What Home Improvement Project did you start only to hate it?

[Dan G]

I have a good one for this thread. It's a little long, but pretty entertaining.

About 7 years ago(before my time with the company, I was there to fix it afterwards) we built this log house out of green white pine 24 inches being the smallest top. Big trees. Anyway, this house had a huge front deck that was held up by three white pine posts holding up a log about 35 feet long acting as the horizontal support. There was no roof over the deck, and over the course of these past seven years, that damned tree rotted through and exploded. Thank God it didn't collapse, and the owner was able to get a support under it before it did.
Anyway, we had to find a log that fit the same way the old one did, and we had to try to cut the old one out a little at a time, all the while placing supports to keep the deck up. Then we had to shoe horn the new log into place, without knocking our supports over. We had a crane tied to one end, and a bobcat tied to the other, and me guiding and watching, giving hand signals and gentle nudges.

We're not exactly known for being OSHA approved. Then again, it is North Idaho.lol

 

[dhermann1]

I decided to paint our Victorian cottage one year. I had the outer walls done, and I thought I was pretty close to finished. However I hadn't reckoned with the fact that the house had two story Victorian porches front and back. It's amazing how much paint those little nooks and crannies sop up! Anyhow, I was having nightmares about paint brushes by the time I was done.
Does moving count? I moved from a huge (2000 sq ft plus basement plus back yard) house to a 700 sq ft apartment a year and a half ago. I still have a small mountain of boxes piled in the kitchen and a large mountain of boxes, all the way to the ceiling, in the living room. Very depressing.

 

[Helen Troy]

Recipe for frustration
1)Try to peel of old, ugly 70s wallpaper.
2)Find that wallpaper is very stuck on wall.
3)Plan to put new wallpaper over old one.
4)Find even though the wallpaper is very stuck in some places, it is very loose in others, so you can't glue the new one on top.
5) Try again to peel of wallpaper.
6)Try 6-7 times to wet the wallpaper with wallpaper-loosening chemicals to get it off.
7)Scream because the wallpaper does not come off!
8)Give up, and decide to let the last bits of wallpaper sit, and buy expensive extra-thick wallpaper to put on top. If the stupid wallpaper has not come off now, it never will!
9)Put wallpaper glue on wall, to put up new wallpaper.

and.......

10)Find that the only thing that makes old wallpaper fall right off the wall, is wallpaper glue! What a mess......

 

[RedPop4]

Stripping old finish off of doors.:rage: :rage: :rage: :rage:

 

[Paisley]

Any kind of wallpaper, any time.

I learned all I need to know from putting a border around the ceiling of one bedroom. I finished it, then calmly told my wife that if ever she wanted wallpaper put anywhere in any house we owned, I would pay if necessary to have someone do it - but I would NEVER, under any circumstances, touch the stuff again.

I hate wallpaper. I'd rather be underneath a car covered in 90-weight wrestling a differential out. And I'm not fond of 90-weight.

My great grandfather was a wallpaper hanger and my grandmother was good at hanging paper. People joked that the only thing holding up the house was the wallpaper. But I'm like you, Pilgrim. I won't touch the stuff.

 

[Paisley]

Oh, Honey. Sit down.

The kitchen was carpeted in this rough and thin rubber-backed gray stuff. Over time, spills and grease had made it really gross. So it had to go. But replace with what?
We had already removed the wall-to-wall carpet in the rest pf the downstairs, revealing a 2' X 4' section that was eaten up by termites years ago. The floorboards - and subfloor, AND joists - had to be carefully replaced).

We decided on tile. Black and white smallish octagonal tile. How hard can it be?
In a few days, the appliances were in the dining room and we were on an all-takeout diet. Up came the old carpet. Underneath was some 50's linoleum. Best to leave it be; might be asbestos to deal with. So over this went 1/4" cement backer. Then the tiles, which came matted together in 1' square sheets.
But I couldn't get the mud mixture right. Too loose, too thick. I finally stopped, almost ready to cry or yell or punch something, with hardening goo all around me and having ruined a box of expensive tiles, when my four year old (at the time) daughter came and sat down just outside the work area and began to pray. She closed her eyes, and prayed that her daddy would find the way to get our new shiny floor done...
And you know, it all came together after that, if slowly. As a Pastor told me later, you want quick action on a prayer, send it via four-year-old.

But the floor ended up a good inch higher than the surrounding floors. And that stupid, ratsin-fratsin tile CHIPS every time you drop a peach on it (I swear!). It is impossible to keep white kitchen tile clean, let alone what used to be nice, creamy gray grout! Ugh. HUGE mistake.
WHY did I not look under that linoleum??? Probably porcellain penny tile! Or oak!!
And creeping around on my knees for a few weeks screwed up my back so badly I had to have major spinal surgery within the year.
HATE HATE HATE that floor!

I ripped out all the carpeting in my house in 2001 and never did anything with the crummy floors but wax them. Now I'm glad I let them be!

 

[dnjan]

I think my wife hates it more than I do, but ...

A few years ago (I can't even remember which year now), I decided to replace the back deck, as some of the cedar boards had rotted quite a bit.
So, removed all the decking, which came off easier than it should have ...
Because the joists had rotted on the tops (actually glad I found that).
So, removed the joists, and discovered that the ledger needed to be replaced as well.
Removed the ledger, and discovered that since there had been no flashing behind it, the shiplap sheathing of the house had rotted as well.
Removed the sheathing, and discovered that some of the rim joist had rotted.

