If you do DIY, you’ve probably fallen foul of some of the most common mistakes ever. The good news is that there are some great solutions to them—you don’t need to live with them for the rest of your life or pay thousands to correct them. Have you made these common mistakes?
The Paint Ran!
You’ve painted your home and step back to admire your work. Wait, there’s a blob of paint right in the middle of the wall where it ran.
Now what are you supposed to do? Well, if it’s still wet, you can use a rag to get rid of it and then use a bit of paint to touch it up.
If it’s already dry, use some sandpaper to get rid of it and then touch it up. Next time you paint, make sure you get rid of the excess paint so it doesn’t run and blob like this!
The Hole in the Wall After Hanging Something
You’ve hung something heavy and now there’s a big hole in the wall. Right now, you can sand the wall down and fill it up with poly-filler and other wall repair products.
You can even get a whole kit for repairing walls like this. Use some paint to then touch it up.
Don’t use this area for hanging anything again as it won’t have the weight. Next time, make sure you have a wall anchor as this is designed to take some of the weight from the item.
You Have Crooked Wallpaper
No matter how much you try, you hung the wallpaper so it was crooked. You need to make sure that first piece is straight, otherwise the rest of your room will be on a slant and you don’t want that!
Draw a plumb line before hanging any wallpaper. The walls and floor aren’t going to be straight as houses will start to settle.
You Can See the Old Paint Colour
You’ve gone from dark or deep colours to a lighter one. There’s a big problem now—you can see the old colour through the new.
You don’t need to repaint right now. Use a latex primer on top so the old pigments are sealed in. Next time, apply the primer before you repaint the wall. It will prevent it happening.
The Faucet Is Leaking
This can also happen with showerheads and any other plumbing materials. The issue is the old sealant, which isn’t going to do any good.
This needs to be removed, which means uninstalling your new faucet (or whatever you’ve added) and then reinstalling it without the old sealant and using your own. Next time, make sure all the old sealant is gone before you start the hard work.
The Fabric Is Too Short!
Have you have cut the fabric so that it’s too short? Of course you have! Most people have. If you’re on a budget, you may want to sew the scrap pieces of material together.
Not good at sewing? Then use some of the no-sew fabric glue. Next time, measure twice, cut once and leave some left over!