c/diy-home

I spent $80 on a tile saw blade that was complete garbage

Last month I grabbed this cheap diamond blade off Amazon thinking I was being smart saving 40 bucks over the brand name ones. First cut through a 12x24 porcelain tile and it started wobbling like crazy, then chipped the edge on every single tile after that. I ruined like 3 tiles before I gave up and drove to Home Depot for a proper blade. Anybody have a go-to blade brand that actually holds up for porcelain?

2 comments

janah83•8h ago

Why I stopped using store-bought grout cleaner and switched to vinegar and baking soda

For years I used that orange bottle of grout cleaner from the grocery store. Cost me about 8 bucks every time and the smell would knock me out. Last spring I had a really grimy kitchen backsplash and ran out of the store stuff. I mixed baking soda with white vinegar to make a paste, spread it on the grout lines, let it sit 15 minutes, then scrubbed with an old toothbrush. Honestly it worked better than the chemical stuff and cost me maybe 50 cents. Has anyone else had luck with homemade cleaners for tile or grout?

2 comments

mark_carr7•19h ago

Overheard a guy at Lowes say drywall mud is all the same

Was grabbing supplies for a bathroom reno this morning and heard this dude tell his friend that any brand of joint compound works fine. I've been using Sheetrock brand for 10 years and tried a cheap store brand once. That stuff took twice as long to sand and left bubbles everywhere. Has anyone else found a huge difference between brands?

2 comments

stellaperry•1d ago

Bought those expensive smart light switches and I'm now convinced they're more trouble than they're worth

I saw all the hype about smart switches making life easier. Spent like 300 dollars on a set for my living room and kitchen last month. The app keeps disconnecting, the voice control lags by 3 seconds, and my wife nearly tripped over a lamp because the switch didn't respond. Honestly, I just wanted to dim the lights without getting up. Now I'm thinking about swapping them back for old-school dimmers. Anyone else deal with smart home gear that just makes everything worse?

2 comments

sean_cooper58•1d ago

That paint return at Home Depot felt like pulling teeth

I drove 45 minutes to Home Depot in Bakersfield last Saturday to return a gallon of Behr paint I bought by mistake, wrong color completely. The guy at the desk gave me this whole speech about how they can't take it back if it's been tinted, even though the receipt was from that same week and it was clearly their mistake ringing it up. Has anyone else had to fight a return that should have been cut and dry?

c/diy-home

I spent $80 on a tile saw blade that was complete garbage

Why I stopped using store-bought grout cleaner and switched to vinegar and baking soda

Overheard a guy at Lowes say drywall mud is all the same

Bought those expensive smart light switches and I'm now convinced they're more trouble than they're worth

That paint return at Home Depot felt like pulling teeth

Hit my 500th paint job yesterday and it finally clicked why I do this

Heads up about those cheap moisture meters at Lowe's

My basement ceiling tiles started sagging after 3 years

Pro tip: stop using spackle to fill nail holes in trim, it cracks every time

I went with peel-and-stick tile instead of real subway tile and I'm fine with it

Spent $180 on a fancy paint sprayer and wish I'd just used rollers

Finally fixed my bathroom vanity after trying caulk vs silicone

A quick chat with my dad about caulking changed my whole approach

That $15 tube of DAP caulk I swore was overpriced just saved my bathroom from a mold disaster

Why does every video on painting skip the step about sanding between coats?

Painted my kitchen cabinets without sanding first and now I'm paying for it

Vent: Learned the hard way that my 'level' floor had a 2 inch slope after my bookshelf slid across the room overnight

That $600 laminate flooring nightmare I should have seen coming

Spent 3 hours trying to fix a toilet that just needed the chain adjusted

TIL my garage had 47 empty paint cans from 7 years of projects

Was dead set against those 'plastic anchor' things for shelves until my bathroom remodel

Just realized my grandpa was right about painting trim brushes

Figured out why my bathroom fan was so loud after 3 months of annoyance

TIL I used 40 tubes of caulk on my basement remodel

That day I realized I'd been using painter's tape backwards for 5 years