c/Amarillo-home-repairs-and-diy

28

sage_moore37•18h ago

That $15 ceiling fan took me 4 hours to install

Picked up a cheap fan from Lowe's because the old one was making a grinding noise. Thought it would be a quick swap, an hour tops. The wiring was color coded wrong on the box, so I spent 2 hours just figuring out why the light wouldn't turn off. Four hours later and three trips to my phone for YouTube, I got it running. Anyone else run into fan wiring that's just backwards from the instructions?

5

ray_williams•4d ago

Why does nobody talk about how bad those premixed joint compounds are for patching drywall in an Amarillo summer?

Tried using the bucket stuff for a 2-foot hole in my garage last July and it cracked all the way through in 3 days, so I switched to the powder mix and that stuff held solid even in the 105-degree heat, has anyone else had this problem with the premixed stuff around here?

26

the_rowan•7d ago

Hit 100 circuit breaker replacements last month. That number caught me off guard.

Been keeping a log for my own records and when I added up October I had done exactly 100 breaker swaps. Most were for a neighborhood in Canyon where the old Zinsco panels are finally giving out. Anyone else track random job stats like that?

13

claire_young76•7d ago

Tried to replace a toilet flapper and ended up flooding my bathroom for 2 hours

So I figured swapping out a $8 flapper would be a quick 15 minute job (famous last words, right?). I got the old one off fine, but when I put the new one on and turned the water back on, water just kept running. I messed with the chain length, adjusted the float, nothing helped. Turns out I had the flapper seated wrong on the overflow tube - it was all twisted. By the time I figured it out, I had mopped up about 5 gallons off the floor. Has anyone else had a simple fix turn into a disaster like that?

22

amy_craig28•7d ago

My bathroom faucet swap turned into a 6 hour ordeal

I figured replacing an old faucet in my guest bathroom would be a quick Saturday morning job, maybe 2 hours tops. But the supply lines were completely seized up from hard water buildup, and I spent the first hour just trying to get the nuts loose with penetrating oil and a basin wrench. Then the new faucet didn't fit the weird offset holes in my 1970s sink deck, so I had to file down the mounting plate. Anybody else run into hidden surprises that made a simple repair drag on forever?

19

blakestone•8d ago

I threw $80 down the drain on that 'miracle' pipe leak repair tape

I saw this Flex Seal tape at Ace Hardware in Amarillo, the one they claim fixes active leaks instantly. My kitchen sink pipe had a slow drip, so I spent $18 on a roll, cleaned the pipe, and wrapped it tight like the video showed. Three days later I woke up to a puddle all over my floor because the tape peeled off. Ended up calling a plumber who charged me $62 to replace a simple rubber coupling, which took him 15 minutes. Anyone else fell for those fancy tapes when a $3 part would've done the job?

16

kim_ramirez3•9d ago

Had a plumber tell me to check my pressure regulator before calling him again

My house in Canyon had water hammer so bad it shook the pipes every time I ran the washing machine. Called a plumber out and he charged me $85 just to look at it. He said the pressure was over 100 psi and I could fix it myself with a $30 regulator from Lowes. After I swapped it out the hammer stopped completely. Made me wonder how many other small fixes I could do before calling pros. Anyone else had a simple fix they found after paying for a service call?

24

jamief67•10d ago

Hit 100 staple gun misfires before I finally got the hang of it

I was putting up new ceiling insulation in my garage last weekend and counted 100 times that staple just bounced off the joist or shot sideways. Turned out I was holding the gun at the wrong angle and not pressing hard enough. Anyone else have a tool that took way too many tries to figure out?

17

annajenkins•13d ago

Was totally wrong about using a tube bender for copper pipe

Always thought a manual tubing bender was a waste of money compared to just bending by hand. After ruining 5 feet of 1/2 inch copper on a kitchen sink job last week, I finally bought one for $35 and got perfect 90 degree bends every time. Anyone else fight the urge to go cheap on tools and regret it later?

8

pat781•14d ago

Drywall patch took me 5 hours for a 6 inch hole

Thought I could slap some mud on and be done in an hour, but between cutting the square, screwing in backer boards, and waiting for three coats of compound to dry, it ate up my whole Saturday afternoon. Anyone else find that drywall repairs always take way longer than you plan?

19

the_jamie•15d ago

Shook my head at my grandpa's plumber trick... until it saved me $300

He told me to pour a gallon of hot vinegar down the drain every month. Thought it was old timer nonsense. Last year my kitchen sink clogged solid, called a guy who quoted $300 to snake it... tried the vinegar first and two hours later it was flowing clear. Any of y'all got weird home remedies that actually hold up?

5

kai_webb91•16d ago

Had the outlet at my parents' house melt on me last Saturday

Honestly, I was helping my mom swap out an old light fixture at her place off Coulter Street. I flipped the breaker and everything, but when I pulled the old outlet out, the back of it was black and crusty like it had been slowly burning for months. Ngl, that scared me because she said she hadn't noticed any problems. Now I'm gonna go through every outlet in her house with a multimeter this weekend. Anyone else ever find a hidden fire hazard like that after thinking everything was fine?

