If you’re like me and love to DIY then chances are you have had more than your fair share of DIY disasters. Lord knows I have had more than a few. I figured that divulging my DIY fails may help some of you in the future from making my same stupid mistakes.
MY TOP 5 DIY DISASTERS AND HOW YOU CAN AVOID THEM
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Nearly 8 years ago I convinced my husband to purchase our 1953 Mid-century modern ranch. It had been owned and loved by an elderly couple and had for the most part been kept in the original 1953 style. After we purchased it I promised my husband I would renovate our house to make it look “Portland-ish” and make sure he didn’t regret buying an old house. Boy, was I telling a big fat lie! Almost 8 years later and I’m still working on finishing the upper floor. Also, let me tell you that my husband is the least handiest person around so that’s why I’m DIY’ing solo.
DIY DISASTER #1: Bathroom tub tile corners
As this was my very first time tiling anything I believe there should be a little slack given. Am I right? My mom and I read a few “how to” books and I spent many hours online watching videos and reading articles until we both felt like tackling the tub surround. I prepped the area taking special care to waterproof before we tiled. Placed the right kind of hard backer board and that’s where using all the right techniques end… Did you know that you are not supposed to use tiny slivers of tile? Well me neither. Needless to say, I made a boo boo and used tiny slivers of tile in the corners.
What you should do to avoid this:
Make sure that when you are measuring your tile you take into account where the corner tiles will need to be cut. ideally, you want to make sure the tiles are cut in half or just slightly below half of a tile. There are many problems with proper adhesion if you cut the tile to small. Here’s a great tutorial from The Family Handyman on how to properly measure tile.
DIY DISASTER #2: Tile Grout
Again in my defense, it was my very first tilling job. After placing all the tiles and allowing them to cure it was time to grout. Filling all of the tile joints was a breeze. I was so happy to be done with this project. Until I forgot to wipe the excuse grout off. Because I left it on to long even 8 years later there is a haze on my tile.
What you should do to avoid this:
Follow the manufactures guidelines on when to wipe away the grout. Make sure you have a good sponge and plenty of clean water. If you have left the grout a little to long try using some cheese cloth to buff away the grout that is on the tiles themselves. Here’s another great tutorial from the Family Handyman on how to grout.
DIY DISASTER #3: Floor tile
After “mastering” the tile in my tub surround I felt empowered to tackle the floor in the bathroom. I purchased polished travertine marble thinking that it was going to be nice looking and sturdy. To ensure that my tiles would not break I replace the subflooring, laid down HardieBacker board and checked to make sure the floor was level. Laying the tile was super easy and kinda fun until I go to the doorway. Apparently, I didn’t check the levelness of the floor by the door. I ended up having to add a significant amount of mastic to build up the tile to make it level. Now the tile by the door is cracked because I did a poor job. 
What you should do to avoid this:
If you find that your sub-floor is in good condition and level you may be able to tile right over it. If not I recommend adding HardieBacker board and/or some self-leveling cement. This will ensure an even sub straight for you to tile over. There are also a lot of good tile mats for sale to help with better tile adhesion and overall level-ness of your tile installation. Here’s a great article on how to install tile flooring.
DIY DISASTER #4: Paint stripper
Paint stripping is one of the easier and most often attempted DIY’s. You simply apply the stripper according to the manufactures instructions, wait and presto the paint is bubbling and ready to peel right off. Well, yeah. Somehow I found a way to make a huge mess of it. I needed to paint my doorways, which were all painted wood. I had the bright idea to strip them and repaint. DUMB! I applied a good coat of the non-toxic paint stripper to the doorway and walked away. When I returned to the doorway 15 min later I walked into what looks like a movie set from the blob. ALL the paint and stripper had melted down the doorway into a giant puddle on my wood floor. I cried.
What you should do to avoid this:
Honestly I just recommend sanding and then painting. If you must use the paint stripper on a vertical surface stick around and monitor it. Only applying stripper to a small area at a time. Of course, follow the manufactures guidelines when using any sort of chemicals.
My Kitchen before the flood and after the flood and cabinet refinishing.
DIY DISASTER #5: Kitchen Cabinets
This has to be my biggest f-up of all my DIY thus far! So I decided that I was going to add trim to and paint my kitchen cabinets. Lord help me if I didn’t ROYALLY screw up. I did a ton of research on how to prepare and paint the cabinets properly. The painting was not where I messed up. The trim is my disaster. I added trim that is too thick. This has made it impossible to open the cabinets all the way. I AM SO DUMB!
What you should do to avoid this:
When choosing trim for the face of your cabinets make sure that it is thin enough to allow you to open all your cabinet doors. If I were to do this DIY again I would temporarily affix the trim on the cabinet doors in a few locations to ensure that the door will still open. AND LISTEN TO MY MOM!!!
Don’t get discouraged!
DIY disasters are something everyone experiences at least a few times. Just because something doesn’t turn out exactly how you think it should, doesn’t make it a disaster. I still feel really proud of all the work I have done at my house. Even the big disasters have been valuable lessons that I am now passing on to you!
You may want to check out these great books. I have used them to consult in times of disaster and have found them to be very informative and insightful.
Do you have any huge DIY disasters of your own? Leave me a comment below about your own mistakes. Happy DIY’ing!
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