18 Renovations That Didn’t Go as Smoothly as Planned (2025)

• Ineeded toreplace the toilet bowl. The plumber did the job, then hecalledme, “Everything isready, try itout!” Ijust froze.
  Right infront ofhim? Can Iat least close the door? And the man looked atmesurprised, sighed and pressed the button himself. And with the words “everything works,” heleft.©Laz.ana/ Pikabu

• For ayear we’ve been planning torenovate. Recently Ifreaked out, stripped off all the wallpaper, all the tiles and just enjoyedit. Naked walls! Why didn’t Ido itearlier?
  Now mydad’s doingit. It’s sofresh inthe flat! When the room and kitchen are done, Iplan tostrip off the tiles inthe bathroom and toilet. They won’t have achoice! Ha-ha.©Overheard/ Ideer
• Entered touse the bathroom and found that someone had washed and shaved inthere. Ihad toscrub itwith disinfectant. Another timeI came back without warning and astrange woman looked out ofmykitchen with aquiet “ouch.”
  There were 2workers inthe flat. They said with honest eyes, “The wife came tofeed her husband.” And yes, there was achicken roasting inthe oven atthe time. How often this had happened, Iwas afraid tothink.©Zverinka/ Pikabu
• Ionce had new windows brought tome, and they said, “We’ve come toinstall them.” Isaid inshock, “Ididn’t order anything, install them ifyou want, butI won’t pay forit.” They had windows also for the balcony, andI don’t have abalcony. They started calling their support inconfusion.
  Itturned out that they had mixed upthe address— myhouse was31, and the customer’s was 31A. They were soangry! And itwas freezing outside. So, they had todrag their windows from mythird floor tothe neighboring house. Ifelt really sorry for them.©Freda Dantor/ ADME

• Myclassmate, aman with agood income, bought ashabby flat inagood old house after his divorce. Hehired adesigner and ateam ofbuilders, paid alot ofmoney, and 6months later became the happy owner ofabeautiful bachelor pad— stylish and modern. Happiness lasted exactly until the second visit ofhis mother.
  The first time she critically examined her son’s place, and soon she brought him some incomprehensible sconces inthe shape oftulips— apparently afashion trend ofher youth— to“add alittle coziness” tothe place. Hedoesn’t want tomount them soasnot tospoil the design ofthe flat, but his mother isoffended tothe point ofscandal.©AGood Sunday Starts Late/ ADME
• Back then, I’d gotothe library and get books onplumbing, electrical, carpentry. Started with asmall house, and myhusband andI did everything ourselves, albeit, abit rough onsome things.8houses later, and we’ve replaced electrical services, run gas lines, reroofed, done tile, drywall, built agarage. We’ve literally saved hundreds ofthousands inlabor costs.©deignguy1989/ Reddit
• Wehired awoman toput upwallpaper. Atfirst, she gave one price, then suddenly made ittwice asmuch. Tohell withit, weagreed. But the lady felt her power, and then itstarted...
  She calls mewhile I’m atwork and hisses, “Come here immediately, there are problems!” Irushed out ofwork, trying tovisualize what happened: defective wallpaper, she’s run out ofglue, the walls collapsed...
  Iwalkin, and she, with her arms crossed onher chest, says, “I’m working hard here, and you don’t even have akettle! How amI going todrink mytea?” This isreally aproblem ofauniversal scale.

• The washing machine broke down. Weordered anew one and had towait aweek. But it’s not good toput new appliances among old junk, sowethrew out alot of“necessary things” from the pantry, from under the bathtub, from the wardrobes and cupboards.
  After that, weorganized the summer house and raked out all the unnecessary stuff from the garage. Weare going tore-wallpaper the kitchen and the hallway. The washer will bedelivered in4days.©Overheard/ Ideer
• Bought plastic panels for the kitchen. It’s anoutbuilding, aformer veranda, which weinsulated. The walls there are terrible. Ifwedon’t have these panels, the renovation will cost like agood second-hand car.
  Our good friend said hewould doithimself. Idrew asketch ofthe future kitchen, where the panels should gohorizontally, aswetook the leftovers andI calculated exactly that the scraps ofpanels will bebehind the refrigerator, where they won’t bevisible. Iwent away onabusiness trip.
  When Ireturned, Isaw vertical lines and the scraps above the door and all over the wall. Afriend didn’t like mydesign and did “what was best.” Hesaid that dust would accumulate inthe joints between the panels. When asked why hedidn’t hide the joints under the cabinets, hesaid hestarted working from just that wall.©Predatory ZaItz/ ADME
• Iwas given the contact details ofaplumber who was incharge ofrenovations inaneighboring house. Weneeded tomove the water pipes. Since hehad the keys tothe basement, itwas cheaper. Hecame with good tools, did everything and left.
  Only aweek later, wenoticed that the hot water was barely running. Wecalled, and hewas already inanother city. Inthe end, the tech, who did the rough finishing, decided tocut the pipes himself and check. Itturned out that the plumber forgot asock inside.©adlercity/ Pikabu

