No matter how new or how well-built, every house needs work or maintenance on a regular basis. You can pay professionals to do it all, of course, but if you’re looking to save a little money (or just want to learn and be in control of your home maintenance fate), there are plenty of home repair jobs that can be DIY’d. If you’re a beginner who’s just getting started on DIY maintenance and repair, however, you should watch out for some easy and common mistakes inexperienced DIYers make.
One of the most common mistakes beginner DIYers make is to assume that if tight is good, extra tight is better. This is especially true for plumbing jobs. We all fear water leaks and how easily they can destroy whole sections of your house, so it seems to make sense that when you’ve replaced the trap under your sink or swapped in a new drain or faucet you should tighten those connections as much as you can. But over-tightening any connection, bolt, or screw can lead to disaster because it can cause small, subtle cracks that lead to failures and leaks that may not become evident until days or weeks later.
Caulking empty tubs
Re-caulking a bathroom every few years is a very good idea. Caulk isn’t forever, and even a tiny failure can allow damaging moisture to invade your walls and floors. And caulking is a DIY job almost everyone can do to an acceptable standard.
If your goal is to destroy your house and possibly yourself, then you should definitely dive into a DIY project without bothering to locate and turn off the water and electrical supply to the areas you’ll be working on. Not only can one wrong turn of the wrench on a pipe send a torrent of water coursing into your house, but working with any exposed wiring that hasn’t been confirmed to be cold is just foolhardy. Turning off the water and power to the areas you’ll be messing with might seem like an unnecessary complication for a small, quick job, but if your hand slips or a component fails, you’ll be very glad you took the time.
Not testing equipment
Ah, the kerf. If you’ve never heard the term, you’re not alone—very few DIYers have. The kerf is the width of the cut your saw blade makes. This can be crucial, because that material is deleted from the wood you’re working with (it has been transformed into sawdust)—and that means your cuts can end up wider or narrower than intended.
If you score a straight line on that board to cut, say, one inch off, where you position the blade will make a difference. You want to position it on the other side from the piece you’ll be using, so the kerf isn’t part of the measurement. Otherwise, your cut will be just slightly too small. This doesn’t matter in some projects—but if accuracy is a concern, keep the kerf in mind.
Drilling into pipes or wiring
A wall scanner is an indispensable tool whenever you’re going to drill into a wall. It can detect live wires and plumbing, giving you a warning before you drill into disaster. If the wiring and plumbing was done correctly, there should be metal stud guards in place, so if you encounter unexpected resistance when drilling into the wall, it’s best to assume you’re aimed right at something vital and there’s a guard in place to prevent disaster—in other words, don’t consider it a challenge to drill through whatever’s slowing you down. Back out, take a breath, and investigate.
Over-reliance on tape
The most common mistake first-time painters make is believing that painter’s tape is a magical material that results in crisp, perfect lines every time. Painter’s tape is useful stuff, and it can certainly help you get a clean line and protect areas from accidental paint. But it’s not magic, and you need to use proper painting technique if you want clean lines. That means learning how to use a cut brush properly, taking your time even if you’ve taped everything off, and not overloading your brush with paint. Even the best painter’s tape can let paint bleed through it you’re smearing too much on.
Forcing and stripping screws
An easy mistake newbies make when using power drills for the first time is stripping screws. The bit in your drill is harder than the head of your screw, so if things go wrong, your drill can 100% wear down your screw until there’s nothing left to grip, leaving you with a frustrating mini-project called Using Pliers to Remove Screws.
Use the right bit. Screwdriver bits come in different sizes and formats. Make sure the bit you’re using fits snugly into the screw and doesn’t float around or hover on top. Even if there’s some purchase when you turn the bit at a slow speed, an imperfect fit will pop out at high RPMs.
Stay perpendicular. Don’t let the drill droop at an angle. You want to come at the screw perfectly straight. If you need a ladder or other tools to accomplish this, go get them.
If you follow those simple steps, your chances of stripping a screw go down dramatically, and your chances of a happy ending to your DIY project go up.
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