Worst DIY job to tackle??

[StillShaving]

This thread is somewhat in jest, but I recall a diversion in a recent thread where the discussion focused on how painting was the least favorite activity. While that sentiment is understood, aren't there a lot of jobs even worse?

In that spirit what is your least favorite DIY job?

 

[StillShaving]

I was replacing a shower valve today. Actually found necessary washers and faucet seat at the big box store. But that was my trigger for the worse job thinking, as my stress level rises a little whenever the household water is shut off to work on plumbing. So I might say any plumbing task is the worse.

 

[Kentos]

I’m a carpenter by trade, but any water supply related work gives me the heebie jeebies cause 80% of the work I do is water damage restoration. I know how to do the simple things, but I still worry if a line is going to fail when I’m off on a 3 day weekend trip.

 

[luvmysuper]

Painting.
Followed closely by drywall.
I'd rather replace all the hardware in a bathroom than paint a wall.
I find plumbing to be straightforward and relatively simple.

 

[Phoenixkh]

I worked about 1/3 of my working years as a carpenter and I agree... though I'm not fond of painting, it's plumbing repairs that cause me the most anxiety. I don't always have the right tools, I have spare parts for carpenter jobs laying around but I only have a few plumbing related spares so I'm often missing something, I've done a careful job... turned the water back on and had leaks.... nightmares.

I befriended a plumber here and have used him for years instead of trying the more difficult jobs myself, but he just retired. Finding a new plumber???? Another nightmare. <eg>

 

[Phoenixkh]

Painting.
Followed closely by drywall.
I'd rather replace all the hardware in a bathroom than paint a wall.

I did a lot of remodeling during my carpenter years and became too good at drywall.... The guy who taught me the trade hated drywall work. He taught me how to do it... I did it better than he did or at least, he pretended that was the case. In any event, he said "If you do the job right, you get it all the time." And sure enough.... I did all the drywall patching, finishing... Oh... and he hated to paint too so I got that job as well.

We had customers who used to shine a light against the wall to see if they could see any imperfections in the drywall patches... Mine passed the test every time... I think they were a bit disappointed, truth be told. The worst? We had a guy who wouldn't let us sand at All... I had to use sponges in between applications to smooth them out before the final coat.... That was a headache, let me tell you.

Why all the patches? We often installed recessed lighting in cathedral ceilings.... We had to fish boxes of Romex sometimes. Impossible to do without cutting some holes and patching them so they looked like they grew there. Those art collectors just love all those accent lights, sconces of all kinds, etc.

 

[hairless wonder]

Plumbing can be a pain in the gluteus maximus! It usually starts off with a simple replace and/or repair job but then gets more complicated as more things end up needing replacing and/or repairing.

I once had to change my reverse osmosis water purifier under my kitchen sink. In the process, I snapped off the handle to a valve on the water purifier. Next, the cold water shut off valve, which supplied water to the water purifier, snapped off when I went to turn off the water. I had to shut off the water to my house at the main line before going on a hunt for the right replacement valve for the water purifier.

Unfortunately, after a search of my local hardware stores, I couldn't find the right valve as I needed one that had different sized ends. Instead, I had to connect two different sized valves to jerry rig a workable valve for my water purifier.

Additionally, I had to remove the broken cold water shutoff valve. Fortunately, one of my local hardware stores had the right sized valve, though it took me a couple trips to find the right one. However, removing the broken valve turned out to be more of a problem. The plumber used some sort of dope that hardened into a form of cement. It took me a good amount of effort to weaken the bonds and break the cement before I could remove the broken valve.

Keep in mind that all of the work was under the kitchen sink. So I had to contort my fat middle-aged body under the kitchen sink, with my back halfway hanging out of the under sink cupboard, trying not to break the cupboard doors off their hinges, and doing most of the work by feel as I still couldn't see much even with my headlamp turned on. When I wasn't praying that I didn't accidentally destroy the 50 year old pipes by turning my wrenches too hard, I was swearing at them.

