I'm someone who had barely even ever used a power tool before buying this house - here are a few things I've learned since thenEverything has a learning curve. You're not just changing a lightswitch/building a paver walkway/installing gutters, you're learning how to do those things and THEN doing them. Laying that walkway only took a few hours....but figuring out exactly what I needed, doing it halfway and then realizing it was wrong, redoing it halfway again, realizing it was wrong again, then finally redoing it right (close to right) was two days of work.At one point, I was laying additional subfloor upstairs and realized halfway through that I had used the wrong screws. I pulled up and replaced over 600 screws. You will screw up - learning is part of the process.Sometimes half-ass is fine. Yes, in an ideal world "Do it once, do it right" is the way to go. But sometimes that isn't an option.On one side of my house is a paver patio, and I wanted to expand it. The pavers were uneven and a few inches higher than the poured concrete walkway along that side of the house (there had been foundation issues so the area near the house was sunken) Ideally I would have torn it all out, leveled it, laid down several inches of base followed by sand then laid down the pavers. Except I have 8 other pressing things I need to do on this house. So the choice was, half-ass it or leave it. I opted to put the expanded patio at a level between the walkway and the old patio (split the difference), and built "ramps" out of decomposed granite. Yes, I will eventually have to re-do it, but it's perfectly usable til then. (I have a tenant in the upstairs of my house and I wanted her to have a nice patio area for the summer)Find contractors that will meet you halfway. My electrician lets my run the wire/install new outlets/etc - he just comes in and checks my work then makes the final connections. When I needed a new shower I did all the demo work and took pictures of what was behind the walls - my contractor showed up with most of what he needed (of course there was still a trip to Home Depot for unexpecteds) and it saved me probably two or three hours worth of his work.Always check prices. If you're like me you have a few stores close to you, and you always go to your favorite. But check prices, it might be better to go to the other one. Sure, $40 doesn't sound like much on a $1000 lumber purchase, but it's still $40. Would you buy a dozen eggs for $43.75 just because it is at the store you're used to going to?Stop obsessing about resale value. Unless you're flipping, chances are you're going to be in this house for many years - make it what you want it to be. Putting a raised bed vegetable garden in my front yard will lower my resale value...so what? It's what I want - when I sell in 8 or 10 or 30 years I'll spend two days tearing it out and putting down sod.Creativity trumps craftsmanship. On my back patio I framed out a wall (4x4s on either end (anchored to concrete patio) connected by 2x4s), faced it with the old, weathered wood from the previous owner's picket fences, then hung plants all over the wall. I did a crappy job anchoring the 4x4s (despite trying to do a good job), a lot of the 2x4s are a bit crooked, and the planters i built to hang on the wall are - up close - kind of sad. But no one notices all that - all they comment on is what a cool idea it is and how awesome all the plants look.The cinderblock-and-landscape-timber L-shaped-bench I built on my tenant's patio is honestly pretty janky...but all anyone ever talks about is how cool it is. Sometimes, if you don't have skill, substitute with style.You will use that tool. I've agonized over almost every tool purchase (I should mention, I'm a waiter... not exactly in the the 1%) but i have to say that almost without exception, every tool I've purchased has saved my ass at some point. On a related note, in my experience Harbor Freight is great for tools you'll only use occasionally, but never, ever...ever ever EVER but sandpaper, drill bits, or saw blades there. via /r/DIY https://ift.tt/2JrzbzV
