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

[Kimberly]

Doh, one of my goals this summer was to get rid of the wall to wall carpeting on my 1st floor and expose the hard wood. The house is 107 years old and I peeked under the carpeting to see the most gorgeous wood I have ever seen. It is a wide pine with the most incredible markings on it and I thought all I would need to do was give it a light sanding and then put a sealant on it. The dining room floor is perfect and doesn't need much work expect for that but the floor in the computer room is an absolute nightmare. Someone actually stained sections of it in green!!

Now I am going to have to finish stripping all the rugs and hire a professional to sand these floors down so I don't ruin them and then I will have to stain them all. I am so overwhelmed right now that I am sitting here and the house is in shambles but am too weary to do anything about it today.

Do you have any home improvement projects you have started only to regret it?

 

[Paisley]

When I was going through a hard time in life, I tore the wallpaper off my bedroom walls. (I've never subjegated my frustrations in a bubble bath.) The old layers didn't come off very well. I had to soak and scrape to get all the paper off, then spackle and patch where the plaster came off. :eusa_doh: Then I had to coat the walls with a sealant, which smelled so bad I had to sleep in the living room for three nights. Then I had to put a special coat on the ceiling (yes, it was papered too). Then I painted.

I should have just bought some dishes to break.

 

[Paisley]

Someone actually stained sections of it in green!!

Could an area rug cover this?

 

[Kimberly]

Could an area rug cover this?

LOL Paisley, I am laughing at your first post because it sounds like something I would do!! lol

An area rug won't cover it because what they did was put an area rug in there and then use the green stain around that. So what I have is beatiful wood where the rug would go and green stain where the wood should be exposed.

I never heard of people staining their floors green. Was it a 70's thing. [huh]

 

[Diamondback]

Would you say trying to hold a double-wide together for an owner who sees it as primarily a crashpad and storage locker counts for this thread's purposes?

Oh well, at least it gives me somewhere that doesn't get a second glance to hide the Lair in plain sight...

 

[Pink Dahlia]

Yeah I don't even have a house to improve. Lame apartment. :cry:

 

[panamag8or]

Kimberly,

I am in exactly the same situation as you. I have been pulling up this nasty green shag carpeting that was hiding great hardwood floors. I haven't gotten to the sanding part yet, but I can't wait for that bit of fun. [/sarcasm]

At least I don't have green stain to deal with.

Paisley, I also have wallpaper issues.

 

[scotrace]

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!

 

[Diamondback]

Folks, I think Scott just trumped us all. Can't imagine much that beats "provoking major surgery" for "Home Improvement from Hell"...

 

[panamag8or]

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!

WINNER!!!!

 

[MaryDeluxe]

Yeah I think Scott wins on this one.

I have yet to start a DIY project that goes badly. *crosses fingers* Because I need to retile my bathroom floor this summer! I tend to enjoy my projects and just keep going and going until they are done.

You go Kimberly!!

 

[Kimberly]

Yeah I think Scott wins on this one.

I have yet to start a DIY project that goes badly. *crosses fingers* Because I need to retile my bathroom floor this summer! I tend to enjoy my projects and just keep going and going until they are done.

You go Kimberly!!

Yes Scott wins hands down. I would have given up I would have been so overwhelmed!

Thanks Mary. I will be definately going to Lowes for stain once all the sanding is done. That is going to be my favorite part! The good thing about the green stain is that it didn't seep too far into the wood. I was able to get rid of quite a lot of it by taking a low grain sandpaper and rubbing it off myself. It is going to be a lot of work though and I can't take time off from work for a while because I am knee deep in deadlines.

 

[MaryDeluxe]

Yes Scott wins hands down. I would have given up I would have been so overwhelmed!

Thanks Mary. I will be definately going to Lowes for stain once all the sanding is done. That is going to be my favorite part! The good thing about the green stain is that it didn't seep too far into the wood. I was able to get rid of quite a lot of it by taking a low grain sandpaper and rubbing it off myself. It is going to be a lot of work though and I can't take time off from work for a while because I am knee deep in deadlines.

