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20 Epic DIY Fails – Do It Yourself at Your Own Risk! (With Pictures)
Pete Ortiz
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There are universal truths about homeownership, many of which involve structural and mechanical breakdowns and repairs and the inevitable consequences. Whether you’re the type who calls a professional to clean the gutters or a take-charge champion of problem-solving, another truth involves probability. No matter who does the fixing, there’s a 50/50 chance of something not being right. Here are 20 epic DIY fails that might give you second thoughts about doing it yourself.
The answer to the question, “Can I use your bathroom?” The logic and contingencies are baffling. More questions abound. We have a couple of possible scenarios. One, the technician wasn’t paying attention. Two, they had no intention of installing the seat properly and didn’t know what to do with the extra parts. Lack of a visible flushing mechanism suggests a public restroom. Moreover, the layout gives off a heavy South East Asian vibe, where, unlike Japan and almost everywhere else in the world, people usually don’t sit on the toilet seat. In which case, all bets are off. Major fail.
2. Puff n’ Stuff vs Air Duct: Puff n’ Stuff Wins by TKO
In this episode of “There, I Fixed It”, we’ll examine the definition of heartbreak. Though it might not look like a catastrophe, this weekend warrior has just set his bathroom remodel back by a minimum of 24 hours. All fail, all day.
Generally speaking, the only thing you want to see coming out of a wall socket is maybe a short spark when you plug in a hair dryer. Brown liquid is right up there with poisonous gas on the scale of things you don’t want coming out of an electrical outlet. This is close to paranormal and a solid fail.
Here’s a hypothetical situation. You need to repaint the massive swimming pool at your winter mansion in Florida. Not knowing a lot of people in town, you ask your next-door neighbor if they know of a good pool painter. Your neighbor says, “Oh, yeah, for sure. My brother-in-law and his sidekick have a painting business.”
These two show up like casual Friday at the company picnic, and most likely, never having painted a pool, didn’t have a game plan.
Here’s the dilemma. They want you to move the wall but you don’t want to rip up the electrical conduit. And so, there comes a time in nearly every home improvement project when the contractor says, “Yeah, fixed it, besides, that’s about our only option left. Let’s hope the homeowner doesn’t notice.”
8. The World’s Most Expensive Shelving Bracket
You can see the level down in the lower right-hand corner, so you know this cat was using the tripod as a temporary brace during installation. Either way, you’re looking at a top-notch triumph and the definition of “There, I Fixed It”.
You have to know there’s a great story behind this jury-rigged repair. Fortunately, it’s not a load-bearing support. If they’d fixed it properly by filling the cracks in the wood with a little more care, there’d be something artistic about it.
The home repair version of My Eyes Are Bigger Than My Stomach. Or, hell no, I’m not paying $35 for delivery! There’s no more self-defeating way of destroying the suspension of your car than overloading it with roughly five times the number of 2x8s it could reasonably carry. Not that passenger cars were designed to haul lumber, obviously.
11. When Your Wife Insists on the Stainless Steel Drawer Handles
This is the kind of dick move that carpenters chuckle about at the bar. “And I told her, look, lady, I fixed it, you don’t even need knobs on these drawers!”
It’s almost as if the person who installed this said, “I’m gonna make it as ugly and impractical as possible”, and then, set out to achieve this goal with remarkable dedication.
Sure, this is all well and good for the current homeowner. It’s their house, let them do what they want with it. But karma will circle back for them when it’s time to sell the property. There isn’t a real estate agent on the planet who’s gonna be excited about listing this house.
14. Somewhere, There’s a Carpenter Crying in His Sleep
15. Don’t Blame the Plumber You Didn’t Hire, Chief
Image Credit: Parilov, Shutterstock
Perhaps we’re dealing with some forced perspective but this has to be a DIY job. No self-respecting architect would design this and no professional plumber would agree to install the toilet under the bathroom vanity. It just wouldn’t happen.
Duct Tape Fun Fact #1: You can’t use it with ductwork. A study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory compared duct tape to every other tape on the market. When it came to sealing ducts, no other tape performed as poorly as duct tape. One scientist said it failed “catastrophically”.
Today, it’s a major code violation to use it on ducts in the US.
Duct Tape Fun Fact #2: The NASA and duct tape myth probably got started because of Apollo 13. Engineers used duct tape to resolve a potentially life-threatening problem with the ventilation system in the lunar module. But contrary to popular belief, duct tape was invented during World War II by an ammunition factory worker named Vesta Stoudt, the mother of two Navy sailors, who worried that problems with ammunition box seals would cost soldiers precious time in battle.
More Duct Tape Fun Facts #3: Avon, Ohio hosts an annual duct tape festival. The event includes duct tape artwork, a fashion show, and a parade featuring floats and marching formations based on duct tape. No word on whether the duct tape bondage and fetish communities have a presence, but let’s hope so.
This is where the inspector says, “What made you think you could get away with it – and live?”
Featured Image Credit:Bulat, Shutterstock
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Writer
Pete Ortiz
Pete has been working in the trades since high school, where he first developed a passion for woodworking. Over the years, he has developed a keen interest in a wide variety of DIY projects around the home. Fascinated by all sort of tools, Pete loves reading and writing about all the latest gadgets and accessories that hit the market. His other interests include astronomy, hiking, and fishing.
As the founder of House Grail, Pete's primary goal is to help consumers make educated decisions about DIY projects at home, in the garage, and in the garden.
