c/diy-repairs

Just overheard a guy at the hardware store in Austin say he glued PVC with the wrong cement

I was grabbing some fittings yesterday and this older fella was telling a friend how he used regular PVC cement on a schedule 80 pipe at 90 PSI. It burst after 3 hours and soaked his whole basement workshop. Has anyone else dealt with pressure-rated glue failures on a repair like that?

TIL my "quick fix" for a leaky faucet turned into a 4 hour plumbing adventure in my kitchen sink last Saturday.

Update: That time my garage sink backed up and I fixed it with a shop vac

Last Saturday I was washing paint brushes and noticed the water wasn't draining at all. It just sat there getting gross. I tried plunging it for like 10 minutes and nothing moved. Then I remembered a tip from an old plumbing forum about using a wet/dry vac to pull clogs. I grabbed my 5 gallon Ridgid shop vac, sealed the hose around the drain opening with a rag, and turned it on. After about 30 seconds I heard this loud gurgle and a bunch of sludge came flying up into the hose. The drain cleared instantly and I felt like a genius. Has anyone else tried the shop vac trick for a stubborn sink clog?

The thermostat debate at my father-in-law's cabin in Big Bear changed my whole approach

My father-in-law swears by setting his thermostat to a constant 72 degrees year round, no adjustments. I've always been a fan of programming it to drop to 65 at night and when nobody's home. Last winter at his cabin in Big Bear, I saw his gas bill hit $280 in January while mine was under $150 with the same square footage. But he argued that constant temps keep the furnace from working too hard and extend its life. Now I'm wondering if the wear and tear on a furnace is really worth the $130 a month savings, or if he's got a point about longevity. Has anyone else done the math on this or replaced a furnace early from too much cycling?

Found a stat about water damage that flipped my whole approach to plumbing

I was about to cheap out and fix a leaky pipe under my sink with just some plumber's tape and hope. Then I read on a plumbing forum that 1 in 60 insured homes files a water damage claim each year, with the average payout around $10,000. That number shocked me because I always thought it was rare and not that costly. The source was a report from the Insurance Information Institute that someone linked in a thread about failing DIY fixes. So I spent the extra $15 on a proper compression fitting and a shutoff valve instead of masking the problem. Has anyone else had a small leak turn into a huge bill because they cut corners?

Took me 4 years to realize I was sanding wood grain the wrong direction on every project

I was at a maker space in Detroit and this retired carpenter watched me for 30 seconds before pointing out I was sanding against the grain on a maple desk top. Has anyone else had a basic technique click years late because you just never had anyone correct you?

My shed shelf finally stopped sagging after I switched to 2x4s

Used to just throw particle board on some brackets for my shed shelves in Portland. Every 6 months they'd sag and stuff would slide off. Last month I got fed up and ripped it all out, put in actual 2x4 ledger strips screwed into the studs. Then laid 3/4 plywood across em. Thing feels like I could park a car on it now. Anybody else do the cheap shelf route and regret it for years before fixing it?

Finally using a heat gun instead of a hairdryer for shrink tubing

I used to struggle with my wife's hairdryer for shrink tubing on speaker wire repairs, took forever and never looked clean. Picked up a cheap Weller heat gun at a garage sale for $8 last month and now I'm done in 30 seconds flat. Anyone else fight with the wrong tool way too long before upgrading?

Hit the 10,000 screw mark on my old Craftsman driver today and it still works like new

I counted every box I emptied into the recycling bin over the last 6 years. That little cordless driver has been through 2 deck builds, a shed, and fixing up my neighbors fence. Never oiled it, never replaced the chuck. Just kept chucking bits in and out. I honestly thought it would die around 5,000 but it keeps going. How many screws do you guys figure a mid range tool can handle before the motor gives out?

Spent 4 hours patching drywall only to mess up the texture

the hole was maybe 6 inches across but after all that work it looked worse than when I started. Second time around I used setting compound instead of premix and it held up way better. Still ended up with a weird smooth patch in a popcorn ceiling though. How do you guys blend new texture into old without making a mess?

TIL older drywall anchors are a whole different animal

I had to pick between those old school metal toggle bolts and the newer zip-it plastic anchors for hanging a heavy mirror in my 1920s house last weekend. I went with the toggle bolts cause the plaster walls are so thick and crumbly here. Man, what a hassle getting those springs to catch behind the wall, took me three tries on one hole. Has anyone else dealt with old plaster walls and found a go-to anchor that actually works?

Had a kitchen sink pipe burst at 2am on a Saturday what a nightmare

So I'm laying in bed around 2 in the morning and I hear this weird dripping noise coming from downstairs. Thought it was the cat messing with something but nope. Went down to the kitchen and water was spraying out from under the sink like a fountain. The PVC pipe just cracked right at the joint where it connects to the trap. No warning nothing. I had to turn off the main water valve at 2:15am in my pajamas and then spend 20 minutes trying to find my pipe wrench in the garage. Ended up using some epoxy putty as a temp fix until Sunday morning when I could get to the hardware store. Has anyone else had a pipe fail on them in the middle of the night like that? What'd you use for a quick patch?