A couple years later, I had to replace the under sink garbage disposal and the faucet. It dredged up bad memories. Unfortunately, I found myself once again contorting my fat middle-ages body under the kitchen sink, with my back halfway hanging out of the under sink cupboard, trying not to break the cupboard doors off their hinges, and doing most of the work by feel as I still couldn't see much even with my headlamp turned on. Fortunately, none of the valves broke this time. However, I unexpectedly had to replace some of the PVC pipes under the sink in order to account for the size difference between the old and new garbage disposals.

Of course, after making all the repairs, there's always the risk of leaks. So both times I made repairs, before putting everything back under the sink, I placed some pans to catch any leaks overnight. Luckily for me, I think I managed to make good repairs as I didn't find any leaks the following mornings.

 

[PintoPlain]

I don't touch plumbing or electrics. Electrical bodging can kill and plumbing can get very messy. I'm prepared to bite the bullet and pay for someone's expertise. Like that quote from some movie I can't remember, "A man's got to know his limitations".

I don't mind the actual painting, but the prep work really annoys me. Just when I think I'm finished, I notice another spot that's not right and have to correct it. Even if it's behind the door and 75 mm (circa 3") off the floor.

 

[brucered]

Painting for me. Not the acutally paiting, but the prep.

Finding somewhere for the furniture, fixtures, pictures etc. Covering them all with cloth or vapor barrier. Removing trim, baseboards (I put those on after), taking down switch covers, outlet covers. Filling all the holes, getting all spots smooth, drywall/compound filler dust everywhere. Vacuum all that up, then it's taping and masking.

The acutal painting is easy and quite enjoyable to see the transformation and end result.

After the painting, it's a process to put it all back toghether. Trim, switchplate covers, new spots for pictures (if changing layout).

My family wonders why I only paint every 10-15y. I give them a 20min rant on all of the above.

 

[Whisky]

Drywall and painting. Both of which I’m doing right now. I’m about to do tape and bed the drywall I just put up and will be painting next week.

Next, the cold water shut off valve, which supplied water to the water purifier, snapped off when I went to turn off the water

This is a very common issue. I had a plumber tell me once to shut off and reopen all your sink/toilet valves at least twice a year to keep them from binding up.

 

[alpster]

I'm glad to see that others hate painting as much as I do. I don't like plumbing, but I've done quite a lot successfully. I don't mind electric, but yep, I'd rather pull a bear's teeth than paint.

 

[blethenstrom]

Scraping popcorn ceiling easily the worst even beats out painting for me.

 

[Tirvine]

Scraping popcorn ceiling easily the worst even beats out painting for me.

Right up there with removing popcorn is removing wallpaper.

 

[Mojo88]

Drywall. I hate everything about it. I took out a set of French Doors and I still don’t like the way it looks. I will end up skimming it in the spring when the doors can be opened.

 

[Bosh Hog]

I hate painting. So much prep work.

 

[Mojo88]

We replaced all the carpet in our home last year. The initial part, carpet and pad removal is easy. It’s all the staples that is a pain. It can take hours with a pair of side cuts or needle nose pliers to get everything up. I found this scraper and was able to remove everything literally in minutes.

My son was in the same situation and the installer that put in the new floor said that normally it takes them quite some time to remove the staples that homeowners leave. They have a game that they play. Over /Under on the amount of staples, the loser buys lunch. He said he won with under 10 staples for 1500 sq feet.

 

[luvmysuper]

Like that quote from some movie I can't remember, "A man's got to know his limitations".

Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry in Magnum Force.

 

[PintoPlain]

Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry in Magnum Force.

I knew it was a quote from a movie, but didn't know what one and too lazy to Google. Thanks.

 

[Ratso]

Painting.
Followed closely by drywall.
I'd rather replace all the hardware in a bathroom than paint a wall.
I find plumbing to be straightforward and relatively simple.

Even with leaking elbows?

 

[AshleyC]

Basement bathroom, in a rural area, where you have to install a "upward flush" mechanism. That's pretty rough going.