Drama and Remodeling (or Building a New Home)
Remodeling your home—or building a new one from the ground up—can be one of the most exciting adventures you’ll take together. It can also put your patience (and your relationship!) to the test.
Choosing finishes, fixtures, and all the details that make a house feel like home is the fun part. The key to enjoying the process is setting clear expectations, establishing a realistic budget, and keeping communication at the top of your priority list from start to finish.
Remember, you’re creating a home that reflects your vision and your lifestyle. While there may be a few bumps along the way, having experienced professionals guiding the process can make all the difference.
To give you a laugh, we’ve included a few funny remodeling stories from Reader’s Digest Canada. They’re a great reminder that sometimes the best DIY decision is knowing when to call in the professionals. Enjoy!
Super glue follies
“In the middle of a bathroom repair, I left a bottle of Super Glue uncapped while I answered the phone. My husband went into the bathroom and disrobed for a shower— but first, he sat on the toilet. An inveterate bathroom reader, he picked up the glue bottle and started to read it. A few minutes later, I heard this muffled cry for help. I hung up and went to investigate. My husband had somehow glued his chest to his thighs. I got him backed out of the bathroom and onto the bed and tried to pull his legs free. We couldn’t get him unstuck! I decided he must be rushed to the emergency room, but he refused to go naked. But how do you get pants on a naked man glued to himself? I brought in a plastic lawn bag to wrap him in, but he refused to go like that. I called a nurse friend, who, after laughing uncontrollably, suggested I dribble nail polish remover onto his chest and work it into the glued area with cotton swabs. It worked, but to this day, any mention of Super Glue brings a look of terror to my husband’s face.”
Hot enough for ya?
“I was working alone on a large outdoor deck in 100-degree weather. I had to lop off a 3-ft. piece of a rim joist. To envision what happened next, it helps to think about Wile E. Coyote sitting on a limb of a tree and sawing it off! I stood on the rim joist without realizing I was standing on the very piece of wood I intended to cut off. The joist split when I was about two-thirds through it with my circular saw, and I fell with it. Fortunately, I dropped the saw on the way down, and I didn’t land on any of the many objects that could have caused serious injury. But I did end up in the hospital with dehydration and sunstroke.”
Oh, that’s what that wall is for
“Our first house was a two-story frame home. The 12-ft. hallway leading to the dining room seemed to serve no purpose, so we decided to remove the wall and expand the size of the living room by almost 4 ft.
“After assuring my wife that I could finish the project over a long weekend, I started demoing the lath-and-plaster wall. By bedtime, I had the wall down and most of the debris bagged and stacked. I climbed the stairs to our bedroom, which was directly above the living room, and went to sleep.
“The following morning I awoke to a bowl-shaped bedroom floor! I stepped gingerly across it, ran down the stairs and discovered that the living room ceiling had sagged 6 in. during the night! Turns out I had removed a load-bearing wall. As we sped to the rental yard to pick up jacks, I sheepishly told my wife that I might need more than three days to finish.”