2

robert659•1mo ago

Pipe insulation trick I learned after a burst last winter

I used to just wrap foam tubes around my outdoor spigots and call it good, but after a -10 degree night in January blew out a brass fitting in my Amarillo crawlspace. Now I tape heat tape around the pipes first, then add insulation, and I haven't had a freeze issue since. Anybody else switch up their winter prep after a bad leak?

8

irisowens•1mo ago

I finally tested my attic insulation R-value myself

I borrowed a thermal camera from the Amarillo library last week and found out my attic only had R-19, not the R-38 the house inspector claimed back in 2019. Spent $140 on six rolls of fiberglass from Lowe's and my upstairs bedrooms are already 8 degrees cooler by noon. Anybody else get surprised by what their insulation actually is?

26

mianelson•1mo ago

Swapped out a 20-year-old water heater last weekend and wow

My old one was leaking rust for months, finally got a new 50-gallon Rheem from Lowe's for $480. The hot water lasts twice as long now, and my utility bill dropped $15 already after just one week. Has anyone else seen that big a jump from just swapping out an old heater?

6

murphy.tessa•1mo ago

Dropped $150 on a smart thermostat and now I'm back to using a twist timer

I put a Nest thermostat in my old Amarillo house last spring thinking it would save me money on energy bills, but it kept fighting with my ancient HVAC system and cycling on and off wrong. After 8 months of fiddling with settings and calling the electrician twice I yanked it out and put in a $15 mechanical timer from Ace Hardware. Has anyone else here dumped money on smart home stuff that just wouldn't play nice with older houses?

13

claire_davis31•1mo ago

Dropped $2,500 on a new Trane AC unit last summer and the energy savings are real but my neighbor says I should have just fixed the old one for $200

The old unit was guzzling power and the repair guy quoted me $1,200 for a new compressor anyway, so did I waste my money or does spending big on efficiency actually pay off long term for Amarillo summers?

9

gavin228•1mo ago

Hit 200 bales of hay in my shed roof insulation project

I was patching the shed roof last month and decided to insulate with hay bales since they were cheap. After stacking 200 bales, I realized the roof wasn't built to hold that weight. Whole thing sagged about 3 inches in the middle. Took me a weekend to pull them all back out and switch to fiberglass. Has anyone else miscalculated the weight on a DIY insulation job like that?

13

elliotm57•1mo ago

Old timer named Bob told me to use roofing nails for fence boards, now I'm pulling all of them out

Back when I first moved here to Amarillo about 12 years ago, I was building a privacy fence for my backyard. An older guy named Bob who lived down the street came over and said just use roofing nails, they're cheap and will hold fine. Well, I did what he said. Now every single board is warped and popping off because those nails have no holding power. I'm having to redo the whole thing with deck screws this weekend. Live and learn I guess. Has anybody else gotten bad advice from a neighbor that cost you time and money?

13

nelson.vera•1mo ago

Just realized we have been sealing our driveway wrong for 10 years

I read the label on a can of Black Jack sealer last week and it said you need to water it down 3 to 1 for the first coat, which explains why our last two driveways peeled up within 6 months here in Amarillo.

5

xena_bailey18•1mo ago

Downspout extension debate with my neighbor saved me $150

My neighbor Martha told me I was wasting money on those flexible corrugated downspout extensions because they clog up in 6 months. She showed me her solid PVC setup she put in for $40 at Lowe's off Coulter Street. I swapped mine out last weekend and now I'm wondering if there's a better way to connect them to the underground drain pipe without leaks. Anyone found a sealant that actually holds up in the Amarillo heat?

4

sean_green44•1mo ago

Switched to a corded hammer drill after years of using battery powered ones

I always figured cordless was the way to go for everything, but last week I had to drill 12 holes through my foundation in Amarillo to mount a new workbench. My battery drill barely made it through hole number 3 before dying. Borrowed my neighbor's corded 8-amp model from Lowe's and it went through the rest like butter. Now I'm thinking there's a time and place for both, depending on what you're doing. Anyone else stick with corded tools for certain jobs?

10

drew_hart4•1mo ago

Got burned by a bad patch job on my Amarillo rental last Tuesday

I went over to fix a nail pop in a bedroom and the whole section of drywall crumbled because the previous owner had used spackle instead of joint compound on a 2-foot patch. Has anyone else run into weird shortcuts from flippers around here?

17

martin.riley•1mo ago

Found out the hard way that vinegar strips grout sealer

I used straight white vinegar to clean a mold spot in my bathroom grout last month, and now the whole shower floor soaks up water like a sponge because it stripped the sealer off. Had to buy a $15 bottle of grout sealer and redo the whole thing. Anybody else accidentally wreck their tile work with household cleaners?

8

leo_black76•1mo ago

Painted my fence with a roller vs a sprayer and the difference was night and day

Used a Wagner sprayer on the back section of my fence in about an hour. Looked great at first. Then I went to roll the front section with the same paint and it took three times as long but the finish is way thicker and smoother. The sprayer left some thin spots I had to go back over. Has anyone else found rolling is just better for this kind of job?