Your Worst DIY Cock-Up?
Discussion
Stripping out a bathroom in a house I was renovating, I put a breaker bar behind the skirting upstairs and prized it off only for it to ping off the nail and smash the pipe going to the radiator which then flooded the dining room, wrecked the ceiling and filled the fuse box with water.
Many moons ago when i was still living with my parents I offered to paint the living room...
Being stupid & creative I decided to get a bit Rolf Harris and paint a life size Renault 5 Turbo down one wall, but used the sample pot of paint.
"Yes thats very nice Steamer... now stop showing off and paint the bloody wall!"
Three coats of paint and one year later you could still see the hot hatch showing through underneath
Being stupid & creative I decided to get a bit Rolf Harris and paint a life size Renault 5 Turbo down one wall, but used the sample pot of paint.
"Yes thats very nice Steamer... now stop showing off and paint the bloody wall!"
Three coats of paint and one year later you could still see the hot hatch showing through underneath
Used the supplied template to mark the mounting holes for a cooker hood I was putting up for my brother one evening. Got on the worktop, started to drill & went right into the bloody cooker feed. Almighty flash followed by pitch blackness......... thought I was dead for a while until my brother said "Christ this is going to cost me a fortune".
There's thanks for you.........
There's thanks for you.........
I made a shelf unit to fit into an alcove of one of the spare bedrooms. This was over five feet wide and eight feet high with shelves spaced every foot or so.
Went together very well. It was only when I went to put it in place that the trouble started. It was too wide.
I had to remove the skirting boards to make it fit.
Went together very well. It was only when I went to put it in place that the trouble started. It was too wide.
I had to remove the skirting boards to make it fit.
On fitting the washing machine into my new kitchen it developed a fault and would not pump the water out. I returned it under warranty but the replacement displayed the same fault. The help desk girl then enquired if I had removed the blanking caps from inside the newly fitted sink waste? 
Edited by 911motorsport on Sunday 21st September 21:47
Wanted to fit a shut-off valve to the water storage tank in the attic so that I could isolate it if needed.
So I drained said tank, cut through the pipe at the point where I wanted the valve, which promptly pissed water everywhere - turned out I'd cut the pipe from the central heating header tank instead, I managed to stop the flow with my thumb on the pipe, only to remember that no-one else was in the house and wouldn't be back for hours.
I was in a small attic space above the living room and any buckets I had were in the garage, after sitting for ages holding back the flow - like the proverbial Dutch boy with his finger in the Dyke (Ooer missus)
I decided to run downstairs & outside to get some buckets and then get back as quickly as possible to catch what water I could.
By the time I got back the whole lot had emptied in the attic, the majority of which had run through the floor and subsequently the living room ceiling below and run all over the TV directly below and then flooded the room and to top it all off on the way back in to the attic (it is very low and need to crawl in) I crawled on to a piece of board that I'd had to remove to do the job which I'd left some nails in and got about an inch of nail into my knee
It isn't a huge tank, maybe 10 - 15 litres but it sure looked alot on the wooden floor in the room below.
So I drained said tank, cut through the pipe at the point where I wanted the valve, which promptly pissed water everywhere - turned out I'd cut the pipe from the central heating header tank instead, I managed to stop the flow with my thumb on the pipe, only to remember that no-one else was in the house and wouldn't be back for hours.
I was in a small attic space above the living room and any buckets I had were in the garage, after sitting for ages holding back the flow - like the proverbial Dutch boy with his finger in the Dyke (Ooer missus)
I decided to run downstairs & outside to get some buckets and then get back as quickly as possible to catch what water I could. By the time I got back the whole lot had emptied in the attic, the majority of which had run through the floor and subsequently the living room ceiling below and run all over the TV directly below and then flooded the room and to top it all off on the way back in to the attic (it is very low and need to crawl in) I crawled on to a piece of board that I'd had to remove to do the job which I'd left some nails in and got about an inch of nail into my knee
It isn't a huge tank, maybe 10 - 15 litres but it sure looked alot on the wooden floor in the room below.
Needed to move the mains water pipe running into my flat. Asked the old biddies (nice but fretful) in the flat downstairs to turn off the mains to the whole house. Hacksawed the old pipe by reaching under the floorboards (fiddly, slow and lots of cussing). Cut a new run. Pensioners downstairs getting a bit impatient with no water (and nervous at DIY plumbery going on above them). Attached the new pipe. Job's a good'un. "You can turn on the water now". Except it wasn't. The hacksaw had jumped and I'd nicked the supply trying to cut the old pipe. There was water spraying out - dripping into the flat below. "Everything's fine!" I shouted. I put a tea towel on it and waited for the people downstairs to go out. Nipped downstairs and broke in to their flat using their spare keys. Turned off the mains again. Mopped up the water that had dripped into their larder. Now getting very nervous that I might be caught red handed.... Cut the pipe in their larder below the nick and ran a new pipe from there up into my flat. Turned the water on, praying. Yes, no leaks. Bolted back to my gaff before they returned. The biddies below were none the wiser...
