Friday OT - I broke it worse

[coolerifyoudid]

The stuck bolt thread got me thinking about repairs or projects I've attempted that have ended up in worse shape due to ability or loss of temper.

Last year, I was doing some landscaping. I was scoring and chiseling some pavers for a decorative path. I was struggling with one unique cut, mis-cutting it twice. On the third attempt, the paver split, I mashed my finger and it set me off. I ended up cursing and throwing the paver to the side.... right into a flower pot stand, knocking it over and smashing one of the pots.

What "repairs" have you made worse?

 

[wxman1]

The stuck bolt thread got me thinking about repairs or projects I've attempted that have ended up in worse shape due to ability or loss of temper.

Last year, I was doing some landscaping. I was scoring and chiseling some pavers for a decorative path. I was struggling with one unique cut, mis-cutting it twice. On the third attempt, the paver split, I mashed my finger and it set me off. I ended up cursing and throwing the paver to the side.... right into a flower pot stand, knocking it over and smashing one of the pots.

What "repairs" have you made worse?

Unfortunately I am not handy so I have to say most of them. One in particular was a play set that we got for free. Taking it apart, transporting it to our house and putting it back together was a multi weekend frustrating experience.

 

[Angie]

I am not super-handy, so I don't work on many things that require tools (unless I get tired of waiting for @Mr Janny to put them together, and I do it myself - like the grill we got for our wedding that sat in the box for a year until I built it myself).

When we first moved into our previous house, I was mid-way through giving my daughter a bath for the first time and discovered that there was a small hole in the shell of the bathtub. The hole was was not large, and the previous owners clearly had only taken showers, so it wasn't an emergency - but I didn't want to saturate the subfloor and have the bath eventually go crashing through the floor. I needed an immediate solution, so I took a Ziploc bag and used waterproof tape to stick it over the hole. Janny was sort of "meh" on fixing it, so I left that jank-ass solution in place for months until I got to Lowe's and found some sealant gum to put over the top of it.

 

[mywayorcyway]

I fix a lot of stuff around the house because a) I'm generally handy and b) my house is a piece of ****. Should have burned it to the ground years ago.

The one I really screwed up that cost me some money was the feeder for my pool return lines. There is a set of gears that are propelled by water as it runs through the system. There are six gates that open and close as the gears spin, the gates effectively seal that particular zone closed until it is its' turn. Six gates, one open at a time.

The gates weren't working and when I opened it up, I saw two of them misaligned. So two are open all of the time and often a third, and nothing is working right. I bought two new gates ($25/each) and got to work. The gates came right off (which they shouldn't have) but there was still epoxy on the guides. Most of this is made of plastic, including the plate the holds the gates. Tried to scrape it off but it was too small of an area to really get it right. Stuff is pretty precise.

After working at it and getting frustrated, I had my light bulb moment. Heat it up! Then I can just scrape it off with a small tool. I get to work with my heat gun.

Ummmmmm.....it's plastic, you moron. I melted the guides and a pretty good chunk of the mounting plate. Apparently the plastic melting point is much lower than the epoxy.

I'm unhappy with myself and resigned to my fate. I've already made this much worse and if I screw it up any more, it's going to get really expensive. So I call my pool guy, who has been here maybe three times in six years. Really good dude.

He comes over and says "what the hell happened to this thing?"

Shame kicks in. "uhhhhhh....I had some wanna be pool repairman offer to fix it for me for cheap. He melted the stupid thing."

Pool guy looks at me and says "I see." He did not buy it.

$450 later and everything was fixed. Had to replace the entire plate. Works like a champ now.

 

[jcyclonee]

A couple of years ago, my wife decided to put barn wood shelves up in our bathroom resting on piping. Hanging the shelves went relatively smoothly. A couple of days later we wanted to close the pocket door to our laundry room next door to the bathroom. The door wouldn't come out of the pocket because it had several screws in it from hanging the shelves.

 

[mywayorcyway]

A couple of years ago, my wife decided to put barn wood shelves up in our bathroom resting on piping. Hanging the shelves went relatively smoothly. A couple of days later we wanted to close the pocket door to our laundry room next door to the bathroom. The door wouldn't come out of the pocket because it had several screws in it from hanging the shelves.

That's fantastic. Job well done!

 

[BCClone]

A couple of years ago, my wife decided to put barn wood shelves up in our bathroom resting on piping. Hanging the shelves went relatively smoothly. A couple of days later we wanted to close the pocket door to our laundry room next door to the bathroom. The door wouldn't come out of the pocket because it had several screws in it from hanging the shelves.

Your wife did that?????

 

[jcyclonee]

Your wife did that?????

I guess I should have said that my wife decided to have me hang the shelves.

