Anthony Foresto – Foresto Holding Supply
I’ve had a few of those in my time. To say that nothing really surprises me anymore is an understatement. From who-knows-how-old extension cords ran in walls then wired for outlets, to people trying to make their home an open floor plan and removing structural walls. But when it comes to paint – and I’ve seen this stuff several times – people using the sample paint as actual finish paint and wondering why it fails in their bathroom or using latex trim paint on cabinet refinishing. The problem being, in my opinion, is the lack of real information out there. Yes, you can find lots of videos on YouTube, but what it really comes down to is the person you’re buying your materials from and your arrogance for not asking the right questions. The DIY fails don’t bother me so much. It’s the professionals who sold you that they can do your project for you, but really can’t. I blame that on the American standards and lack of regulation for the trade industry. We don’t have a decorators program here in the States like they do in the UK.
Steven Adickes – Adix Painting Inc.
I don’t have a DIY project that I have come across that I had to fix – mostly straightening out paint lines at the ceiling. Here in Arizona, it’s poor practices by other contractors that I have to fix. Some of what is out there is just an accepted standard. Many clients go cheap and fast and learn the hard way and are looking for high quality the next time. They understand the value of quality will raise their property value. I do offer full painting services and will coach and work side by side with the homeowner on their projects as an option if they want to be involved and lower the man hours on the project. I did help a long-time friend and client after they had their exterior painted and shortly after the job, the paint was failing on the woof fascia. I discovered that drywall mud was used to float over the old wood fascia and then painted with a flat product. I pressure washed, primed fascia, floated wood with elastomeric patch, and primed and painted.
Arlene Mcloughlin Murals
I just experienced this two weeks ago. I went to give an estimate on a newly built triple bookcase. The client had a carpenter build a custom cabinet. The wood used was not furniture-grade plywood on the door and drawer front or the back pieces of the bookcase, therefore I suggested a layered rustic finish as opposed to a high-sheen lacquer which she wanted originally. Nothing was caulked and no nail holes were filled. I gave her a price and didn’t hear back. She called me yesterday to go over the options again. Client decided to fill all the nail holes including the beautiful black walnut shelving. She used the wrong material and there were grease stains all over the walnut. The other areas were thick and crusty. She did all this with the intention of “saving me time” and lowering my price Unfortunately, she ruined her walnut shelving and I ultimately declined the project.
Chris Bott -Chris the Painter
I’m not sure it’s my worst experience but a recent event does spring to mind. We were “just doing touch-ups” on a house up for sale. Not a job I would normally take on but it was for a good client and my employee needed a project. We did a walk-through with the client who pointed out the usual dings, nail holes and old wall plugs to be fixed. Easy peasy. It’s towards the end of the job, of course, when I look behind the bathroom door to find the mother of all DIY fixes; a hole at least 1 ft by 2ft where someone or something had caved in the drywall. Their fix had been to just fill the void with successive layers of mud and fibertape resulting in a huge mess that looked like a poor attempt at papier mache. The obvious fix was to replace the drywall and re-mud, not a huge deal to fix but definitely not what you want to find on the last day of an “easy” job.
AJ Karaffa – AJ’s Brushworks
I had a customer last summer that wanted to paint their own house, to save money and avoid hassles. They had water damage in the laundry room, and watched a particular DIY TV show regarding home fix-its. They used all the wrong products and no primer. The job cost them double what it would have had they just used a professional. The paint literally flaked from being applied on a previously wet substrate. Some drywall had to be replaced because it was so wet it was brittle. They opted to cover with caulk – about a case of it, an absolute disaster of a job. Every imaginable DIY hack that one can do, was done, and done completely wrong.
Jeff Christman- J Christman Painting
The biggest DIY’er mistake I’ve had to fix is letting them decide process/workflow, sequencing, purchasing, doing prep work. I’ve learned that if they bring prep up, I politely say that I’ll take care of the prep work. If they bring up cost, I let them know it’s included in the price. If they ask to deduct it, I say I just can’t do that. If they ask why, I say it’s part of the whole package and that I can’t lay my work on top of anyone else’s so as to prevent any failure down the road. If someone else does the prep, I can’t warranty my work. With the paint, I let them know that I can buy it and sell to them cheaper than they can buy it and that I don’t think it’s proper for the client to work for me. They would have to order it, pick it up. Other than applying it, I can’t touch the paint. With workflow or sequencing, I let the client know that it’s decided by the contractor and any interruption will lead to extra charges.
Monty Byars – Byars Painting and Drywall Finishing
One of the biggest, most costly things DIY people do in our industry in general is put latex paint over oil or other solvent-based materials. This can be a very labor-intensive and costly repair. In some cases, you can literally scratch a little spot off in the paint film and peel the paint off fairly easily. In these situations, we usually go ahead and peel it off, give it a scuff sand, and prime with Zinsser Cover-Stain Oil-Base Primer. Other times, the paint has a better bite and is harder to get off. I still use the same process – scuff the finish lightly with sandpaper trying not to disrupt the coating too badly. The light scuff ensures that the primer will bite to it. I then prime with Zinsser Cover-Stain Oil-Base Primer to seal and bond the surface. This also gives a fresh surface to apply new topcoat finish to. A lot of people think you have to strip the latex paint off, but actually we’ve found the Cover-Stain works excellent if the latex isn’t disrupted as we have been doing this process for years.
Kurt Ramspott -Pro Precision Painting
We encountered a customer who asked us to remove nearly 2,400 square feet of popcorn ceiling. Upon removing the popcorn ceilings efficiently with a Festool sander and vacuum, we noticed that underneath was a less than desirable textured ceiling the homeowner or previous homeowner had tried to do themselves, with of all products: Quickset. So, as best as we could, we adjusted our sanding profile with the Festool, and through six people on our team, we evened out 2,400 sq. ft. of poorly done textured ceiling. From there, bucket after bucket of mud we floated the ceiling. Twenty-foot-high vaulted ceilings, bedroom ceilings, hallways, and more. Not one square inch was missed. Then we top-coated it with two coats of CHB Flat Latex paint from Sherwin Williams. It was not our favorite job, but a project we fought through and were victorious. As a result of this and two other horribly done drywall, mudding, and finish work below, we have made the formal decision to no longer remove popcorn ceilings and make a profit elsewhere.
Jeremy Bramlett – Premier Painting Services
Well, the worst customer DIY/ trying to help us out was when they decided to do their own caulking one night to save us time. Unfortunately, they used a non-paintable silicone caulk. What a mess! We had to scrape it all out and re-caulk! We appreciate the help but sometimes it’s