(left a blank line to indicate the start of forward progress).

Not all of the rim joist was rotted, just some spots on the surface up to about 1/2 to 3/4" deep. So, I removed the rotted wood with a wire wheel on an electric drill and used an epoxy paste to repair the rim joist.
Located some shiplap sheathing and replaced that.
Put new feltpaper on top of the shiplap and re-sided the strip around the house where the ledger had been attached (forgot to mention, above, that the cedar siding has simply been cut out to attach the ledger to the house).
By the way - getting the right, clear cedar siding shingles wasn't easy.
Made tapered spacers so that he new ledger could be attached with air-space between the ledger and the siding so that neither would rot.
Attached new ledger.
Installed new joist hangers and joists.

Unfortunately, the above took up all of both my available time plus ambition for the project. (hence the title to this post)
The following summer I was committed to moving my tools to a cabin that friends were building a couple of hundred miles away. The tools are still at the friend's cabin (where I hope to finish the interior carpentry this summer).
As mentioned previously, I can't remember what year I started this project. I have put a couple of sheets of plywood on the joists so my wife can sit in a lawn chair out there in summer.
With any luck, my tools will be back home next summer and I will be able to get back to work on the deck.

 

[Miss Brill]

I painted my kitchen cabinets about 7 years ago & haven't stopped yet. They've been almost every color--black, white, red--and you can't see the detail because the paint is so thick. I wish I'd left them alone. :eusa_doh:

 

[Jay]

I'm a paper hanger 4 days a week. I don't like wallpaper any more. Or walls for that matter. We should live in tents. No plaster, no sheetrock, no hardwood, no rotting wood, no primer (I think I'm allergic to it. I can't breath right and get dizzy). And I'll be back there tomorrow at 8 AM!

 

[czack]

Don't want to go into details, but if your father buys you leather work gloves, it isn't out of the kindness of his heart.

 

[dnjan]

Don't want to go into details, but if your father buys you leather work gloves, it isn't out of the kindness of his heart.

But it was out of the kindness of my heart that I bought them for my wife!

 

[Viola]

I hate cutting down or cutting into pieces fallen trees with handsaws. Today its the birch tree that fell in a storm the day before last. It was a really good size.

I've sawn for 3+ hours today and there's still plenty for tommorow.

I can barely type this.

-Viola

 

[czack]

Reminds me when I had to prune my grandmother's trees on her property. NO tree had been pruned in over 20 years. Man, that bit. Glad I had those leather work gloves.

 

[imoldfashioned]

Installing molding in the living room of my last house was horrible and never did look good.

Pulling out the 40 year old bushes in front of the house was pretty hellish too--I was hobbling like an old lady for a week.

 

[Dalexs]

Installing molding in the living room of my last house was horrible and never did look good.

Pulling out the 40 year old bushes in front of the house was pretty hellish too--I was hobbling like an old lady for a week.

That's why a pickup truck with a tow hitch comes in handy!

Re-doing the plumbing in my 1927 house was nearly a drag for me.
Thank god I like doingthat stuff otherwise it would've sucked.
Word to the wise... do not overtighten when replacing main shut off valve coming into the house!:eusa_doh:

And never second guess pulling up ugly carpeting on old houses. It's worth the effort and the price to have someone redo the floors.
My newest house (1900) had this green stuff throughout the entire first floor. Notice any difference?

 

[MrNewportCustom]

And never second guess pulling up ugly carpeting on old houses. It's worth the effort and the price to have someone redo the floors.
My newest house (1900) had this green stuff throughout the entire first floor. Notice any difference?

Beautiful floor!! What kind of wood is that? Tiete Chestnut?


My Home Improvement Project . . . raking. If you're mildly familiar with the Cork Oak, you know that it sheds twice a year for a month, spring and fall. (The cats LOVE it, though! ) In ONE DAY, you have a layer of leaves nearly an inch thick covering the entire lawn. Sixty days of raking per year that show NO RESULT the next day.


Lee

 

[Kimberly]

That's why a pickup truck with a tow hitch comes in handy!

Re-doing the plumbing in my 1927 house was nearly a drag for me.
Thank god I like doingthat stuff otherwise it would've sucked.
Word to the wise... do not overtighten when replacing main shut off valve coming into the house!:eusa_doh:

And never second guess pulling up ugly carpeting on old houses. It's worth the effort and the price to have someone redo the floors.
My newest house (1900) had this green stuff throughout the entire first floor. Notice any difference?

Gasp!

Those floors are simply magnificent.

I bet you had the green stuff that I have on mine right now. You have reinspired me. Everytime I want to give up I am going to come to this thread and look at those floors.

Great job! :eusa_clap

 

[Dalexs]

Beautiful floor!! What kind of wood is that? Tiete Chestnut?

These floors are Beech. Except for the inner 4x6' centers in the foyer and living room,which to be wide board pine.
Obviously done as a cost savings a the time.
Heck, a carpet would probably be put over it, so go ahead!

The ugly green stuff was installed in 1960, so the floors themselves were not in that bad of shape from the beginning. I think there may have been different carpet before that. I've been involved in a couple ofthese kind of projects and it never ceases to amaze me how great antique floors can still look after 100 years with a little TLC.

I'm very pleased to have been an inspiration. My work here is complete.

Dalexs

 

[Paisley]

The ugly green stuff was installed in 1960, so the floors themselves were not in that bad of shape from the beginning.

Installed--or it grew there?