Over the years, I've learned how to do repair projects myself because the landlord wouldn't or would take too long... Right now I have a challenging one. Tougher than the furnace that I just fixed. A windowsill. Why is there no consensus among contractors on what is the best filler for a plaster-based windowsill?!!! After I filled the scraped out section with wallboard joint compound, which was recommended on every DYI site I went to, now I find that general purpose joint compound or the usual pre-mixed spaekling I used to use is recommended to fill deep holes and then the lighter wallboard joint compound is used to "finish." WTF! Live and learn! What are your DYI nightmares and lessons learned?

here is what i know about do it yourself projects: "If at first you don't suceed, quit mucking around and call someone who knows what they're doing."

which project was it that taught me that? hmmmm.... too many to mention

What you are referring to as "repair projects," I call "breaking shit." Truly a cliche in that I can take it apart, but can not for the life of me put it back together. It's not really a question of how much will it cost for me to repair this more than it is a question of how much will it cost me to replace item x if I try to fix it?

And if it's within my budget, I break shit. Learning nothing, apparently.

sonshine said: