Bad diy, if your not good at something then just don't do it.

Here's another one...

About 15 years ago my wife was interested in buying a house on some acreage as a rental. She found the house she wanted to look at. Looked spectacular in the pictures! So we called up our broker and scheduled a walk-thru.

This house just defied imagination...not in a good way either! It was stick-built by the owner. The house was about 80% complete at the time. The following is just a sample of some of the things we observed....

- "Walk-out Basement" - The house had been built on the side of a hill. The "walkout" basement was a crappy earthwork job that effectively created a giant gully sloping right down to the back door!! You could see water marks on the basement walls up 2 feet!!

- I looked up in the rafters in the basement at the electrical work and saw a "red" 2/0 cable. Red??? What? 2/0??? really?? So I followed it. It went about 12 feet and over the top of a wall...where it was wire-nutted onto about a 7' section of #14 wire, which was then attached to about an 18' piece of #12 wire!! This guy had wired the house with scraps of wire. The red wire? Well the red wire was a length of battery cable!!! They even had lamp cord connected with wire nuts to Romex, running to outlets in the walls! No kidding!! I was skeered at this point, but wanted to continue just for grins. I wasn't disappointed!

- There was (what appeared to be) a beautiful two story stone fireplace in the living room, adjacent to a semi-spiral stair leading to the 2nd floor. Wow...cool, right? Well, not so much. When we got to the top of the stair, I could see daylight behind the face stone (???). The stone was attached to pieces of 1/4" Masonite...and not even supported! They'd just mortared the stone onto the Masonite and prayed (I guess while it set up). Probably 2 tons of stone which would have collapsed completely the first time a fire was lit. Oh, and the chimney...the chimney was just a standard length of ordinary round HVAC duct (not even insulated) inside this enclosure I could see daylight through (from outside)! Nope, no fire hazard there!!

I saved the best for last...

When on the 2nd level we went to look at the "kids room" so the advert said. Down the hallway there was a door, but the door wasn't flush with the floor, it was up about 14". Upon opening the door you had to step over a 14" sill to a floor at the exact same level on the other side. Now it was becoming clear they'd actually "stuck" two existing structures together and this was a structural wall. They were still finishing the sheetrock in this space...ooooooh boy were they!! All the sheetrock was just all these random irregular pieces of sheetrock...it was SCRAP. One piece would be 10" x 24", and the piece next to it would be triangular and the piece next to that would be a polygon. I was in shock! There was more sheetrock mud on this wall than sheetrock itself!

Unbelievable! True story too.

Needless to say we passed! LOL!

a reply to: Tardacus

Oh behave.
Couple of coats of paint, what you whining about?

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Ah well, less bitching and more work for people to put right eh?

a reply to: grainofsand

Try walking 500 hundred thousand miles and more, the key is under the plant at the back door on the left. Everyone's welcome.

a reply to: nonspecific

Look at it this way...

You now have the perfect excuse to use your tools, each and every day !





I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for excuses to chop, saw, grind, sand, drill, solder, braze, hammer, or set fire to something.

Iv seen and done worse lol but atleast when I do something horible I try again tell I get it right I diy almost everything

The one that drives me nuts is people who build computers to color match even tho they use bad components to get there colors or flat out incomparable ones

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk

- "Walk-out Basement" - The house had been built on the side of a hill. The "walkout" basement was a crappy earthwork job that effectively created a giant gully sloping right down to the back door!! You could see water marks on the basement walls up 2 feet!!

- I looked up in the rafters in the basement at the electrical work and saw a "red" 2/0 cable. Red??? What? 2/0??? really?? So I followed it. It went about 12 feet and over the top of a wall...where it was wire-nutted onto about a 7' section of #14 wire, which was then attached to about an 18' piece of #12 wire!! This guy had wired the house with scraps of wire. The red wire? Well the red wire was a length of battery cable!!! They even had lamp cord connected with wire nuts to Romex, running to outlets in the walls! No kidding!! I was skeered at this point, but wanted to continue just for grins. I wasn't disappointed!

- There was (what appeared to be) a beautiful two story stone fireplace in the living room, adjacent to a semi-spiral stair leading to the 2nd floor. Wow...cool, right? Well, not so much. When we got to the top of the stair, I could see daylight behind the face stone (???). The stone was attached to pieces of 1/4" Masonite...and not even supported! They'd just mortared the stone onto the Masonite and prayed (I guess while it set up). Probably 2 tons of stone which would have collapsed completely the first time a fire was lit. Oh, and the chimney...the chimney was just a standard length of ordinary round HVAC duct (not even insulated) inside this enclosure I could see daylight through (from outside)! Nope, no fire hazard there!!

