Mistakes I've Made

A running list of times I got something wrong, with dates and dollar amounts. I started this page because I noticed how much of my actual learning has come from messing things up the first time. If you're about to do one of these things for the first time, maybe the list saves you a hardware-store run or a wet sock.

2024, March: $180 garbage disposal I didn't need

The disposal was humming but wouldn't spin. I bought a brand-new InSinkErator at the home center, drove back, started disconnecting the old one, and noticed the little Allen key socket on the bottom. Fifteen seconds with the key and a fork tine came out the top. The $180 disposal sat in its box in the garage for eight months before I finally returned it for partial credit.

The disposal had a $1.50 jam. I had a $180 disposal in a box. Now I always check the bottom socket first.

2023, October: cracked tank, new toilet, $340 lesson

I was replacing a fill valve, plastic nut against a plastic threaded inlet on the underside of the tank. The valve was a bit stiff so I leaned into the wrench. The porcelain went with a sound I will not forget. The new toilet was $260 plus a $50 service charge to install it because I'd had it with toilets that week.

Now the rule is: hand-tight plus a quarter turn, period. If a plastic nut won't seal after that, the part is wrong, not under-torqued.

2023, May: drywall patch that came back twice

I patched the same crack above the office doorframe two different times before I figured out what was actually happening. The first time I used lightweight spackle and was surprised when it cracked again four months later. The second time I used joint compound and was surprised when it cracked again eight months later. Third time I sat down and thought about it. The crack was diagonal, coming off the upper corner of the door frame. Stress crack. The drywall was moving with the framing every time the house expanded and contracted. I needed setting-type compound, fiberglass mesh tape pressed into it while soft, then regular joint compound feathered over. Hasn't come back. Two summers wasted on the wrong product.

2022, July: bleach down the AC drain line

The condensate drain was clogging every six weeks. I read somewhere bleach would keep it clear. I poured a cup of household bleach down the access port for four months. The PVC started looking chalky and the joints loosened up. An HVAC tech I called for an unrelated thing took one look and asked what I'd been pouring in there. Bleach eats PVC over time and corrodes the cast aluminum drain pans on older systems. Distilled white vinegar does the same job without the damage. Lost a J-trap fitting that needed replacement, about $40 and an afternoon.

2022, March: aluminum siding on a basin wrench

First time using a basin wrench, I gripped the wrong part of the supply line nut and started crushing the metal instead of unscrewing it. Realized after the second turn that the nut was now slightly oval and would never thread back on. Had to cut the line clean, go buy a new braided stainless supply hose, and start over. Twenty minutes of mistake, $12 supply line, lesson learned. Basin wrench teeth bite the flats of the nut, not the smooth body of the line.

2021, December: hung a ceiling fan from a plastic light box

This is the one that scares me to think about. I installed a 40-pound ceiling fan on a plastic ceiling box that was rated for a 5-pound light fixture. Worked fine for about three weeks. Then it started vibrating loose. By six weeks the canopy was sagging an inch below the ceiling. I caught it before it dropped. Spent an afternoon in the attic swapping for a fan-rated retrofit box with a joist brace. Now every fan I install starts with checking the box rating. If the box doesn't say "FAN" stamped on it, the fan doesn't go up that day.

2021, May: painting in 95°F sun

The west side of the garage was peeling and I had a free Saturday. I started painting at 11 a.m. in full sun, 95°F. The first coat went on fine. By the end of the second wall the paint was drying so fast on the surface that the top film was lifting off the underneath layer. I ended up with bubbles across half a wall. Scraped it back, sanded it, repainted on an overcast Sunday morning the following weekend. The right paint weather is 60-75°F with the sun off the wall you're working.

2020, fall: stripped two screw holes on the same hinge

Front door was sagging. I tried to tighten the top hinge screws back into the jamb with way too much torque, stripped two of the three holes, then drove the new screws in even harder hoping they'd bite. They didn't. They just dug new holes. Had to pull all three, pack the holes with wood glue and broken-off pieces of golf tee, let dry, then re-drive. The fix worked. The wasted hour didn't have to happen. Now I stop the moment a screw spins free.

2019, summer: wrong washer in a bathroom faucet

Compression faucet, washer at the bottom of the stem, leaking from the spout. I bought the assorted washer pack and grabbed one that looked about right instead of taking the old one to the store. Put it in. Still leaked. Took it apart twice more, tried two more washers from the pack. Finally drove the old washer to the hardware store. Wrong diameter the whole time. Universal-pack washers are for if you can't get to the store. Taking the old part with you is always faster.

I'll keep adding to this list. If you've made a worse one, I genuinely want to hear it, drop me a line.