My motto on projects...It will get done when it gets done. Take your time and don't beat yourself up for a dirty house! It will all be worth it in the end when you can stand back and look at a job well done

 

[Zig2k143]

Any and all....

 

[Rosie]

Eek, not trying to compare at all to Scott (poor thing)

How about renovating a kitchen and bathroom?

Oh, it will be fun I thought. I'll have great new fixtures, it'll be great.

The project which should have been completed in March is still as of today not done. I had a bowl shaped sink imported from Italy, the fixtures broke and I have to wait 6 months for a replacement. The inner line that brings the hot and cold water up through the faucet cracked and the water in my bathroom trickles out. The pipe under the sink broke and so now, the water from the sink runs into a big bucket that I have to empty every other day.

There's a hole in my kitchen floor- why? I'm not really sure about that one. A squirrel came in the house through it a few days ago and scared the ---- out of me. I LITERALLY ran out of the house in pajamas. My great vintage stove isn't hooked up, I've been cooking in a toaster oven for the past few months and I no longer have a sink in the kitchen. ( I wash dishes in the bathtub). On top of all of this, there's now a crack in my kitchen wall that looks nastier as the days go by. I can provide photographic proof for all of this unfortunately.

 

[Kimberly]

Eek, not trying to compare at all to Scott (poor thing)

How about renovating a kitchen and bathroom?

Oh, it will be fun I thought. I'll have great new fixtures, it'll be great.

The project which should have been completed in March is still as of today not done. I had a bowl shaped sink imported from Italy, the fixtures broke and I have to wait 6 months for a replacement. The inner line that brings the hot and cold water up through the faucet cracked and the water in my bathroom trickles out. The pipe under the sink broke and so now, the water from the sink runs into a big bucket that I have to empty every other day.

There's a hole in my kitchen floor- why? I'm not really sure about that one. A squirrel came in the house through it a few days ago and scared the ---- out of me. I LITERALLY ran out of the house in pajamas. My great vintage stove isn't hooked up, I've been cooking in a toaster oven for the past few months and I no longer have a sink in the kitchen. ( I wash dishes in the bathtub). On top of all of this, there's now a crack in my kitchen wall that looks nastier as the days go by. I can provide photographic proof for all of this unfortunately.

Wow!! I feel much better about my dilema after hearing yours! What a nightmare!

 

[SpitfireXIV]

i lived the nightmare that is home rennovation 5 years ago. re-did both baths, the kitchen, put down all new hardwood floors... since then been working on the outside. now i get some fresh air some well-needed colour!

when they built this house, they only put shutters on the sides facing the street. so, that left 2 sides looking rather empty. i tried to find shutters to match, but i didn't want the expense of either a) replacing them all or b) having custom ones made, so i tried eBay and local Habitat for Humanity "Re-stores" to no avail.

so, after having put this project on the back burner, one morning i wake up to a note on my car saying a house down the street is being slated for tearing down, and the shutters seem a good match. they were, and the new owner was more than happy to let me take the shutters before the bulldozing began. only problem, i was one pair short.

fast-forward to this past weekend. i'm walking past the lot where the house once stood, and i see a pair of shutters leaning against the fence of the house next door. so, i ring the bell, and inquire about those shutters. turns out that they are actually his, but he's not sure if he's going to use them or not. oh well, "nothing ventured, nothing gained," right?

later that morning, i get back from taking my sister to the garage to drop off her car (and see '38 and '41 Buicks parked outside, but that's another tale!) and when i return home, there's the shutters on my front porch. they're just 1/2 inch taller than the rest of the lot!

so, my "big" project this summer is to prime and paint those louvered shutters. i've done all the big projects for quite some time... now it's time to enjoy and do a little tinkering around the place.

 

[rockyj]

The Back Deck

The never ending job. Sorta like painting the Golden gate Bridge. :rage:

 

[Pilgrim]

Wallpaper.

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.

 

[CharlieH.]

My bedroom. I've tried for almost 3 years to turn it into a convincing 40's college boy place, and it's still too 21st century.