So many problems can be halted, solved, or magnified with a hammer. I just wish I could choose which.
If you have WD-40, duct tape, vice grips, and a hammer you can fix pretty much anything. 
Any and all home improvements become an exercise in Yak Shaving.
So, that landing light switch needs replacing. Okay. Ah, now the plaster is dented. Patch that up. Oh hey, Iāll patch that bit under the banisters too. Now I need to paint the walls. You know, thereās a bit in the bedroom that needs repainting too. Oh man look at the dust behind the radiator, I should clean that. Oh man, Iāve twisted the bracket somehow, curse my over-active method of dusting things with a hammer wrapped in a towel! Well now, I gotta take the radiator off the wall to put the new bracket onā¦
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Sisyphus should work customer service for Home Depot.
I need to replace S traps with vented P traps in ours. Important, but out of my wifeās view and not on her priority lists, so I get to skate for a bit, Iāll save for rainy fall weekend.
I once heard a saying: Every home improvement project requires three trips to the hardware store:
- First to get what you need
- Second to get what you forgot
- Third to get what you broke
Itās scary how true that is.
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Iāve seen the same. My plumbing skills have drawn compliments from professional plumbers.
I helped my brother tear out the 3/8" PVC the previous homeowner had draped across his basement, and replaced it with 1/2" copper from water heater on out, 3/4" from the meter to the heater.
All the lines ran like railroad tracks in parallel, with ball valves to isolate any branch or fixture.
The plumber he brought in to help with a floor drain problem asked who had done the work, and he was amazed when the answer was āus.ā
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[quote=āDocDubious, post:46, topic:762, full:trueā]
I once heard a saying: Every home improvement project requires three trips to the hardware store[/quote]
Only three? Evidently your methods are more refined than mine. I can wander to B&M as many as ten times in a day, simply because thingsād never be quite right (especially since the gradual shift to metric started messing with everything).
I picked up some lumber on freecycle yesterday, and it turns out he also just tore down a shed, so I took a couple of the sides of the shed too. And then in the driveway I got a flat on the trailer.
So, the free stuff cost me a tire and a holiday. Still worth it, especially since heās holding the rest of the wood for me, but man I am sore now.
Okay, so I bought a single-wide āmanufacturedā home for a very very low cost.
- The previous owner ripped out large parts of cabinetry, painted the inside of many windows a blue-turquoise color, took off with the appliances, took parts of some of the light fixtures, took the switch and outlet plates, painted over the bathroom counter and bathtub, and generally left the place in a mess. (The park took possession of the home and sold it to me for, basically, paying the utilities for the time it was vacant)
So, I am looking at (not in order of priority):
- replacing all of the paneling; Iām thinking fake brick in the kitchen. For the rest of the house, I am looking at wood veneer with some sort of wainscotting.
- replacing all of the flooring. This means tearing out all of the vinyl tile and the carpeting. I can get wood laminate for a very good price.
- replacing the windows. Donāt know how this will go and how much it will cost, but I have to do something.
extending the porch all the way back to the back door, making it about 25 feet long, and replacing the front steps. - replacing the 2 interior doors
- replacing some of the outlets, especially one in the kitchen and one in the bathroom with GCFI, and some of the switches, and all of the face plates
- replacing countertops and cabinets
I have to have the panelling and flooring in the kitchen done before the appliances arrive on the 28th.
Eventually I want to replace the tub and enclosure.
Some ānice to haveāsā :
- replace the front patio door with something better (maybe French
doors) - move the bedroom closet to a different wall (which will also hide the circuit breaker box from sight)
Of course, I am sick and demented, so I am looking forward to doing all of this!
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So, if I do the kitchen walls in this:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-1-4-in-x-48-in-x-96-in-Kingston-Brick-Wall-Panel-278844/205683640?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053
would it look good to do the floors in this?
http://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMASTER-Lakeshore-Pecan-7-mm-Thick-x-7-2-3-in-Wide-x-50-5-8-in-Length-Laminate-Flooring-24-17-sq-ft-case-35947/205349795?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053
Unfortunately, Freecycle doesnāt seem to be very active in my area.
If you want to have fun confusing your electrician, replace the missing electrical outlets and switches with UK-standard parts (and yes, you can get US earthed sockets in UK-standard face platesā¦ honestly I donāt know why though).
Would the brick tiling go well with the stressed wood floor? Iām saying yes, yes it would. And Iām gay, I know these things 
Of course the kitchen units also need to have stressed wood counter-tops now. And the sink will need to be a Belfast sink (or London sink, if you feel the Belfast is too deep). Suggested colours to go with include pale green, yellow (but not mustard yellow), and maybe orange to taste. No deep blues though.
The stainless steel sink is in very good condition, so I am looking at using that (because there is no way I could get a āweatheredā iron sink). I was thinking of either a muted red countertop or plain gray top to look similar to concrete. But I could actually make a stressed wood countertop myself.
The outlets and switches are not missing, just the face plates. Iām replacing some of the outlets and switches because some idiot painted over parts of them.
Iām still not sure what I am going to do for the cabinets. I was considering wire shelving, but then I realized Iād be dusting everything fairly regularly. Besides, it only comes in white (blech) or chrome (too bright for what I am doing).
For the windows, I am thinking of using patterned translucent contact paper cut into diamond shapes to created a lozenged effect. And then add vertical blinds using thin wood slats.
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Congrats, sounds like an interesting deallio!
Please tell me Iām not the only one that found someone telling @ClockWorkXon this incredibly funny.
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You were not alone, I can assure you.
Hey, I was looking for feedback.
I know, but itās like the Kettle playing the dating game with the Pot and saying, āDude, Iām a Kettle, I know what black looks like, trust me.ā
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I need a sledge, because my ānormalā hammer is just punching right through the thin wood of these cabinets.
Additionally, I need a hammer where the rubber sheathing on the handle doesnāt come off every time a fly buzzes past.
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