 

[awd4cy]

 

[Isualum13]

Shortly after I bought me house a few years ago I was replacing the dryer vent on the exterior of my house. Dryer is in the basement. I had to reach over the water heater from a ladder to attach the outside vent to the inside vent. I slip and fall into the PVC supply line to the water heater breaking it causing water to rush into the basement. Fortunately there was a shut off valve right above where it broke. Unfortunately it was stuck open. The house shut off was being a pain too. (They both work wonderfully now) So I go find my channel locks to get more leverage on the valve to the water heater and get that shut although it still dripped slowly. This is the day that I learned the drain in the basement by the washer didnt work well (it does now). So I got the shop vac out. Wasnt too much water but was enough to piss me off. I was able to repair the supply line with the help of a friend.

Had to replace the water heater shortly after. I paid someone to do that. I had them replace the valve too.

 

[BuffettClone]

A couple of years ago, my wife decided to put barn wood shelves up in our bathroom resting on piping. Hanging the shelves went relatively smoothly. A couple of days later we wanted to close the pocket door to our laundry room next door to the bathroom. The door wouldn't come out of the pocket because it had several screws in it from hanging the shelves.

I knew what happened as soon as I read pocket door, I guarantee there are many others who have made the same mistake.

 

[mywayorcyway]

The broken PVC story from above reminded me of a story from my last house. This was a repair but it was on something that wasn't broken...just old.

My current house is a piece of junk, but my last one was rock solid. 11 years of ownership, almost no problems. I didn't know how good I had it at the time.

We put the house up for sale and the realtor came over and went through everything. Recommended a few minor repairs, none of which were an issue. One thing she seemed to focus on was the sump pump. Our sump tank was in the sub-basement, which was laundry/water heater/furnace/storage. Still a decent sized room, probably 25'x15'. Concrete floor with an old piece of carpet that was there when we moved in.

Realtor says "that pump is really old and you don't want it to give out while you're trying to sell the house." Pump has always worked flawlessly, but you're the pro. I replace it.

A month or so later, house is under contract. I'm out picking something up I had bought off Craigslist in preparation for the move and the better half calls. "There's water in the basement." What? How? We've never had water in the basement.

I get home, there's an inch of water on the floor. WTF? The new pump isn't running. And it's pouring outside. Back to Home Depot to buy another pump, and now I'm fighting the tank filling up while I'm trying to replace this stupid thing. I'm basically working underwater. Infuriating, but I do get it fixed.

All of the storage was raised so there wasn't really any damage, except for that stupid carpet. No pad, just some old carpet. Looked like it came from a business after they ripped it out.

I didn't want to get any strange questions after the walkthrough about "where did the sub-basement carpet go?", so I drug the now super heavy carpet into the garage, put it up on blocks/ramps/anything I could find to get it off the ground, doused the entire thing in Febreeze and let fans run on it for a few days.

Sub-basement smelled like the inside of a Febreeze bottle. I never told anyone and no one asked.

Why did I replace that pump?

On the bright side, Home Depot did refund my money AND gave me a replacement pump.

 

[SCyclone]

I fix a lot of stuff around the house because a) I'm generally handy and b) my house is a piece of ****. Should have burned it to the ground years ago.

The one I really screwed up that cost me some money was the feeder for my pool return lines. There is a set of gears that are propelled by water as it runs through the system. There are six gates that open and close as the gears spin, the gates effectively seal that particular zone closed until it is its' turn. Six gates, one open at a time.

The gates weren't working and when I opened it up, I saw two of them misaligned. So two are open all of the time and often a third, and nothing is working right. I bought two new gates ($25/each) and got to work. The gates came right off (which they shouldn't have) but there was still epoxy on the guides. Most of this is made of plastic, including the plate the holds the gates. Tried to scrape it off but it was too small of an area to really get it right. Stuff is pretty precise.

After working at it and getting frustrated, I had my light bulb moment. Heat it up! Then I can just scrape it off with a small tool. I get to work with my heat gun.

Ummmmmm.....it's plastic, you moron. I melted the guides and a pretty good chunk of the mounting plate. Apparently the plastic melting point is much lower than the epoxy.

I'm unhappy with myself and resigned to my fate. I've already made this much worse and if I screw it up any more, it's going to get really expensive. So I call my pool guy, who has been here maybe three times in six years. Really good dude.

He comes over and says "what the hell happened to this thing?"

Shame kicks in. "uhhhhhh....I had some wanna be pool repairman offer to fix it for me for cheap. He melted the stupid thing."

Pool guy looks at me and says "I see." He did not buy it.

$450 later and everything was fixed. Had to replace the entire plate. Works like a champ now.

Lots of bonus points for honesty. Well, with us, anyway. Not so much with the pool repairman.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

Shortly after I bought me house a few years ago I was replacing the dryer vent on the exterior of my house. Dryer is in the basement. I had to reach over the water heater from a ladder to attach the outside vent to the inside vent. I slip and fall into the PVC supply line to the water heater breaking it causing water to rush into the basement. Fortunately there was a shut off valve right above where it broke. Unfortunately it was stuck open. The house shut off was being a pain too. (They both work wonderfully now) So I go find my channel locks to get more leverage on the valve to the water heater and get that shut although it still dripped slowly. This is the day that I learned the drain in the basement by the washer didnt work well (it does now). So I got the shop vac out. Wasnt too much water but was enough to piss me off. I was able to repair the supply line with the help of a friend.