Found out my washing machine drain pump had a hidden filter I never cleaned in 5 years

I was over at my buddy Mike's place last week helping him fix his clogged sink. He's got this old Samsung washer that just stopped draining one day. He pulls off the front panel and shows me this little trap door with a filter inside. It was full of coins, hair, and this nasty black sludge. I told him I never even knew that was a thing. He laughed and said most machines have them. Got home that night and checked mine, sure enough it had the same setup. Pulled out about 15 cents in change and a whole wad of lint that must have been building up for years. The machine drains way faster now and doesn't make that grinding noise anymore. Anyone else miss this maintenance step for years?

Vent: hit 500 drywall screws on my basement and it got real

I've been finishing my basement over the last month and honestly I stopped counting mudding joints after a while. But yesterday I was hanging the last few sheets and decided to track every screw I put in. By the time I finished the ceiling alone, I had sunk 512 screws. That's not counting the ones I stripped and had to pull out. Ngl, my drill arm is feeling it today and I'm only halfway done with the walls. It hit me that each one of those screws has to be covered with mud and sanded smooth. Has anyone else ever actually counted how many screws go into a single room? I'm wondering if I should just hire out the taping at this point.

Had a 1990s Honda mower that just wouldn't quit vs my new $600 Toro that already failed

My old Honda mower from '92 finally gave up after 28 years. Last month I dropped $600 on a fancy Toro self propelled model. Three weeks in the drive belt snapped. Two weeks after that the blade wobbled loose and left a gouge in my lawn. The Honda never needed a thing beyond oil changes. Are these new mowers built to break on purpose or did I just pick a lemon?

Pro tip: Harbor Freight heat gun vs Wagner for vinyl wrap removal

Tried the $12 Harbor Freight heat gun after struggling with my Wagner for 45 minutes, and it peeled that old vinyl off my truck door in 10 flat - anyone else found a cheap tool that outperforms the name brand?

Shoutout to the guy at Ace Hardware who watched me buy three different faucet cartridges before I got the right one

Went through 5 trips and 2 hours of swearing under the sink to replace a single kitchen faucet cartridge because the model number had worn off and I didn't think to just bring the old one in for the guy to match on the first try.

Found out my toaster oven draws 1500 watts and now I'm scared to plug it into the same circuit as my coffee maker

I was checking the specs on a replacement heating element for my old Black & Decker and saw the label says 1500W which blew my mind since I've been running both it and my Mr. Coffee on the same kitchen outlet for years without tripping the breaker - has anyone else discovered their small appliances are secretly power hogs and had to rewire a room?

Just got into a heated debate at the hardware store about using silicone vs sanded caulk for baseboards

A guy in the aisle told me silicone is better because it stays flexible, but I've always used sanded caulk for the paintable finish. Has anyone else had a contractor give them totally opposite advice on what's actually standard?

The guy at Ace Hardware changed my mind about using silicone caulk for gutter repairs

I was all set to grab a tube of roof cement for my downspout crack when the old clerk said 'try this instead, it won't crumble in a year.' He handed me a $7 tube of GE Silicone II and showed me how to prep the plastic with a heat gun first, and six months later that patch is still holding tight. Has anyone else had luck with silicone over traditional patch goop on vinyl gutters?

Don't get me started on those $300 smart water shutoff valves

I bought a Flo by Moen valve last year for $300 thinking it would save me from water damage. Installed it myself, took about 4 hours with all the pipe cutting and soldering. Thing is, it keeps giving me false alerts every time someone runs the washing machine. I've had to adjust the sensitivity three times and it still acts up. Meanwhile my buddy has a simple $50 mechanical timer on his sprinkler system that's been flawless for 5 years. I honestly think the smart home hype on these things is way overblown. Has anyone else found a reliable alternative that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?

Fixed my dripping outdoor spigot with a $5 washer and it took 15 minutes

Had a hose bib in my backyard that dripped nonstop for months. Drove me crazy every time I walked past it. Took it apart last Saturday and found the rubber washer was basically disintegrated, probably from the hard water here in Phoenix. Replaced it with a new one from Ace Hardware and tightened the packing nut a quarter turn. No more drip. Has anyone else dealt with washers that seem to wear out way faster than they should?

Picked a $30 hand planer over a $100 electric one for a single door trim job

I had to shave down a hollow core door that was binding on the frame, so I grabbed a cheap Stanley hand planer instead of renting a power one. Took me about 20 minutes of slow passes but I got a nice smooth edge with zero tear out. Has anyone else gone the manual route on a simple job and been surprised it worked better than the power tool?

Stripping stripped screws with a rubber band actually works

I saw a tip online about using a rubber band over a stripped screw head to get grip, so I tried it on a stuck cabinet hinge screw in my kitchen last night. It grabbed on the third try and saved me from drilling it out. Has anyone else had luck with this or found a better trick for stubborn screws?

That old guy at the hardware store set me straight about soldering irons yesterday

I was at Ace Hardware over on Broad Street picking up a new drain snake (mine finally gave out after 8 years of abuse) and this older gentleman, probably in his 70s, overheard me complaining to the clerk about how modern tools just don't last. He laughed and said 'son, the problem ain't the tools, it's that you stopped learning how to use them right.' Then he went on about how he still uses a Weller soldering iron from 1985 and how he replaces the tips instead of buying a whole new station every few years like people do now. It really hit me because I've been guilty of just tossing stuff and buying new when a simple fix would do. I've got a broken lamp at home with a cold solder joint I've been avoiding for 3 months and now I feel kinda dumb about it. Anyone else had a random stranger at a store totally call them out on their repair habits?