We’ve been immersed in DIY home projects lately as we rush to get things done before the winter weather comes. We wouldn’t have to rush if we’d started them earlier, but this blog post is about funny moments from recent DIY projects and not about procrastination.
I’ll write that one later.
I’m calling these funny moments because they are funny now. At the time they were more like “Are you kidding me?” moments. Or maybe “Are we on hidden camera?” moments.
If we had our own tv show we would probably need writers because our actual script would seem too implausible. No one would believe the funny moments DIY creates around this house.
I hope we aren’t the only ones who have these! Let’s get into it.
The Washing Machine Incident
We recently replaced a window in the laundry room.
This window sits directly behind the washing machine. It’s not how you’d build a laundry room today, but washing machines didn’t exist when this window was originally installed.
The washing machine was moved several times during the course of this window installation process. Since we didn’t get the project done in one fell swoop, we needed to put the washing machine back in place so we had clean clothes to wear. Laundry does not go on hiatus during DIY projects, unfortunately.
During one of these times, we must have bumped the drain hose because it spewed water all over the place that we needed to be dry so that we could properly flash the window.
Are you kidding me? We have an actual hole in our house. The weather could turn at any moment. I could just sense all the bugs, birds, and bats queuing up to enter our house like it was a rave with no cover charge. We did not have time for waterworks!
Thankfully, we caught this washing machine debacle right as it happened so it was just surface-level wetness that we had to deal with and not a catastrophe.
It’s not often that my hair dryer saves the day, but when it does, it’s a reason to celebrate.
The Caulk Gun Incident
The problem with minimalism is when something breaks, you don’t have a backup.
As it turns out, we are caulk gun minimalists. For all the DIY we do, we only have one caulk gun. Never in our existence have the two of us applied caulk at the same time, so it’s not like we needed to have more than one caulk gun on hand.
We were recently using a special type of sealant to seal the spot where the wall sheathing meets our stone foundation. We don’t need to get into the particulars, but this type of sealant came in a rigid tube and had to be applied using a caulk gun. If you’ve never used a caulk gun, it’s a device that helps you squeeze the caulk out of a rigid tube.
The important thing to know is that if the devil has a tarpit, that’s where this sealant comes from. It’s dark, sticky, and so difficult to get out of the tube that you’ll think you’re in hell.
Since I’m the primary person who caulks around here, it was my job to dispense the devil’s tar onto our wall. Except, I was not making any progress. This stuff was so thick that it wasn’t coming out of the tube without an exorcism or a stronger pair of hands.
Handy Husband took over the job. I should mention that we were in a hurry. It was a Sunday night, we had lost daylight, and it was about to rain.
Handy Husband was using all of his strength to try and get the sealant devil’s tar out of the tube and broke the metal handle of the caulk gun right off.
Oh, no. This was not good.
“Quick, get another caulk gun!” Handy Husband says to me.
“Um…would this be a bad time to mention we don’t have another caulk gun?” I replied.
“How is that possible?” Handy Husband asks.
“Well, Marie Kondo…oh, never mind. It just is.”
In the end, Handy Husband bruised his hand manually pushing the sealant out of the tube, but he got the wall sealed up before it rained.
Did we learn anything from this incident?
Apparently not as we are the proud new owners of one caulk gun, not two.
The Bees’ Nest Incident
A clear indication that you need to replace your wood siding is when you notice it is rotting. That should be obvious, right?
This is not a time to dawdle, people.
Trust me when I say you want to replace that siding before any other creatures notice that it is rotting like bees.
If you notice one bee inside your house you can write it off as someone left the door open.
If you start to have a bee per day in your house, you need to move. Or maybe you just need to fix or replace your siding because the bees have found a way in.
Arguably, moving might be easier. Ha!
When we replaced some rotten siding on our house, we definitely found evidence that bees had been making themselves right at home in the wall. I can only thank my lucky stars that the bees were currently on vacation when we discovered their hideaway.
Can you imagine what you’d do if you opened up your wall and found hundreds or thousands of bees alive and well?
*shudders violently*
Right after we permanently evicted our former houseguests and sealed the wall back up, we noticed this guy buzzing around in the exact same spot the bees had been getting in.
Not today, Satan!
P.S. I know there are good bees and we need them to do the important work of pollination. I just need them to rest their weary heads somewhere other than in my house.
P.P.S. This incident is still too fresh to be funny.
I tend to embrace the “it’s better to laugh than cry” mantra when it comes to things that go wrong during our DIY projects.
Eventually, these situations will become funny moments.
I’m just happy that everything turned out fine and we live to DIY another day.
Do you have any funny moments from your DIY projects that you could laugh about at the time or much later? I’d love to know. You can always comment on this blog post (I have to approve it first before it appears), email me here, or reach out via Instagram or Facebook.
Thanks for being here today! It’s fun to share the good, bad, and funny of our projects with you. Here are some other blog posts you might enjoy.
A Snarky But Helpful Wallpaper Removal Guide
Kids Write The Funniest Things