Happens Often-Simple job turns complex.

[VaTom]

Yesterday morning went to Lowe's for paint and sand paper for what I thought would be a simple paint job on my porch railings. Wouldn't you know it a simple home maintenance task turns into a Lowe's 3 trip job. Found some nasty rot in one of my railing posts. Finished this afternoon. Repair turned out pretty good. Glad I have developed a few repair skills over the years and still have ability at age 71.

 

[soFlaNative]

Can't understand why I gotta fix everything I touch.

 

[Eric300]

I feel your pain, brother. I spent the afternoon fighting with rear brakes on my 2011 Ford F-250 Super Duty. And it wunnent easy...

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I rate job difficulty not by cost, but by the number of trips to the hardware or home center. Anything over 4 trips got out of hand! anything 2 or under is a Great Success!

The Ace Hardware just 3000 feet from my place, is so mismanaged, I no longer go there for simple screws and such. I brave the crowds at HD or Lowe's, or the 45-minute rout trip to aa properly run hardware, could be another Ace or a Do-It-Best.

Ivan

 

[Rudi]

Seems it's not a real project unless you make at least 3 trips to the hardware store.

 

[45Smashemflat]

Gotta say, those Chippendale rails are nice. I don't have the patience, or trig skills, to cut those!

 

[coltle6920]

Probably a good thing it was just the post and not the inner pieces.

Otherwise your text might've looked like this...

Wouldn't you know it a simple **** maintenance task turns into a Lowe's **** 3 trip job. Found some *** rot in one of my **** railing posts.

 

[chief38]

And visa versa! There are a few jobs that I anticipated being long and complicated but turned out to be a piece of cake.

 

[SweetMK]

I hate wood,, it just ALWAYS rots,,,

When I built my almost 3,000 sq ft shed,,
the only wood in the building was a couple treated 2x4's around a door and a couple windows,,
and this mezzanine area floor,, the rest was WELDED!!

 

[LVSteve]

Saved myself $13 with a liberal dose of WD 40 into the pivot point of a side flush handle on a Kohler toilet. Did have to replace the valve gasket. The old one had developed a blister preventing it forming a proper seal.

For my next trick I think I need to move my downstairs thermostat up an inch or so away form the new alarm control box.

 

[Bald1]

I hate wood,, it just ALWAYS rots,,,

When I built my almost 3,000 sq ft shed,,
the only wood in the building was a couple treated 2x4's around a door and a couple windows,,
and this mezzanine area floor,, the rest was WELDED!!

Ummmmmm where I come from anything over 200sqft is definitely not a shed.

 

[fordson]

My lovely wife calls these kind of "mission creep" diy jobs "hanging the wreath ". Years back, while hanging Christmas wreaths, she commented that the window could use a washing………yeah, they got washed….and in a number of intermediate steps of ever increasing diy projects (front porch painted, front doors refinished, new window shutters.. refinishing a bath….etc, etc…) the house was painted….

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

I rate job difficulty not by cost, but by the number of trips to the hardware or home center. Anything over 4 trips got out of hand! anything 2 or under is a Great Success!

The Ace Hardware just 3000 feet from my place, is so mismanaged, I no longer go there for simple screws and such. I brave the crowds at HD or Lowe's, or the 45-minute rout trip to aa properly run hardware, could be another Ace or a Do-It-Best.

Ivan

Problem is that a trip to Lowes means going to New Iberia which is 13 miles away. That turns a 15 minute job into an hour and 15 minute job, and if it is something I don't want to do, that trip can turn into a couple of hours with a side stop at Tractor Supply and If I decide to go to Touchard's Marine in Delcambre that can stretch it into pretty much the rest of the day when one accounts for the obligatory nap when I get home.

 

[gjgalligan]

Can't understand why I gotta fix everything I touch.

Maybe you should quit touching things.

 

[VaTom]

Gotta say, those Chippendale rails are nice. I don't have the patience, or trig skills, to cut those!

Yes. Whoever did them when the house was built 40 years ago was very talented. I work to keep them in good shape as I know I would have a hard finding that quality now at a decent price.

 

[bobsguns]

Shoot, there's nothing like fixing a simple gasket or seal on a sink or toilet. 5-6 hours later, 3-4 trips to the store, a good soaking or three, and by-golly, THEN you have yourself a JOB.

 

[ACORN]

The fill valve on my commode was bad. With the new products you don't even need tools. Plastic fittings. Tighten by hand.
Replaced with a Fluidmaster in about 15 minutes.
I braced myself against the commode to get up and the toilet shifted. One of the bolts was rotted. Went to loosen the other bolt and it just spun. Out with the angle grinder and cut it off. Lifted the toilet and the flange was rotten, it had leaked so all the floor tiles lifted and needed to be replaced. Luckily it was an extra half bath in our basement. Concrete floor. Then I found water had infiltrated the drywall so I tore that all out. The vanity was garbage MDF, so all that was holding it together was the paper veneer. What the heck! In for a penny, in for a pound. May as replace the toilet too. I wound up with 4 bare walls, ceiling and floor. 68 years old and working 60 hours a week, and having to deal with this, and I just ran out of gas. I didn't have a vehicle to haul 4x8 drywall. The job dragged on longer than it should. Then my daughter moved back in so I needed to get it done. Still have to trim out the door, but for now it's useable. Didn't turn out too bad for an amateur.

 

[30-30remchester]

There is no problem in the world that I can't make worse.

 

[GaryS]

Every simple repair job is just one broken bolt away from a 3-day ordeal. In your case you really overdid that.

The fill valve on my commode was bad. With the new products you don't even need tools. Plastic fittings. Tighten by hand.
Replaced with a Fluidmaster in about 15 minutes.
I braced myself against the commode to get up and the toilet shifted. One of the bolts was rotted. Went to loosen the other bolt and it just spun. Out with the angle grinder and cut it off. Lifted the toilet and the flange was rotten, it had leaked so all the floor tiles lifted and needed to be replaced. Luckily it was an extra half bath in our basement. Concrete floor. Then I found water ha infiltrated the drywall so I tore that all out. The vanity was garbage MDF, so all that was holding it together was the paper veneer. What the heck! In for a penny, in for a pound. May as replace the toilet too. I wound up with 4 bare walls, ceiling and floor. 68 years old and working 60 hours a week, and I just ran out of gas. I didn't have a vehicle to haul 4x8 drywall. The job dragged on longer than it should. Then my daughter moved back in so I needed to get it done. Still have to trim out the door, but for now it's useable. Didn't turn out too bad for an amateur.

 

[ACORN]

Every simple repair job is just one broken bolt away from a 3-day ordeal. In your case you really overdid that.

Yes, I have been known to go to extremes.