Had to replace the water heater shortly after. I paid someone to do that. I had them replace the valve too.

Holy ****, that sounds awful. Every time I work on plumbing, I silently wonder if this is the day that I accidentally flood my house. My shut-off is in the basement behind a bunch of stuff in storage. I make sure I have a clear path to that sucker before I start.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

The broken PVC story from above reminded me of a story from my last house. This was a repair but it was on something that wasn't broken...just old.

My current house is a piece of junk, but my last one was rock solid. 11 years of ownership, almost no problems. I didn't know how good I had it at the time.

We put the house up for sale and the realtor came over and went through everything. Recommended a few minor repairs, none of which were an issue. One thing she seemed to focus on was the sump pump. Our sump tank was in the sub-basement, which was laundry/water heater/furnace/storage. Still a decent sized room, probably 25'x15'. Concrete floor with an old piece of carpet that was there when we moved in.

Realtor says "that pump is really old and you don't want it to give out while you're trying to sell the house." Pump has always worked flawlessly, but you're the pro. I replace it.

A month or so later, house is under contract. I'm out picking something up I had bought off Craigslist in preparation for the move and the better half calls. "There's water in the basement." What? How? We've never had water in the basement.

I get home, there's an inch of water on the floor. WTF? The new pump isn't running. And it's pouring outside. Back to Home Depot to buy another pump, and now I'm fighting the tank filling up while I'm trying to replace this stupid thing. I'm basically working underwater. Infuriating, but I do get it fixed.

All of the storage was raised so there wasn't really any damage, except for that stupid carpet. No pad, just some old carpet. Looked like it came from a business after they ripped it out.

I didn't want to get any strange questions after the walkthrough about "where did the sub-basement carpet go?", so I drug the now super heavy carpet into the garage, put it up on blocks/ramps/anything I could find to get it off the ground, doused the entire thing in Febreeze and let fans run on it for a few days.

Sub-basement smelled like the inside of a Febreeze bottle. I never told anyone and no one asked.

Why did I replace that pump?

On the bright side, Home Depot did refund my money AND gave me a replacement pump.

My sump pump is still the original one from when I bought my house in '99. I have debated replacing it for a number of years, but I just know the next one I get will probably last 5 years and go out at the worst time.

 

[mywayorcyway]

My sump pump is still the original one from when I bought my house in '99. I have debated replacing it for a number of years, but I just know the next one I get will probably last 5 years and go out at the worst time.

That house was built in '94, and this was about six years ago, so right in the same ballpark as yours. If I had the old one, I would give it to you - because IT STILL WORKED!!!!!

 

[Isualum13]

Holy ****, that sounds awful. Every time I work on plumbing, I silently wonder if this is the day that I accidentally flood my house. My shut-off is in the basement behind a bunch of stuff in storage. I make sure I have a clear path to that sucker before I start.

Not as awful as the time it rained about six inches in 2 hours causing the basement window wells to fill with water. This caused one of the windows latches to fail behind the preassure of the water. I've reinforced all the windows now. Had some good friends that came to help me with some shop vacs. We drank beer during this. That helped.

 

[mapnerd]

Probably not quite on topic, but when I replaced my leaky rusty garbage disposal, I couldn't get it off and just took a hacksaw and started cutting stuff. Finally got it off after a lot of sweating and cursing. Putting the new one on, I figured out how the snap ring worked, and probably could have gotten the old one off a lot easier.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

Probably not quite on topic, but when I replaced my leaky rusty garbage disposal, I couldn't get it off and just took a hacksaw and started cutting stuff. Finally got it off after a lot of sweating and cursing. Putting the new one on, I figured out how the snap ring worked, and probably could have gotten the old one off a lot easier.

Actually, this is what I was looking for. I was hoping for a few stories of people that have lost their composure doing stuff like this and embraced the rage within.

I'm usually patient to a fault, but some times I forego patience for brute strength. It rarely ends well.

 

[cycloner29]

Had a sink drain in an exterior wall that I noticed dripping down into a window well. This was about 4 years ago. It was a 2" copper drain pipe coming out of our garbage disposal. Yes, the insulation and would was rank!! I just cut the bad section out and replaced with a rubber boot. Problem solved!!

This spring noticed it dripping again. Same pipe just down a few inches from the boot. When out an bought about $80 worth of copper fittings pipe to fix. Started sweating the joints and couldn't get them to solder. Called a plumber and they cut the pit about 2" from the T connection and installed a new plastic pipe. $300 later I still had to put in new insulation, R-board, house wrap and put the siding on again. Lesson learned go with a plumber next time!!