I saved the best for last...

When on the 2nd level we went to look at the "kids room" so the advert said. Down the hallway there was a door, but the door wasn't flush with the floor, it was up about 14". Upon opening the door you had to step over a 14" sill to a floor at the exact same level on the other side. Now it was becoming clear they'd actually "stuck" two existing structures together and this was a structural wall. They were still finishing the sheetrock in this space...ooooooh boy were they!! All the sheetrock was just all these random irregular pieces of sheetrock...it was SCRAP. One piece would be 10" x 24", and the piece next to it would be triangular and the piece next to that would be a polygon. I was in shock! There was more sheetrock mud on this wall than sheetrock itself!

Unbelievable! True story too.

Needless to say we passed! LOL!

Having been in construction for 32 yrs that's some of the craziest stuff I've ever heard. Thanks for the laugh.

a reply to: nonspecific

I used to do finish carpentry,it amazes me how anyone could look at that and not correct it,would of looked better had they left the stool and apron off,I think some peoples taste is all in their mouths

a reply to: nonspecific

That's nothing--I bought a home (my current residence) 2.5 years ago, and it turned out to be a flipped home.

Since that purchase, I have:

- replaced moldy subfloor in the kitchen
- replaced lower cabinets due to moldy subfloor in the kitchen
- replaced entire flooring in kitchen (because of above issues)
- replaced all the windows in the home--they were either painted or swollen shut
- repaired piss-poor floor joist "repairs" by previous owners
- replaced subfloor in laundry area (above said floor joist repairs) due to water damage
- replaced flooring in laundry area
- drilled for and installed new dryer vent through exterior wall--geniuses had it venting through the floor into the crawlspace
- replaced back entry door
- replaced too much plumbing in crawlspace to count due to at least 6-8 separate leaks found over time
- re-insulated all water pipes
- re-insulated some of the crawlspace because of joist repairs or water saturation to original fiberglass insulation
- completely redid the bathroom from the floor to the exhaust vent in the ceiling (someone had stuffed a t-shirt in the vent ducting at some point...wtf???)
- capped off said exhaust vent at the ceiling
- repaired many terrible drywall patches
- replaced all faucets, both inside and out, because of performance issues
- installed new downspout because rain gutter not hung properly and water pools up at one end

Hell, I'm sure that there are other things that I've missed, like installing a bi-fold door to cover the water heater area, but this is the main gist of what I moved into. And I do the repairs properly and to an extent that exceeds most contractors, so all of these have not been fun or quick or easy. The only thing that I had done professionally in the above list were the window installations.

My point is: Offset chair rail molding isn't that bad

Yes, we're putting my house up for sale this coming year--in the process of having one built.

ETA: And that doesn't include the storage shed that I built since this home only has a carport and no garage or storage area...or the raised garden beds...or the replacement of the rear deck...or...

a reply to: SlapMonkey

Seems like you have had a rough time mate, it does put the little pic in the op to shame I admit!

Hidden issues are the worst ones as invariabley the deeper you dig the more you discover, what starts as I will just fix that one squeaky floorboard can quickly turn into the other half walking in and screaming "where the hell did the floor go???"

Sometimes it is best to leave those little problems be and deal with the insomnia, it is cheaper in the long run.

originally posted by: Oldtimer2
a reply to: nonspecific

I used to do finish carpentry,it amazes me how anyone could look at that and not correct it,would of looked better had they left the stool and apron off,I think some peoples taste is all in their mouths

To be fair it is a council owned property so there is a good chance that it was half four on a Friday afternoon and he simply thought "# it" and chipped of to the pub.

a reply to: nonspecific

But it's impossible for me to do that--I'm too much of a perfectionist.

And don't get me started on the squeaky floors in my house...

One of my friends agreed to paint someone's bathroom for her and while he was preparing everything she toddled of to the DIY shop to buy paint. What she came back with was (sort of) pin-striped wallpaper.

Like an idiot he agreed to carry on and do the job, a decision he soon regretted.

Just as he was starting to hang the wallpaper she came marching in with a plumb-line and insisted that he use it to ensure the stripes were straight.

