17 Times Homeowners Took On DIY Projects That Turned Into Costly, Headache-Inducing Disasters

Owning a home can be expensive, but taking on DIY projects around the house can help you save a significant amount — if done correctly. Recently, members of the Mytour Community revealed the DIY projects they attempted, completed, or tried that, in hindsight, they wish they'd left to the professionals. Here are some of the most candid stories that might make you think twice before tackling your next home project:

1. "I taught myself how to tile a floor using YouTube tutorials. I tackled a tiny bathroom, but let me tell you, I'll never try to tile anything by myself again. It was WAY too much work. I can't even imagine taking on a bigger space. From now on, I'll always hire someone to lay the tile for me."

2. "At my parents' place, my dad decided to build a stone wall around the pool to block the giant dirt hill behind it. He bought all the materials and enlisted my grandpa for help. They worked on it for one day, and it barely progressed — it's still incomplete even now. My dad started this project when I was in high school, and now I'm in my mid-20s. It's frustrating because our backyard could have looked great if he had shared his vision with someone who actually knew how to finish the job."

—gabsbarbosa22

3. "We decided to pull up the carpet and redo the stairs ourselves. Never again! The results look amazing, but the weeks of sanding, painting, staining, and the constant dust all over the house definitely weren’t worth it!"

4. "The one project that really got away from us was cutting down an old apple tree. It seemed simple, but we ended up calling in a tree service to handle the cutting and removal. Every other project — gutting the kitchen, building a deck, constructing a workshop, landscaping, even making a hot tub from a pile of lumber — went smoothly. But that apple tree? It almost got the best of us."

—Angelica Paganelli

5. "My dad was a contractor for years, so he had (or could borrow) most of the tools we needed when we renovated the 200-year-old farmhouse I grew up in. Most of the work we did ourselves, and with help from a few friends, we completely redid the place. I loved designing my own room, and I even learned how to refinish old pine floorboards by hand. It taught me a lot about home repair and the importance of doing things right. But I will NEVER, EVER replace brick grout again. The bricks were ancient, requiring special brushes and tiny chisels for the job, and my snot turned an orangey-red for a month after. Never again."

6. "We tried to fix up our backyard, and it turned into a total mess. It turns out hiring a professional to regrade and fix the yard wasn’t as expensive as we had imagined."

—toomanykidsnotenoughtime

7. "We decided to hang slab doors as a simple way to update our 50-year-old house, but even though we carefully measured the sizes, all the door jams had shifted and warped over the decades, so none of the doors fit properly. On top of that, painting both sides, measuring, and installing the hinges and handles made it much more complicated. This is easily the number one project I regret taking on."

8. "I attempted to fix a clogged faucet. I spent three whole days working on it before finally calling in a plumber. There was no way I could’ve fixed it myself because the clog was deeper in the line and required either a new line or a longer snake, or something like that. Lesson learned: never mess with plumbing."

—Dianalia

9. "After getting married, I worked full-time while painting both the inside and outside of my 1,800-square-foot home. It took me an entire year."

10. "My mom hurt herself while trying to do some DIY wallpapering. She didn’t have the right ladder, so she stood on a chair, lost her balance, fell off, and ended up in the hospital with severe bruising. She was lucky it wasn't worse. She also once gave herself chemical burns while stripping paint from a table because she didn’t wear the proper safety gear. Now, she’s banned from DIY projects and leaves everything to the professionals."

—singingeachtoeach

11. "My wife and I agreed that our bathroom needed an update: some new cabinets from a big-box store, a fresh coat of paint, and new tiles. After shopping for the tiles, before I knew it, I was tearing up the floor and demolishing the shower stall. What was meant to be a simple 'facelift' turned into a full gut job. We’ve had plenty of DIY experience, so we were okay with the tasks, but it was the toll on our energy that really became a challenge. My health issues meant I could only work about six hours every other day, and it felt like it was dragging on forever. We didn’t finish by July, or Christmas, or even by the following April."

12. "Last summer, we decided to create a 17-foot-diameter firepit and patio in our backyard without taking extra time off. We bought a kit from a hardware store, and four pallets were delivered to our house. Digging up 8 feet of sod was the hardest part. Those YouTubers who claim, 'Just cut and roll — it’s so easy,' are definitely exaggerating. Maybe it’s easier with new sod, but trying to pull up well-established grass with 10-foot roots is no joke. Also, renting a compactor to level the rocks? Best $50 I’ve ever spent."

—oldenoughtobeinappropriate

13. "The deck at my mom's house was a disaster. We placed new planks over the old ones and ended up with a deck that slowly rotted over the span of 10 years. Last summer, we finally ripped out all the decayed wood and replaced it with a wood alternative that should hopefully last a lifetime. Now, we don’t have to stain wood anymore (another mistake we made), and we no longer live in fear of breaking our ankles on a rotten plank. The fear was definitely real."

14. "One of my outdoor hose bibs began leaking uncontrollably. Not wanting to waste water or money, I decided to fix it myself. YouTube made it look like a breeze — ha! I gathered all the necessary tools and even borrowed some parts from work. What I didn’t account for was the sheer strength required! No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get the nut off. I used every tool in my collection, but nothing worked. I did manage to remove part of it, but then the water gushed out and wouldn’t stop. I had to shut off the water to the entire house. In the end, I called off work the next day to bring in a plumber. He fixed it in 20 minutes!"

—Jaime, 45, Pennsylvania

15. "We had some leaking pipes that forced us to tear open our ceiling, but the plumbers don't handle drywall. The drywall guys wanted to charge between $500 and $700 for the ceiling repair. I thought, I can handle that, and although I did manage to do it, it was a huge hassle that took several days. It takes a lot of strength to cut everything correctly and fit the drywall in place, especially when you only have basic tools. I can see why the pros charge so much."

16. "We installed a laminate floor that was supposed to be an easy lock-and-groove type. No mat or subfloor was needed, just the planks! At least, that’s what the box(es) claimed. Our three grown kids helped — they did the heavy lifting and all the kneeling. It ended up taking us twice as long and required four more trips to the hardware store. We also had to rent a floor sander. We’re planning to try again with the subfloor, but that won’t happen anytime soon. In fact, it's already been seven years."

—Pahz

17. "I bought my first house at 23. It was a small place with all-original bath and kitchen. I decided to tackle the bathroom first, thinking it’d be a weekend project. But it took me the entire weekend just to tear up the seven — yes, seven — layers of linoleum that had been nailed down randomly. By the time I finished, two months had passed. The bathroom looked great! I was so proud of my work... until my brother-in-law took a look. He laughed at the upside-down tub surround kit I’d installed. That was 40 years ago. I sold the house 33 years ago, and the new owner is still living there with that upside-down surround. I love DIY, but I learned that sometimes you need to hire a pro."