Also in the bathroom of that flat there was a large pipe coming out of the floor - ended in a cap. We needed to get rid of it and knew it wasn't connected to the water. My brother stubbed his toe on it one day and decided it had to go. I managed to stop him before he attacked it with a hacksaw. We unscrewed the cap to have a loud hissing and the strong smell of gas. If we'd hacksawed that pipe, it would have been a rather messy disaster...
Also in the bathroom of that flat there was a large pipe coming out of the floor - ended in a cap. We needed to get rid of it and knew it wasn't connected to the water. My brother stubbed his toe on it one day and decided it had to go. I managed to stop him before he attacked it with a hacksaw. We unscrewed the cap to have a loud hissing and the strong smell of gas. If we'd hacksawed that pipe, it would have been a rather messy disaster...
Loads!
1. Found a loose floorboard, decided it needed nailing down. Couldn't find any nails but turned up some long woodscrews. Dug out cordless driver, wound the screw in. Marvellous. Went downstairs and found water coming through the lounge ceiling. Ah, so THAT's why the board was loose.
2. Replumbed the bathroom so all the pipes were hidden in the wall. Might have been a good idea to pressure-test it before replastering and tiling the wall? Nah, it'll be fine. Filled up the radiator circuit and all seemed hunky-dork... but the next morning the landing carpet was all wet. WTF? Eventually (and expensively) discovered one poorly-soldered joint. INSIDE the bloody wall
3. Electrics, that HAS to be easier, yes? Well no, actually. Rewired the garage then fitted a plasterboard ceiling to keep the draughts down. Went back in house to find all electrics were dead. Main RCD had tripped and wouldn't reset. Had to rip half the new garage ceiling down to find which screw had gone through the side of a joist and through the lighting cable...
4. I know - gardening! What could possibly go wrong? Well, how about the petrol strimmer throwing a stone through the patio door?
1. Found a loose floorboard, decided it needed nailing down. Couldn't find any nails but turned up some long woodscrews. Dug out cordless driver, wound the screw in. Marvellous. Went downstairs and found water coming through the lounge ceiling. Ah, so THAT's why the board was loose.
2. Replumbed the bathroom so all the pipes were hidden in the wall. Might have been a good idea to pressure-test it before replastering and tiling the wall? Nah, it'll be fine. Filled up the radiator circuit and all seemed hunky-dork... but the next morning the landing carpet was all wet. WTF? Eventually (and expensively) discovered one poorly-soldered joint. INSIDE the bloody wall
3. Electrics, that HAS to be easier, yes? Well no, actually. Rewired the garage then fitted a plasterboard ceiling to keep the draughts down. Went back in house to find all electrics were dead. Main RCD had tripped and wouldn't reset. Had to rip half the new garage ceiling down to find which screw had gone through the side of a joist and through the lighting cable...
4. I know - gardening! What could possibly go wrong? Well, how about the petrol strimmer throwing a stone through the patio door?
I'm always really careful up in the loft. I always make sure I know where I'm going to put my feet. As a result I've never fallen through the ceiling into the rooms below the loft.
It's a shame I didn't take the same care when I was moving an upstairs radiator. I had the floor up, and didn't really think to be careful, when I stepped backwards, and found myself in the living room!
I don't recommend it.
It's a shame I didn't take the same care when I was moving an upstairs radiator. I had the floor up, and didn't really think to be careful, when I stepped backwards, and found myself in the living room!
I don't recommend it.
Replacing a small shelf the previous owners of the house had fitted underneath the fuse box after repainting the hall.
Couldn't find the original screws holding the shelf to the wall, but found some which looked exactly the same.
Turns out the previous owners where lucky - the old screws must have been about 0.5mm short of going straight through into the downstairs lighting circuit from the fuse box buried in the wall, behind the screw-holes for the shelf.
I, on the other hand, am not lucky. Stood on a chair, happily screwing said shelf back into the wall, there was an almighty bang/blue-flash, and all the lights went out.
I went for a bit of a sit-down. In the dark.
Couldn't find the original screws holding the shelf to the wall, but found some which looked exactly the same.
