A thread where we talk about all the things that fail and go right in the wonderful world of owning your own home. Projects you have done, masonry advice, all welcome in these walls.

I am going to start off with something super basic. I always forget how time consuming and how much work is involved with painting. Clearing the room sucks, spackling sucks, sanding sucks, masking with tape sucks, laying down plastic sucks, finding all the spots you missed sucks, painting behind a toilet sucks. Anyway painting sucks but sure does look good when you are done. (I am not done yet).

Agree with everything in your second paragraph. Except the bit about it looking good when you've finished. I hate painting and when I've finished all I can see is wasted money and wasted effort and wasted time. Oh, and little bits I've missed. Hate it with a passion. I'd rather listen to the Eagles than paint.

On the other hand, do I want to pay someone else to do it? No. And finding reliable workmen of any kind is almost impossible where I live. Dodgy geezers, the Pembrokeshire Promise, etc.

And wallpapering's even worse

Edited twice because my phone changed geezers to freezers. Twice

When you live in a house on a slab on adobe soil, your house settles. Paint cracks, stucco cracks, windows and doors become more and less difficult to lock depending on the season and how much rain you've had that year. Deciding whether to repaint or just live with it for another year is a dilemma. All of that said, I'm glad we bought our house a long time ago. We might not be able to even rent it in the current market.

Yes to all of the above and so much more..

How about when you watch a YT video about chandelier installation or whatever and it's like "aww how cute, they just cut a little circle in the drywall and there's a nice new 8B box all ready to go" and then you do it in your place only to uncover a rats nest of cloth wire & tape, all stuffed into a shallow box with 1/2 an inch of clearance clearly made for a different era, and the whole thing was somehow held up by one lone crooked screw. And then you realize every single detail about your house was done to similar standards.

Yeah we're lucky blah blah.. but goddamnit too.

penningtron wrote: Fri Jan 28, 2022 7:11 pm Yes to all of the above and so much more..

How about when you watch a YT video about chandelier installation or whatever and it's like "aww how cute, they just cut a little circle in the drywall and there's a nice new 8B box all ready to go" and then you do it in your place only to uncover a rats nest of cloth wire & tape, all stuffed into a shallow box with 1/2 an inch of clearance clearly made for a different era, and the whole thing was somehow held up by one lone crooked screw. And then you realize every single detail about your house was done to similar standards.

Yeah we're lucky blah blah.. but goddamnit too.

Well looks like Milwaukee and greater boston homes have that in common. Went thru literally the same thing (thrice) in our place putting in ceiling fans and large light fixtures. Still better than painting!

One thing I have learned in my 6 years of homeownership is that half the battle is water. Keep it flowing, keep it out of where its not supposed to be, it has been a battle. I have spent the most money on plumbing and water management out everything on my house.

I was getting massive seepage in our basement every time it rained over 2 inches. What fixed it? New gutters with extra fat downspouts that I extended about 8 feet from our foundation. DUH! Luckily our backyard is sloped away from the house.

I can repair anything given enough time. Everywhere decay is in motion. Trying to be prepared for problems and reverse decay little by little is a constant stressor. Then the occasional trip-out imagining a nice addition or whatever, attached garage or some shit --reminds you your in a bad dream. appliances suck, break down as warranty is petering out.

painted and tiled and built-in cabinets in bathroom last summer--turned out nice, few details left...tiling is a skill!
replaced rear screen door in fall, turned out as great improvement, closes and latches correctly .
tore apart 4 y.o. furnace on NYE:manufacturing defect, so far my repair is ace.

yes to water being a primal force
shark-bite plumbing parts is a boon.

yes to movement and structural settling
reminding you how small and weak you are when its not just annoying that something wont close or latch correctly.

yes to paint sucks but looks good if you do it right--
expensive and messy and why not just 1 white?

and if you sleep too well at night,start looking in the pull boxes behind outlets and light fixtures...smoke detectors working?

Last year...

My brother took in two dogs from a litter that the owner had not really planned on. He and a friend put in "Wood..." vinyl flooring so that he wouldn't be trying to housebreak them in a home with carpet.

About a month later, his refrigerator went out.

When he moved the old one out and put the new one in, he asked if we could be really careful not to bang up the new flooring.

It was a laugh because two month old puppies? They thought that was the best game ever.

The male also chewed some of the wallpaper off of the wall like a billy goat.

Owen wrote: Fri Jan 28, 2022 8:44 pm I was getting massive seepage in our basement every time it rained over 2 inches. What fixed it? New gutters with extra fat downspouts that I extended about 8 feet from our foundation. DUH! Luckily our backyard is sloped away from the house.

Basement seepage thru the floor cracks was a big issue for us in Chicago 5-10 years ago. Albany Park was pretty notorious for flooding for a while, though I think the city beefed up its sewers in recent years. It happens occasionally in Milwaukee but not nearly as bad (we're kind of up on a hill here).

Wood porches can go to hell. You can try to paint it or gloop on water seal every year but the fucker will find a way to rot internally. When we finally tear ours out (probably this year), a concrete slab + stairs are going in instead.

Owen wrote: Fri Jan 28, 2022 8:44 pm I have spent the most money on plumbing and water management out everything on my house.

My previous house was built in 1995, and I HATED dealing with leaks. The washer leaked once, a toilet leaked from the base, a shutoff valve leaked, there were two leaks behind a wall (!!), it sucked.

I moved into a brand new place with my now-wife a little over a year ago, I do not miss dealing with that shit.