What’s Wrong With DIY? Nothing, if You Know What You’re Doing

Every week, the detail-oriented folks at Green Scene Home Inspections will give CandysDirt.com readers an education in inspection. Want to see what they see? Tune in for “Upon Closer Inspection.”

One of the things home inspectors run into a lot is homeowners who have attempted DIY repairs and renovations with limited success. In some cases, though, they’re epic fails. This week’s Upon Closer Inspection is devoted to DIY Fails.

While it doesn’t take an expert to change an air filter, if we had a nickel for every time we see the wrong size air filter, we could buy a lifetime supply of correctly sized air filters.

Seriously folks, if you buy the wrong size filter for your HVAC, take it back to the store. It’s not “better than nothing.”

Stuffing a pillow case in the hole is not an approved method for sealing outdoor wall penetrations. Even if it’s 1,000 thread count. You would want to use caulk or spray foam to seal that gap.

They could have at least matched the pillowcase to the brick color.

This is the place where the attic ladder attaches to the opening on the attic floor. Every attic ladder has this sign, and like 90 percent of you people put a sheetrock screw where it QUITE CLEARLY SAYS TO PUT A NAIL. 

In this video, you’ll see the same theme — using the wrong material for the job, but this is even more important. As Inspector John likes to say, “Pointy metal things and electricity are a bad pairing.”

Use blunt edge screws around electricity. Also, whether you’re a house flipper or a homeowner, don’t DIY electrical work.