Turns out the previous owners where lucky - the old screws must have been about 0.5mm short of going straight through into the downstairs lighting circuit from the fuse box buried in the wall, behind the screw-holes for the shelf.
I, on the other hand, am not lucky. Stood on a chair, happily screwing said shelf back into the wall, there was an almighty bang/blue-flash, and all the lights went out.
I went for a bit of a sit-down. In the dark.
During heavy rain, about twice a year, a building in my garden would flood.
I decided to raise it five inches, replace some of the framing that had rotted due to dampness and change its outer skin.
I had all the wood and concrete ready, I went to the tool rental to hire half a dozen jacks but was told they no longer rented then due to liablity.
I went ahead anyway, I cut angles on lot of 2x4s and used them as props using a small sledge hammer to drive them into place.
It was all going to plan until I started to remove the old siding and it became very unstable occilating between a rhombus and a trapezoid.
Had a few very scary moments.
Building had two phase and single phase electric which was not initially disconnected
After the first bad wobble I decided power from the the house
using an extension cord was wise.
I was ultimately successful.
I decided to raise it five inches, replace some of the framing that had rotted due to dampness and change its outer skin.
I had all the wood and concrete ready, I went to the tool rental to hire half a dozen jacks but was told they no longer rented then due to liablity.
I went ahead anyway, I cut angles on lot of 2x4s and used them as props using a small sledge hammer to drive them into place.
It was all going to plan until I started to remove the old siding and it became very unstable occilating between a rhombus and a trapezoid.
Had a few very scary moments.
Building had two phase and single phase electric which was not initially disconnected
After the first bad wobble I decided power from the the houseusing an extension cord was wise.
I was ultimately successful.
i do get a lot of stick of my one mate when it comes to silicone. Now Im a firm believer in, if you can silicone do it, if you cant leave it well alone, now i like to think im pretty damn good at silicone work, when you seal 2 baths in place everyday for 2 years you get quite good at it lol. I was then asked to fit a kitchen worktop into mates work shop, i was given a worktop that was i dont know 300mm long(not really just an example) to fit this into a hole, 325mm wide...it was going to fit snug with 12.5 mm either side. so i fitted it as best as i could....His old man then stopped me from taking my time with my silicone work, and just filled those gaps up, horrible mess...i still get stick for it off him, even after pointing out his old man siliconed it in.
To be fair though i usually end up doing bodge up repair work when im on site in council houses, not DIY cock ups thata re mine, but more other peoples. Like the geniuses who carpet the bath panel or wall paper the bath panel, you cant mask to them if you do with wall paper you end up ripping the wall paper off. Even had to use council techniques sometimes, like if a tile comes off or you rip wall paper, silicone it back down, yes i know you shouldnt really but some of these council tenants are f
kers, they will have you for anything they can get money out of, so you have to bodge sometimes, they will try and stiff you for anything. one woman tried to get us to put a whole new carpet in her house because of one mark....she got the whole thing replaced, yet no one agreed to the work to be done, so she stiffed her self for 500 quids worth of carpet....
Council houses are the best for DIY cock ups, they really are some of the work ive seen done in them is hillarious, laminate flooring planks nailed down onto the stairs, colour schemes that could make an onion cry, shower curtain which was just door beads, half a kitchen not even screwed down, kitchen doors put on backwards with the handles in the correct positions ive seen some classics over the years
To be fair though i usually end up doing bodge up repair work when im on site in council houses, not DIY cock ups thata re mine, but more other peoples. Like the geniuses who carpet the bath panel or wall paper the bath panel, you cant mask to them if you do with wall paper you end up ripping the wall paper off. Even had to use council techniques sometimes, like if a tile comes off or you rip wall paper, silicone it back down, yes i know you shouldnt really but some of these council tenants are f
kers, they will have you for anything they can get money out of, so you have to bodge sometimes, they will try and stiff you for anything. one woman tried to get us to put a whole new carpet in her house because of one mark....she got the whole thing replaced, yet no one agreed to the work to be done, so she stiffed her self for 500 quids worth of carpet....Council houses are the best for DIY cock ups, they really are some of the work ive seen done in them is hillarious, laminate flooring planks nailed down onto the stairs, colour schemes that could make an onion cry, shower curtain which was just door beads, half a kitchen not even screwed down, kitchen doors put on backwards with the handles in the correct positions ive seen some classics over the years
Spent the best part of five nights and the whole weekend stripping paint off the staircase and landing handrail. Finally rubbing down with wire-wool, so as to be ready for a first coat of button polish the following day. Only the wife (now ex) thought she would help by giving it a coat of wood primer. 
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