Thu 10 May 2012

Angle Grinder Mishap

Posted by Karl under Home Improvement Horror Stories
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It seems like everyone today is getting on the home improvement band wagon. The simplest projects can turn into home improvement mishaps, especially if power tools are involved. Power tools can be useful and help you save time on your do it yourself projects. However, if not used safely or by an inexperienced person they can lead to disaster and even bodily harm or injury.

A woman with waist long hair was going to use an angle grinder on a metal table to sand off the paint. She had set up the area outside and put her hair in a ponytail as a safety precaution. She had everything she needed including the cordless phone.

She was bending over and engrossed in her work and the phone rang. She turned her head towards the sound. Her ponytail swung across the table. Before she could even attempt to get the finger off the switch the grinder caught her hair.

In a matter of seconds the grinder wound up her hair and slapped against the side of her head. It was literally hanging from the side of her head. She was stunned and shocked, but she still answered the phone anyway. It happens to be her husband and she relayed what had happen. His advice was to hit reverse.

She wasn’t sure if that was a good idea or not. Instead she spent over an hour pulling out the strands of hair that were entwined in the angle grinder. Fortunately, she was not injured seriously. However, she did learn a valuable lesson about the power and danger when using a power tool. She also learned to put her hair up and to wear a hat when working with power tools. If you are not experienced in using power tools, sometimes it best to leave a home improvement project to the professionals.

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Thu 26 Apr 2012

Clearing the Snow off the Roof

Posted by Karl under Roofing
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It was in the middle of a unusually snowy winter the snow in this area was pretty deep. A new homeowner was worried the weight of the snow on the roof was going to make it collapse. The owner decided to tackle the task by himself and shovel the snow off of the roof. He asked around and someone told him to be careful not to scrape any of the asphalt shingles.

He then proceeded to start at the bottom of the roof and slowly shovel his way to the peak. He diligently worked away for a couple of hours and had completed one side of the roof. He had made sure that he had left about an inch of snow on the roof so he wouldn’t cause any damage to the roof.

At this point he was getting tired and was standing on the top of the peak of the house. He decided he would take a well deserved break and sit down for a few minutes before he started on the other side. He didn’t want to get the seat of his pants wet. So he decided to use the plastic shovel to sit on. He placed the shovel between his legs and began to straddle the shovel to sit down on it.

As soon as he sat down, he shot off the roof like a rocket. At that exact moment he realized that his shovel was made out of the exact same thing as his daughter’s toboggan. Fortunately, his landing was softened by the huge pile of snow he had thrown off the roof.

This just goes to show that some things are better left alone or at least think them through first. Before you try to tackle a dangerous job like this, it is best to consult a professional before taking things into your own hands.

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Thu 12 Apr 2012

Carpet Woes

Posted by Karl under Home Improvement, Home Improvement Gone Bad
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There are some home improvement projects that can be done by a novice do it yourselfer. On the other hand, there are some projects and repair that need to be handled by a professional with experience in that type of work. Many repair and home improvement projects need special equipment and skill to do, such as electrical work, plumbing and laying carpet.

My uncle who thinks he is the king of home repairs decided he was going to install the new carpet my aunt had bought several months before. It had been sitting in the garage waiting to be installed. My aunt had been very busy and hadn’t taken the time to call to schedule an appointment to get it done.

My aunt was out of town for the weekend when my uncle got his brilliant idea to lay the carpet himself. As far as I know, he had never done this type of project before. When I pointed this out to him, he said that he had a couple of buddies that would help him install the carpet. I silently doubted the expertise of his “buddies”, but kept silent.

I helped them remove the furniture and pull up the old carpet. I then left to do other things and told them I would check in on them the next day. The next day I walked into the living room and seen that the carpet was down and the furniture was back in place.

When I took a closer look my mouth fell open. There was a huge seam running down the middle of the living room and several other very noticeable places that had been patched. When I mentioned it to my uncle he said after a while you didn’t notice them. Well, my aunt certainly did when she arrived home.

She immediately called in a professional to repair the carpet correctly. I was amazed at how good of job they did. The installers said they have to fix projects like this all the time. My aunt paid for the repair work and then proceeded to hide my uncle’s tool belt and tools.

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