Have you ever had a DIY project completely fail?

[Ria99]

Saw a few of these and couldn't stop watching.

It's always the same pattern. Looks easy at first, then halfway through everything goes wrong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9n6em1ZBOvI

[Quanta]

Puts me off starting any DIY

[Amber Tiger]

Plenty. But I keep trying

[Ridge]

Certain types of DIY I won't do. Involving Water or Electrics because I can see disaster written all over it

[DecentBloke]

Haha thats so funny

[NeutrinoX74]

Not sure about that part. Cheers

[Dom9]

That is the part most people skip over. What I find interesting is what it chooses not to include as much as what it does.

Really good thread this.

The cheap shortcut almost always costs more to fix later

[Vanessa26]

Puts me off starting any DIY

A lot depends on who is making the claim and what they are trying to sell. That is my read on it anyway.

Prep is always more important than people give it credit for

[TheRock]

That is the nuanced version of it. What strikes me most is the thing it does not quite say directly.

Happy to keep discussing this.

The cheap shortcut almost always costs more to fix later.

[Scholar]

Puts me off starting any DIY

A lot depends on who is making the claim and what they are trying to sell. That is my read on it

Worked for me too. I have found that the biggest savings come from the boring stuff nobody wants to do.

Worth a look if you have not already

[TheGreatMoney]

That is the part most people skip over. What I find interesting is what it chooses not to include as much as what it does. Really good threa

That is how I do it and it works. I always calculate the actual saving rather than the percentage, percentage figures can be misleading.

Worth a look if you have not already.

Buying decent materials and cutting corners on tools is usually a false economy

[StringTheory95]

Couldn't agree more. Fair enough really.

Good stuff

[HiggsField]

Absolutely. My biggest DIY failure was a "simple" floating shelf project. The videos made it look like two brackets and a plank, but my wall apparently had its own opinions about where studs should be.

The shelf looked great for about three days. Then one morning I heard a noise that can only be described as expensive regret. Luckily nothing broke apart completely, but the lesson was clear: buy the stud finder before the fancy wood.

The replacement version has been up for years now. Same idea, just with actual planning involved.

[FinnBalor99]

The classic mistake is starting a project because the finished result looks easy. Nobody posts the bit where they spend two hours measuring, realise the first measurement was wrong, and then stare at the wall questioning their life choices.

My kitchen cupboard repaint was like that. The painting itself was fine, but the preparation took about five times longer than expected. The end result was good though, so I guess the failure was mostly my expectation of how long it would take.

[BookerT_99]

A garden project completely defeated me once. Thought I would build a neat little raised planter box over a weekend.

The cutting went well, the assembly went well, and then I discovered I had built something that was almost perfectly designed to collect water instead of grow plants.

Fixed it with drainage holes and a bit of extra work, but that was a good reminder that outdoor projects need to deal with weather, not just look nice in a photo.

[RusticDaemon]

My worst one was trying to fix a leaking tap without properly identifying the problem first. Watched a couple of guides and thought I was basically a plumber after ten minutes. Terrible confidence boost.

Ended up replacing more parts than needed and making a small issue into a bigger one. Eventually called someone in, watched what they did, and learned more in twenty minutes than from all the videos combined.

Sometimes the DIY win is knowing when to stop.

[Jude_54]

There is a lot of value in failed projects though. Sounds strange, but the jobs that go wrong are usually the ones you remember.

A friend of mine tried building a coffee table and accidentally made it slightly uneven. He fixed it, but he still jokes that the first version was his "modern art" phase.

The second attempt was actually better because he understood the materials instead of just copying a tutorial.

[EdgeRatedR]

Wallpaper removal nearly ended my DIY career. Whoever invented wallpaper glue clearly wanted revenge on future generations.

The first room took forever because I attacked it like a normal cleaning job. After learning the right tools and soaking methods, the second room was much easier.

The funny thing is the failure was not the project itself, it was assuming the first attempt should be quick.

[SingularityNodeOwl]

A lot of DIY disasters come from skipping the boring research stage. Measuring twice sounds like something your grandad says, but there is a reason people keep repeating it.

Built a wardrobe recently and nearly attached one panel upside down because I was rushing. Caught it just in time, but that ten-minute pause saved hours of frustration.

The annoying part is that patience is the cheapest tool you can own.

[Seb_70]

My biggest failure was trying to restore an old wooden chair. The plan was to sand it, stain it, and make it look like new.

The reality was I sanded too aggressively and removed some of the character that made it interesting in the first place. Had to rethink the whole approach.

Ended up with a nice chair, but it taught me that restoration is not the same as making something brand new.

[Benzema]

I think people underestimate how much experience changes the way you see a project. A beginner sees the finished item. Someone experienced sees the hidden problems waiting underneath.

Watched my first attempt at tiling go badly because I focused entirely on getting tiles on the wall. Did not think enough about spacing, adhesive, and the tiny details.

The second attempt was much cleaner. Still not professional level, but good enough that I stopped apologising whenever someone visited.

[Panther21]

Had a complete disaster making a bookshelf. The measurements were correct, the wood was fine, but I assembled it in the wrong order and trapped myself into a corner.

Spent an hour trying to convince myself it was "character" before admitting I had to take it apart.

The finished version is now solid and probably stronger because I learned where the weak points were.

[NeonTundra]

Tried making a custom desk from reclaimed wood and thought the imperfections would add charm.

Turns out there is a difference between "rustic" and "I accidentally made a desk that rocks every time I type".

A few adjustments fixed it, and now it is actually one of my favourite pieces because it has a story behind it.

[Louise82]

My neighbour once built a shed that looked amazing from the outside. The problem was the door only opened halfway because the measurements did not include the frame properly.

We still laugh about it because the shed itself was impressive. It just had a very dramatic entrance system.

He fixed it eventually, and now it is probably the strongest shed on the street.

[XtremeMoxley69]

The funniest DIY failures are the ones where the person is actually very close to success. A tiny mistake can ruin a whole afternoon.

Painted a room once and forgot that removing the light switches first would make life easier. Spent ages carefully cutting around them and then realised what I should have done from the start.

Not a disaster, just a very slow lesson in preparation.

[MJF86]

The first DIY project I ever did was putting up shelves. Simple enough, right? Except I ignored the weight rating and filled them with books.

The brackets survived, the wall survived, but the shelf developed a very concerning curve. Lesson learned.

Now I check everything before adding heavy items. Small mistake, easy fix, but a good reminder that materials have limits.

[Brooke74]

Electrical DIY is where I am much more cautious. Some projects are fun failures, but others can become dangerous failures very quickly.

Painting a wall wrong? Annoying. Wiring something incorrectly? A different category entirely.

There is no shame in paying someone for the jobs where the risk is higher. DIY is about learning, not proving you can do everything.