General Discussion > Welcome and General Discussion

DIY Horror stories

(1/9) > >>

trailrated:
The MMM community is quite resourceful and has a great do it yourself mentality. Most of the time this ends with gaining a new skill, saving money, and feeling like a badass.

This post is not about that. This post is the "Oh shit what have I done, I should have hired a professional" thread.

Example: I am a dispatcher at a concrete company. Someone called yesterday asking for 6 yards of concrete, from the questions they asked I could safely assume they were attempting to save money with a DIY project on a back patio. I recommended that they use a pump to move the concrete (extra charge roughly $250) they said they would be fine with two wheelbarrows. I explained that moving 24,000lbs of material was going to take a long time and they only had 30 minutes to unload the truck for free... they would be charged $2/minute after in standby fees. I also recommended they use a retarder to slow the setting up process of the concrete at an extra $6 per yard because they would need more time if they had never done it before. They opted to save money instead.

End result: It took them two and a half hours to unload the truck (extra $240 in standby fees) so the pump would have saved them an insane amount of time and effort. They did not research how to finish concrete and they did not have any finishing tools. They attempted to run to home depot to purchase them halfway through the pour. Since there was no retarder the concrete began to set up on them and they could not finish the second half of the patio. I went out to take a look in person and the whole area is not level, the aggregate is showing through the concrete, and joints were not placed which means visible cracking will occur.

It was a train wreck that could have been avoided by hiring someone that knew what they were doing, or by doing some more research themselves. Anyone else have a horror story?

GuitarStv:
There are dozens of dozens of patios, walkways, and interlocking driveways clearly DIY around our neighbourhood.  Every summer I see another one or two go in.  Every spring I see that they weren't properly compacted below the interlocking brick, and the bricks start to shift/wobble.  Within two or three years there are usually big ruts all over the place and weeds poking through everywhere.  Within about five years they pretty much have to be pulled up and replaced they're so uneven.  Interlocking brick is doable as a DIY job, but it's not as easy as just laying a bunch of stones on the ground.  There appear to be few people who understand this.

horsepoor:
My dad almost electrocuted himself trying to fix something on my POS old house, where they had used a SUB PANEL for a freaking hot tub as the main service panel to the house, so there was no main shutoff.  I don't even remember what he was trying to accomplish, but I think I was begging him to stop messing with it until I called the power company to unhook it at the pole, when the lid to the panel dropped out of position and a bolt of electricity shot a hole through the conduit where it turned and went through the wall into the house.  Knocked out power to most of the block, and I had some pissed off neighbors since it was July and over 100F outside.  I spent the next week without power while a wonderfully kind co-worker who'd built his own house helped me install a proper service panel over a few nights after work.

SnackDog:
My father frugally selected my brother to install a drop ceiling in our basement. It included acoustic tiles and flourescent lighting. Fabulous interior design.  He installed it with his usual remarkable haste and complete lack of attention to detail.  A few weeks later we were all having dinner upstairs when a calamitous noise arose from beneath our feet. We crept down the stairs to find the ceiling on the floor in ruins.

paddedhat:
As a retired builder, your concrete story not only fails to tickle my sympathy bone, it actually gives me warm fuzzies. I absolutely love a good self-inflicted wound, as long as it doesn't cause anybody physical harm.

Western society suffers from two gigantic delusions. First, tradespeople are just overpaid low-lifes who couldn't find a better career. Second, skills, training and experience are not required, since anybody can do it. They know this since they watch HGTV.

It's always fun to whine about this topic with fellow tradesmen, and some of the stories can be great, including tales of flat out structural failure of  DIY abortions because silly things like proper design, adequate rafter thrust resistance, and wind bracing considerations are all ignored.

My two favorites?   First, an addition I did where the customer was going to save money by reusing old lumber for a new attached deck that he would build at the end of the project. When I stepped on the deck it felt like an old trampoline and made cracking sounds like splitting firewood. I jumped off and looked under. His floor joists were 12' 2x6s. Several had notches that exceeded half the joist depth. So, in reality he had frame a 12' deep deck with old, cracking 2x3 joists. Second was the couple who wanted to save $1100 by DIY painting the interior of their large, new two story colonial. It wasn't my gig, but while discussing this at a party I strongly advised them to rethink the plan. I knew two things about the deal. The builder was a scumbag who WELCOMED this dumb idea, since it was in the middle of a boom, and it effectively eliminated  any schedule he committed to. Second, my sub's crew needs a full week with three very productive pros. to do a job of this size. This couple, with two full time jobs and a toddler, told me that it was a great way to save, since it will only take  "a Weekend" to paint the place. We next saw them after the house was done. The paint job was pure shit, $6/gallon bone white flat, full of dirt, drips and runs. The trim and interior doors were nailed up with a coat of stain slopped over the raw wood. No sanding, or urethane. They told me that it was the job from hell and took every waking moment that they were not at work, for a MONTH to get this far. I asked about finishing the trim? The builder told them that time was up, and they would just have to varnish it in place.   

I have nothing but respect for all those here who take the time to become competent DIYers, and will gladly help anyone who needs it. But, damn, I really love to watch fools who do things like pour a six yard patch of concrete and spent the next weekend jacking it out......... Nothing like a slap in the head by reality when you suffer from the "any idiot can do it" delusion.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page