How many blokes out there have bought a DIY cupboard / table / shelf and dived straight in without reading the guidelines? :razz:
Im ashamed to say I've done this on many occasions and now have a wonky cupboard with no handles which slides from side to side when I try to open it and many other bits and pieces lying around the house from previous disasters!:blush:

Although I've learned from my mistakes and now set everything out nicely and read all the instructions beforehand I was just wondering how many other people can't wait to get stuck in and think they know it all without looking at the booklet and ending in abit of a DIY disaster?

Or . . how many men will admit it!:hihi:

Well I have done a few flat packs in my time and now love them, it's a challenge.....but one DIY disaster I had ended up costing £100 to sort out, and I was only fitting a bedroom carpet!!

I took the old carpet up and saw a few loose floorboards so decided to nail them back down, but didn't look underneath the board before I hit a nail straight through the central heating pipe, thus squirting water out everywhere. Wouldn't have been so bad but for not been able to find a stopcock, the ceiling below had just been papered and was waiting to "dry" out, and it was a bank holiday, so plumbers were scarce.

My mum and dad came back home to find a sodden house and a plumber wanting payment........doh!

Originally posted by Lestat
Or . . how many men will admit it!:hihi:

Why men? My wife does all the DIY around here. Which is great, because it gives me someone to blame when it all goes wrong.

I used to dive in with all the flat packs too!! Until I get fed up with having furniture that wasn't quite complete... ;)

I also now lay everything out and ensure I actually have all the parts before starting. I even read the instructions occasionally! :clap:

My worst botch was fitting shelves in the bathroom and using my drill to put the screws in.... into the central heating pipe behind it that is!! :blush:
Fortunately these old terraces have so many holes in them the water just drained through the kitchen into the cellar and away... :D

Being married to the Frank Spencer of DIY i have taken too hiding the screwdrivers.

Never had a problem :D

My house mate has said she's going to move out since i bought a drill and have threatened to use it. (I like to do charlies angels poses with it whirring in my hand). I'm crap at DIY i just love all the tools x

One or two minor mishaps over the years but what really bugs me is either finishing a flat pack and being left with two 'spare'? screws or dropping the one little thing that is vital and it disappears into that strange black hole with all the paper clips and pens never to be seen again!!

I don't know about disasters, but I certainly opt for the short-cut option sometimes.

I once ran out of Polyfilla and finished the screw-hole filling-in job off with Blu-Tac. It worked a treat and saved me driving down to B&Q.

I also recommend using Tippex to cover up small chips on white
paintwork. It looks a a bit crap, but only ever-so-slightly.