Home renovation projects and DIY work often bring unexpected surprises that nobody plans for. You might start painting with a clear plan for the day and then something completely unplanned happens. These 15 repair stories came with surprises and laughs that people remembered long after the work was done. I told the construction crew to buy grout for the tiles. When I arrived the grout was bright red against the pink tiles and it had already dried.
- A couple of years ago our company moved to a new office. The space was much larger than before but the condition was poor so we spent time fixing and arranging everything ourselves.
Near the end only a few cosmetic details remained. The boss asked his secretary to hang a small mirror in the men’s restroom. She completed the task and he thanked her before going to check the result. He laughed for a long time afterward. The issue was that he stands about 6 feet 6 inches tall while the secretary is only 4 feet 11 inches. She hung the mirror at her height so most men could only see themselves from the waist down.
- My husband and I started a small renovation in the room that will become the nursery. We were painting the walls & got carried away with the process. We began fooling around and splashing yellow paint at each other while running & shouting. Suddenly the doorbell rang so we calmed down and answered it. Our neighbor stood there looking displeased and said something about us being yellow & asked us to keep the noise down. My boyfriend & I currently live with my mom. She enjoys having us around because she gets lonely by herself. We decided to help with some renovations.
- My boyfriend took charge and completed everything my mom had not been able to finish for about 10 years. He fixed the outlets and adjusted the plumbing and we redid the wallpaper together. My mom looked at the results and said she was so happy. Then she glanced at me and quietly added that at least this one was not useless.
- My grandmother has many friends but she never brought them home. She was always too shy to show our apartment because my grandfather had been working on renovation for about 6 years. Grandma never let anyone past the doorstep and always visited her friends or chatted in the gazebo outside. Recently something motivated Grandpa to finish the work. He bought materials and called his friends and completed the renovation. He sat in the kitchen admiring the ceiling and told Grandma she could now invite Tammy over for tea without being embarrassed. Grandma gave him a jealous look & replied that he just wanted Tammy to sit in their kitchen. She said her friends would not set foot in the house.
- That was how we discovered that Grandma did not have friends over because she was jealous rather than embarrassed about the repairs. Since my bathroom is under renovation I decided to do laundry at my daughter’s place. Everyone was at work & they have a cat named Tim. You should have seen his eyes full of surprise as if asking what I was doing there. He watched me for all 4 hours. He observed what I put in the washing machine and what I took out and why I opened the fridge. I told him I would not take anything of his but he did not believe me. He sniffed everything and then sat by the door as if asking when I would leave.
- When we moved into the new apartment we immediately started renovating. One day I removed the old interior door and took it out to the trash before going back to work. Thirty minutes later there was a ring at the door. I opened it and an elderly neighbor was standing there with my door leaning against the wall. I looked at him puzzled and he replied also looking puzzled that it seemed like I had accidentally thrown away my door. He suggested I take it back because it was a good one.
- My friends finished renovating the kitchen and we gathered to celebrate. We sat with the girls in the kitchen discussing the renovation and the furniture & the new electric stove.Someone mentioned that the pipe running through the middle of the wall with the backsplash ruins everything. My friend shouted to her husband asking if they should have removed it. He answered right away saying he would go upstairs tomorrow and if the neighbors don’t need gas he’ll take it out.
- We took the nursery renovation very seriously because we wanted perfection. We even hired a designer & everyone was happy with how it turned out. Then when the baby turned one we went on vacation and gave my mother-in-law the keys to water the plants. During that week she whitewashed the walls and painted roses on them even though she’s not an artist.
- Our renovation was done by a girl. One day I came home from work early and found our modest tradeswoman had set up a romantic scene. I was so shocked I started yelling. She immediately rushed to pack her things while the guy kept trying to convince me I misunderstood everything.
- This happened about 20 years ago. A neighbor who was some important person had just moved to our city with his family. It was his wife’s milestone birthday and we had never seen such preparations for a celebration before. They not only renovated their apartment but also hired a special crew to finish the stairwell up to our floor. The residents joked about this for a long time & those who lived on higher floors were disappointed since their part of the stairwell remained untouched.
- I moved into a new apartment and did some renovations. At the same time I changed jobs & really liked my new boss. I often heard him complain about the neighbors because of their noisy renovation. It turned out my apartment was directly above his. Now we’re renovating again & combining the apartments because my boss is now my husband.
- When my husband & I got married we bought a small apartment that desperately needed renovation. We didn’t have much money so we decided to do everything ourselves. The lack of experience wasn’t an obstacle. Eventually only the hallway was left unfinished but my husband was sent on a two week business trip. I freaked out and decided I could handle it myself. Along with the old wallpaper a large part of the wall came off. Trying to even it out only made it worse. I struggled and then gave up & simply painted it gray. When my husband saw this I told him we had a change of plans & the hallway was now in a loft style.
- We were doing some remodeling the other day in a luxury apartment. The client was a businesswoman in her forties who always knows exactly what she wants. We’re discussing the finish & I ask about the color. This lady looks at me and says she wants black walls in the bedroom. All my remarks that the room would look like a cave were brushed off. I tried to suggest at least dark gray but she looked at me like I was the enemy. It felt like I suggested going out on a date with her instead of changing the wall color. We finished painting today and I was blown away. The black matte paint devoured all light reflection and made the room seem smaller. I’m standing in the middle of the bedroom feeling like an astronaut in outer space. I called the client to come over and see how it turned out. I thought she would start yelling that I didn’t dissuade her and that we ruined the whole apartment but she was thrilled.
- About 15 years ago we were renovating our apartment. My dad brought home someone in need & we fed him and taught him the repair work. We did a good thing and forgot about it. Several years passed and suddenly he came to visit us. He looked fabulous with a fancy suit and expensive cologne. He came to thank my father for everything he did for him. He didn’t forget.