He wasn't too sure about that so in order to help him do the job properly she stood right over him holding the plumb-line and screaming and yelling instructions: No, no, NO. This way, this way. etc. etc right down his earhole.

Now I only just about rate as a cowboy but that idea looked pretty daft to me. How the heck is it supposed to work? Even if you get it straight all you have to do is breathe or twitch and it starts moving around. What if the walls or floors aren't straight to start with? What if you're standing on a bump in the carpet? How are you supposed to hang wallpaper if you've got one hand holding a plumb-line straight? How do you manage it with another person standing on top of you holding the plumb-line for you.

If it's a two person job, who gets the blame if the stripes don't end up straight?

a reply to: berenike

You just use a long spirit level and draw a pencil line first.
It's not difficult.

*edit*
The woman in your story sounds annoying though, I would have told her to shove it and walked off the job.

originally posted by: grainofsand
a reply to: berenike

You just use a long spirit level and draw a pencil line first.
It's not difficult.

Or if your posh use a laser level but a bubble is just as good and does not cost as much.

They are handy for fitting kitchens and tiling mind.

a reply to: nonspecific

I've only ever used a laser for a large ground clearance job.
I'm old school and like my bubbles...I do keep a plumb bob in my box for emergencies though, used it once in 30 odd years lol

originally posted by: berenike
One of my friends agreed to paint someone's bathroom for her and while he was preparing everything she toddled of to the DIY shop to buy paint. What she came back with was (sort of) pin-striped wallpaper.

Like an idiot he agreed to carry on and do the job, a decision he soon regretted.

Just as he was starting to hang the wallpaper she came marching in with a plumb-line and insisted that he use it to ensure the stripes were straight.

He wasn't too sure about that so in order to help him do the job properly she stood right over him holding the plumb-line and screaming and yelling instructions: No, no, NO. This way, this way. etc. etc right down his earhole.

Now I only just about rate as a cowboy but that idea looked pretty daft to me. How the heck is it supposed to work? Even if you get it straight all you have to do is breathe or twitch and it starts moving around. What if the walls or floors aren't straight to start with? What if you're standing on a bump in the carpet? How are you supposed to hang wallpaper if you've got one hand holding a plumb-line straight? How do you manage it with another person standing on top of you holding the plumb-line for you.

If it's a two person job, who gets the blame if the stripes don't end up straight?

A long time before men had clothes on their backs or had lifted one stone on top of another or had a launguage to talk off , there was always a painter going about his work


It is magik how they get the paper to meet across a whole room ,

Yep, to be honest they are nifty but not really any quicker or better than a decent 6ft level.

I don't think I have ever used a plumb bob though.

originally posted by: berenike
One of my friends agreed to paint someone's bathroom for her and while he was preparing everything she toddled of to the DIY shop to buy paint. What she came back with was (sort of) pin-striped wallpaper.

Like an idiot he agreed to carry on and do the job, a decision he soon regretted.

Just as he was starting to hang the wallpaper she came marching in with a plumb-line and insisted that he use it to ensure the stripes were straight.

He wasn't too sure about that so in order to help him do the job properly she stood right over him holding the plumb-line and screaming and yelling instructions: No, no, NO. This way, this way. etc. etc right down his earhole.

Now I only just about rate as a cowboy but that idea looked pretty daft to me. How the heck is it supposed to work? Even if you get it straight all you have to do is breathe or twitch and it starts moving around. What if the walls or floors aren't straight to start with? What if you're standing on a bump in the carpet? How are you supposed to hang wallpaper if you've got one hand holding a plumb-line straight? How do you manage it with another person standing on top of you holding the plumb-line for you.

If it's a two person job, who gets the blame if the stripes don't end up straight?

This reminds of of an ex who was banging on about me putting up some old pine doors she had bought on ebay cheap and I wanted to relax on the weekend.

She banged on that much and was on top of me the whole time I was putting the first one up that I hung it upside down by mistake and when she saw it I told her that it was a Georgian door and meant to be hung that way and then had to fit the rest wrong as well.

I imagine she still tells people that ther are Georgian and are supposed to be like that to this day.

Well, for everyone's information there were no lasers, pencils or bubbles. Just a piece of string with a weight on it and lots of shouting

And, Stoner William, perhaps you could explain that magic to me. When I papered my ceiling I had to cut the paper into lengths half the room's length because my table wasn't long enough to see me all the way across. Plus my arms ached.

I fell off that bloody table, too.