Thought I'd fix a small ceiling patch in 30 minutes... it's been 3 days

Last Tuesday I went to fix a water stain on a ceiling in a rental property. I figured cut out the bad spot, throw some new rock up, tape and mud it, easy money. 3 hours later I realized the joist spacing was weird and I had to rip a custom piece that kept falling through the gap. Then the mud I mixed was too thick and cracked overnight, so I had to sand and redo it the next day. By Thursday I had three coats of mud on and it still wasn't flat because I was rushing. Finally got it smooth Friday morning after a guy at the supply house told me to use a setting compound instead. Anyone else ever have a "quick fix" snowball into a multi day headache?

3 comments

3 Comments

jana_scott1mo ago

Oh man I tried to swap a light fixture in an hour and ended up rewiring half the room lol

sam_thomas1mo ago

Three trips to Home Depot later, I'm convinced that's just how it goes with any house older than 1980. You pop off one cover plate and suddenly you're staring at a rat's nest of cloth-wired everything held together with tape and good intentions. I bet half the houses in my neighborhood have at least one room where the previous owner just gave up and left the switch wired to the hot wire. It's like every home improvement project is really just a test of how far down the rabbit hole you're willing to go before you call a professional.

keith_rivera191mo ago

@sam_thomas called it perfectly. Every time I touch something in my 1970s house it turns into a full archeological dig of bad DIY decisions. Last year I was just swapping out a dimmer switch and found the whole box packed with aluminum wire spliced to copper with wire nuts and no antioxidant paste. Had to stop everything and spend the weekend pigtailing every connection in the living room.