i hate chiseling out for back boxes. cant stand it.
hacking off old plaster - dust everywhere 
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Worst DIY jobs?
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Posted 1 year ago #
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unblocking drains.
i can only do this if i wear one of those waterproof disposable ponchos in case it splashes onto me , ugh
another one i hate, even though its quite straightforward, is removing the dirty sealant from round the bath and re-doing it. it never seems to last more than 6mths before it needs doing again.
Posted 1 year ago # -
not the worst but just 10min ago im trying to scrape yellowed silicone from the kitchen window surround
and the damn stuff aint coming off, its the little streaks where you end up scratching it with your fingernail, actually,,,, wait let me pick my fingernails clean, they're minginPosted 1 year ago # -
Taking down an old ceiling which had god knows how many years of rats pee, droppings and old nests mixed with ancient disintegrating insulation. Only way to do it was to stand underneath and get covered in it whilst wearing head to toe protective clothing and a breating mask.
Having spent 4 years renovating an old cottage only to have to put it on the market as soon as it's finished for no profit has made me conclude that I am never, ever going to do major renovations / diy again - riding bikes is a far better use of my time!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Removing lino glued to concrete floors.
This one. Removing the actual tiles that come up is easy and actually quite fun. Then you get the tiles that leave bits of themselves behind, it's like chipping away at jelly with a screwdriver. Each strip you remove, leaves two behind. The most soul destrying part of the whole job is clearing say a square metre after about 3 hours and standing up, stretching your back and seeing the remaining 20 metres to go.
Give me a backed up bog any time. Shit washes off in a couple of minutes.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Then you get the tiles that leave bits of themselves behind
It's a joyous moment when a 6 inch square comes up intact!
Laying paving slabs isn't on my 'fun' list of DIY jobs. Grouting tiles isn't on that list either, don't mind the tiling bit but grouting - no thanks (just finished the kitchen tiles tonight).
Posted 1 year ago # -
Grouting's quite therapeutic, I find.
You should see my neighbour's pointing on the new garden wall he's building. Exquisite.
Posted 1 year ago # -
renovations . <--- that's a full stop there for effect.
Managed to get a full monty of:
complete house (wooden house, GIB walls) with beautiful anaglypta (? sp) wallpaper and gloss paint in places, probably went on in '61 when it was built. Either reGIB every wall as you couldn't get it off without borking the board. So one full round of oil based primer everywhere. Crossed fingers, skim plaster the whole house, sand, fixup any dodgy bits, paint with sealer, undercoat, 2 coats of paint. Took firkin ages, gf got back and said "theres a bubble there"
Had to build a patio to hide her body ...Posted 1 year ago # -
Some proper horror stories on this thread. OP - that does sound nasty, but nothing beats unclagging drains.
Our toilet started backing up (rented house, years ago) and the back yard began filling with sewage. Phoned the landlord and his wife told me to come round and borrow their telescopic unclagging rod thing.
I lifted a manhole cover in the back yard and was faced with a two metre deep pool of raw sewage. I was instantly and wretchedly sick, which only made things worse, as I now had to kneel in the pool of sick to get near the pool of shite.
Half an hour of ramming this pole up the drain running toward the house passed before it dawned on me that the blockage might be in the drain running away from the house. By this time I had nothing left to puke (it was a very hot Summers' day). My method was; run out into the back lane, take a deep breath, run back in and shove the pole in, run out of air, take a deep breath, retch bile into the very pool I sought to diminish, repeat ad nauseum (literally).
Finally, the reason behind the blockage became clear - it seems it's common practice round these parts to place a roof tile over the entrance to the main sewer system to stop rats jumping out of your toilet. The tile had slipped and completely blocked the outflow.
Took weeks for the stench to clear and my mind has never been right since.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I was a bit sick in my mouth there reading that. Our bog back up and the dude who came to fix it was about to unscrew the plastic cap when he slammed his foot on it and said that last time he did that he created a sh1t fountain and that there was a fair amount of pressure in there already !!
Posted 1 year ago # -
43derryroad - Member
Removing kitchen floor tiles that were stuck down with the most powerful adhesive ever known to man which also took lumps of asphalt with it.
snap! Mine were big and sort of enamelled on top. I wore my knee pads (as in DH ones) chunky gloves and goggles, still ended up with a few little cuts on my face and neck from flying splinters of tile: some I had to destroy cm by cm just to get off the floor.
Posted 1 year ago #
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