Honestly I thought spray foam was overkill until I found a massive gap around my attic hatch last weekend. It was bleeding heat like crazy and my upstairs was freezing. I sealed it with a $12 can of Great Stuff and a pair of gloves. Has anyone else had a drafty spot that turned out to be way simpler to fix than you thought?
My grandma always used toothpaste to fill small nail holes before painting, and I figured it was just an old wives' tale. Last month when I was patching up the living room wall after taking down some frames, I ran out of spackle. Decided to give her method a shot with plain white toothpaste. I pressed it into three holes, let it dry about 20 minutes, then sanded it smooth. Honestly it worked better than the store-bought stuff. No shrinking, no cracking, and it paints right over just fine. Has anyone else ditched spackle for toothpaste on small repairs?
My front door knob was wobbling like crazy for weeks, so I took the whole thing apart, watched four YouTube videos, and even made a trip to the hardware store for new screws... only to realize the original screw was just half a turn loose the whole time. Has anyone else gone on a total wild goose chase for a ten-second fix?
My upstairs window been stuck for 2 years. Tried WD-40, tried tapping it with a hammer. Nothing. Then I rubbed a bar of soap on the tracks. Slides like new now. Anyone else got a weird fix that worked when nothing else did?
I had a slow drip under my kitchen sink last month. Grabbed duct tape like always. Wrapped it tight. Felt proud. Then my neighbor who's a plumber saw it. He said I was making things worse. Trapping moisture against the pipe. Causing rust underneath. He showed me how to use a rubber patch and a hose clamp instead. Cost me $3 for the clamp from Ace Hardware. That fix has held for 3 weeks now. No drips. Has anyone else been using the wrong tape on pipes?
Was at my friend's place in Austin last weekend and his leaning painting drove me nuts for two hours before I realized a chewed-up corner of the bar wedged behind the frame actually leveled it, so has anyone else used food as a shim or am I the only one desperate enough to try this?
Her bedroom door was sticking at the top pretty bad, so I figured I'd offer to plane it down. But she just grabbed her blow dryer and hit the swollen spot for a few minutes, then rubbed a candle along the edge where it rubs. The wax filled the gap and it swung smooth as new. Anyone else use heat and wax instead of actually removing wood?
I swear I've patched the same spot in my hallway about 12 times over the last 3 years... kept cracking because I was using the wrong mud consistency. Just hit patch number 200 across the whole house last weekend and finally figured out you gotta wet the edges of the old drywall paper before you apply the compound. Anyone else have a number like that for a simple repair they kept messing up?
My wife kept telling me to try it when we were hanging pictures in our living room last weekend. I rolled my eyes so hard because I thought it was some weird TikTok hack that would ruin the wall. But I had a tube of white Crest sitting there and no spackle, so I gave it a shot on three holes. It dried in like 10 minutes, I sanded it with a coffee filter, and you seriously cannot tell the difference. Has anyone else had this work for bigger holes or am I just lucky it was tiny ones?
After three tries filling a gouge in my pine desk, the glue-dust mix actually sanded smooth and took stain the same color. Anyone else found this works better on certain woods?
Last Saturday I was at Ace Hardware on Main Street grabbing some lightbulbs and I mentioned to the guy behind the counter that my bedroom door has been squeaking like a haunted house prop for weeks. I was about to buy a can of WD-40 when this older gentleman stocking shelves nearby just looked over and said "son you don't need that mess, just grab a pencil." I thought he was joking but he walked me over to the aisle and showed me how to rub the lead from a regular number 2 pencil right into the hinge pin. He said graphite is a dry lubricant so it doesn't collect dust and gunk up like oil does. I went home tried it on all three hinges and honestly that door hasn't made a peep since. Has anyone else run into those random one-line fixes from old timers that just work way better than the fancy stuff?
Had a nail pop out in my hallway last week and left a dime-sized crater. I was about to drive to the hardware store when my neighbor knocked and said just mix baking soda with super glue. I was super skeptical but tried it. Filled the hole in 2 minutes, sanded it smooth, and you can't even tell. Has anyone else tried weird household combos for patching stuff up?
After tearing it apart twice and buying two different replacement cartridges, a neighbor who used to do plumbing told me I had been putting the little rubber o-ring in upside down the whole time, has anyone else had a simple install mistake cause weeks of frustration like that?
He said just wrap it tight around the base and it'll seal right up, so I tried it and now I've got a sticky puddle every morning for three days. Has anyone else had a supposedly quick fix turn into a bigger mess than the original problem?
Tried his trick on a living room wall and it cracked out after three days. Anyone else have a "home remedy" that just made more work for you?
Finally figured out why my patches kept cracking after a few weeks. Turns out you're supposed to feather the compound way past the hole, not just slap it on and call it done. My neighbor Dave watched me do it and literally laughed, then showed me his method that's lasted 3 years without a crack. Anybody else have a 'wait I've been doing this stupid this whole time' moment?
I noticed the door was scraping the frame about three months after I put on a new coat of latex paint. Turns out the extra thickness pushed the hinge out of alignment, so I filed down the bottom edge by maybe 1/16 of an inch and it swings fine now. Has anyone else had paint layers mess up door fit like that?
Was complaining to old Mr. Garza about a nail hole in my hallway last Saturday and he laughed, grabbed a tube of plain white toothpaste from his pocket, and filled it right there. Said folks used to do this all the time back in the 70s when they didn't have spackle around. Dried overnight and I sanded it smooth, now you can't even tell where the hole was. Has anyone else tried weird household stuff in place of actual repair products?
Been patching up some holes in my living room from an old shelf... wasn't sure which to grab. I went with joint compound since I had a half-used tub from a bigger project last summer. It took like 3 coats to get smooth and I left it too thick on the second try, had to sand forever. Still, it blended in better with the textured wall than spackle would have. Anyone else have a clear favorite for small holes or am I overthinking this?
I had this little nail hole (like 1/4 inch) from a picture frame I moved last week, and I stood in the hardware aisle at Lowe's for way too long trying to decide. Wood filler seemed too heavy and spackle felt more right for drywall, so I went with spackle - the pre-mixed tub kind for like $4. It worked fine, but it shrank a tiny bit after drying, so I had to do a second thin coat. Has anyone else found that spackle always needs two passes or am I just being impatient?
I spent about 6 years cussing at my deck screws for stripping out, thinking the wood was just too soft. Then my buddy Bill came over to help me hang a gate and watched me set my drill clutch. He asked if I knew the 2 setting was for drywall and I felt like an absolute fool. How many of you guys ever found out you were just using the wrong tool setting for years?
I bought one of those dripless caulk guns from the hardware store thinking it would save me time on my bathroom trim... instead it locked up halfway through the first tube and I had to fight it for 20 minutes. Anybody have a good cheap model that actually works?
Tried to fix a 2 inch hole from an old outlet box in my kitchen last week. Grabbed wood filler first since it was closer, but it dried all hard and cracked because the wall is drywall not wood. Should I just use spackle next time or is there a trick to make wood filler work on drywall?