seemed to be appreciated.

The things I can't do, if it involves some creativity, that's where I came in. We have a very unique house on the outside, the kids each got a very very nice platform bed, and it seemed THH gave me free rein when discussing the kitchen.
He seems to be happy with my ideas, knows that I always want him to speak up if something I come up with is a bad idea, so really, this whole place is a team effort.
Maybe my favorite part is being the boss?!!

Radagast

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #15 on: May 10, 2018, 06:25:54 PM »
Favorite: things that are neither important nor urgent. Things that I don't really need to do. Things I can piecemeal and half-ass.

Least favorite: things that are important or urgent. Things I really need to do. Things that need to be done right all at once.

pjhalifax

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #16 on: May 11, 2018, 09:36:50 AM »
Favorite: Car repairs. I think it's close to 15 years of fixing car stuff now...I like learning about the various systems and I have a good understanding of what I don't know and/or can't safely do.

Hate: painting and plumbing.

Roboturner

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #17 on: May 11, 2018, 03:19:27 PM »

Electrical is tougher for me. Since I'm a novice I'm always triple checking the book or youtube to make sure I don't zap myself.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-Non-Contact-Voltage-Tester-NCVT-1SEN/100661787?MERCH=REC-_-PIPHorizontal2_rr-_-206537707-_-100661787-_-N

best $15 you'll ever spend

Poundwise

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #18 on: May 11, 2018, 08:53:44 PM »
Favorite: appliance repair. Fixed my freezer, my refrigerator, ice maker, replaced the oven igniter and burner, fixed the dishwasher. You name it.

Most hated:  scraping off leaded paint and cleaning up prior to repainting. We did this on a small job around our front door. I carefully followed protocol, but it was a horrible job to lay down several layers of plastic, wear mask and gloves, worry about dust and chips flying into the yard and house.  Then afterward had to tape double garbage bags shut, triple mop, vacuum, then take all rubbish, mop and cleaning supplies to the special dump and pay for disposal.

meghan88

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #19 on: May 14, 2018, 11:24:50 AM »
Love:  tiling, refinishing furniture, minor carpentry

Tolerate:  plumbing, insulating, hanging drywall, painting

Hate:  taping, mudding and sanding drywall.  And gardening, because squirrels will destroy everything that my two brown thumbs can manage to grow.

gooki

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #20 on: May 15, 2018, 02:13:29 AM »
Love:
- making furniture
- building decks
- building tree houses
- painting

Hate:
- installing drawers in home made furniture
- removing wallpaper when it’s bonded to the dry wall
- cutting in with a brush

This bathroom vanity is my favourite piece of furniture I’ve made.

« Last Edit: May 15, 2018, 02:15:49 AM by gooki »

Blindsquirrel

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #21 on: May 22, 2018, 05:56:33 PM »
   Will not do roofing, scared of heights and not worth the risk. I like car repair to a point. Like quick fixes and things I know will look cool when I am done such a doing a walk in closet for the DW. Detest most plumbing but oddly enough I do not mind replacing main drain lines because plumbers charge so GD much for it and it actually is not too bad to do and the pay off is huge.

Poundwise

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #22 on: May 22, 2018, 07:20:16 PM »

This bathroom vanity is my favourite piece of furniture I’ve made.

That's really a handsome piece of work! I wish I knew how to build with wood.  I have a lot of skills but I'm afraid to dive into that one because I have a feeling that it requires a lot of equipment that we don't have the space for.

Radagast

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #23 on: May 22, 2018, 11:29:08 PM »
Love:
- making furniture
- building decks
- building tree houses
- painting

Hate:
- installing drawers in home made furniture
- removing wallpaper when it’s bonded to the dry wall
- cutting in with a brush

This bathroom vanity is my favourite piece of furniture I’ve made.
Where did you get that vanity top? I want to make a floating vanity to get above a vent, but it's hard to find one that matches the dimensions.

littlelykke

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #24 on: May 23, 2018, 09:23:25 AM »
I have a love-hate relationship with most DIY's

I love sewing, but the preparation (duplicating the pattern and cutting it out, etc.) not so much.
I love painting, but I hate the preparation: sanding, cleaning. So.much.to.do before you can actually start with the painting.

And for most projects, when I'm done I feel so proud. But when I'm in the middle of it I just want it to be done.

omachi

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #25 on: May 23, 2018, 10:27:07 AM »
Love: Too strong a word, I love it when things are all working correctly and happy, when there's nothing to fix. Favorite stuff is that which makes a notable improvement to something without requiring a dozen other little projects because the thing that's broken was covering up an issue with this attached bit, which is connected to something that never would have passed code, which...

Hate: I'm with you on the drywall. I hate that stuff. Same complaints. Looks fine until it's painted, then you can't help but notice all the glaring errors.

gooki

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #26 on: May 24, 2018, 04:06:35 AM »
@Poundwise all though I have a decent size table saw, the largest tool you need to build that vanity is a planer/thicknessesr to square up the timber. Mines a cheap 8 inch model about the size of a a drop saw.

@Radagast the vanity top is from tradedepot.co.nz a cut price building supplies place here in NZ. Cost about $150. It took a while to find one of the right style and size.

expatartist

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #27 on: May 24, 2018, 05:11:42 AM »
Favorite: Limewashing my little hobbit house, painting it, etc

Hated: Cleaning! I know, it's not DIY it's being grown up. Hate it anyway.

Car Jack

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #28 on: June 07, 2018, 08:53:24 AM »
Favorite:  Oil changes.  Nothing ever goes wrong.  I don't have to worry about doing anything with old, rusted together bolts.  It's straight forward and so long as you're thorough, everything goes right the first time.

Least favorite:  Boy....toss up between CV axle replacement and exhaust leak fixes.  I've got one exhaust leak that's tiny enough to be barely detected except by the oxygen sensors.  Between the tight quarters and all the guards around the pipes, it's nearly impossible to even get anywhere near where the leak is.  Then there's the fix.  It's usually not straight forward.  Fortunately I can MacGyver something together.  Example....had a leak where the butt ends of the muffler pipe and mid pipe had separated.  Couldn't close them and with only 2 bolts, there was no clamping force available.  Solution?  Cut off both and get a splice section pipe at auto zone with some clamps and muffler weld.  This is a pipe that's sized to go over both pipes in my car.  I just cut both parts to remove the flanges, clean up the pipes, slide them into the splice pipe with some muffler weld all over them and then clamp both ends.

gliderpilot567

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #29 on: June 09, 2018, 10:51:10 AM »
Love: Anything involving wood, metal, electricity, machinery, or dirt.

Hate: Painting walls.

Grogounet

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Re: What Is Your Favorite and Most Hated DIY Project
« Reply #30 on: June 12, 2018, 01:15:39 AM »
What s fun about DIY is that you learn when you think of it.

Hence the reason why I start to hate maintaining my cars and bikes. I save tons of money by doing it but man... how boring!
All these should eventually be externalized while FIRE to concentrate on learning!