• Imagine that water ispouring from the ceiling, the temperature isminus8, and all the plumbers say they’re booked upfor months. That’s howI managed toovercome myfears ofplumbing. Itall started with little things— replacing taps, and then itwent onandon.
  Itturned out thatI like towork with hands. Ofcourse, there are things for whichI will hire professionals— for example, Iwill not get into complex electrical work.©A-Grey-World/ Reddit
• Mysister was offended thatI didn’t buy akitchen set inthe salon where she works, but “secretly” ordered abudget option from alocal furniture factory. Inher fashionable salon, kitchen sets are very expensive and have huge cabinets tothe ceiling. What amI supposed tostore inthem?
  She looked atthe project ofmysimple kitchen with beige cabinets and wooden worktop and called ittacky. Said Ihad notaste and nobrains. And these drawers are not trendy now. And I’m glad thatI didn’t have toget aloan for the kitchen set.©Overheard/ Ideer
• Myhusband andI moved intogether tolive inabig and spacious apartment. Wefinished renovating the kitchen before movingin, and decided torenovate the bathroom onthe spot.
  Ibought almost all the materials for the renovation: abathtub, tile for the walls and floor, asink, ahuge mirror and all sorts ofglue and grout. This was all delivered and put inthe living room. And Ibegan towait for the renovation.
  After awhile, the tiles moved from the living room tothe balcony. But the bathtub, which stood inthe room, pleased the visiting children ofour friends and relatives for along time. Where else could they play inabathtub!
  Persuasion didn’t help. The renovation didn’t start. Ayear later, Isaid thatI would hire workers. Inresponse, Iheard, “I’ll dothe bathroom myself, otherwise we’ll divorce.” Ibegged, persuaded, complained, nagged— zero result. Itlasted 3years. But hehad notime forit: inwinter hehad towork, and insummer hehad torest.
  Tobefair, Imust say that hestill made the bathroom perfectly. When wewere selling this flat, everyone who came toview itasked for the tech’s phone number. But welived inthat flat for 5years, 3years ofwhich were spent with abathtub inthe middle ofthe living room.©sazayka/ Pikabu

• Myhusband was very big ontalk ofparticipating inhome improvements before weofficially closed. Ripping upcarpet, sanding and sealing floors, all the things you’d think offor aclassic century home DIY renovation. Ifelt supported and wewere thrilled toclose.
  Come toabout 3months later, and Iam atmywits end with myhusband. Iam unhappy andI feel trapped because Iam always the one fixing items bymyself while myhusband plays video games with his friends. Imean everything. Down tocalling contractors when I’m inover myhead.
  The one timeI entrusted making phone calls tohim, hecalled one contractor for asingle bid and then when the person didn’t even show uptodothe work, Ihad totake itback over. Henow makes comments like, “Atleast one ofus likes home improvement” when I’m upona12feet ladder alone infreezing weather trying toclear our gutters out after wefind out they’re clogged.
  When wetalk about the issues, itdoesn’t seem tofix anything. Every weekend it’s sleep until10, sit around, play games, ignoreme, repeat. Inever would have thought I’d hit this point, but I’m atthe stage where sometimesI just wish he’d leave.©meg13221/ Reddit
• Iput upwallpaper inmyparents’ flat inall the rooms, even the toilet. Inmyhouse, Iresolutely refused todothat— only water-based paint. IthoughtI was done with wallpaper forever.
  Butno, myhusband’s sister moved toour city, started renovation, and itturned out that the tech takes anunrealistic price for putting upwallpaper. So, Ihad tobring out the old ways.©Svetlana Svetlana/ ADME
• About 20years ago, mywife andI decided torenovate our flat and decided toinvite, sotospeak, professionals. Webought tiles, wallpaper, glue. Through acquaintances and the Internet found workers atnormal prices. They did the tiling quite well, the tiles are still there. But for the wallpaper, another lady about 40years old was responsible.
  And hereI sit atthe computer inone room. Idon’t remember whetherI was working orplaying. And inthe other room, the lady iswallpapering. And from time totime, she peeks out toask meone thing oranother. And each time she looks atmemore and more contemptuously.
  I, ofcourse, don’t react inany way, but still confused. Inthe evening, she finishes the room and goes home. She was supposed tocome back the next day tofinish the corridor. And then mywife comes inand says:
  —You know, she didn’t like you very much.
  —What doyou mean?
  —She says you’re not avery good husband. Instead ofwallpapering, you’re playing games onyour computer.
  So, Ithink, “Isitokay that wehired aprofessional todothe job, and they throw mud atme?” Anyway, Ididn’t escalateit. She had tofinish the job. The lady finished the corridor, wepaid her the agreed amount, and she left.©ankonRUS/ Pikabu

• Irenovated myparents’ house: Ilaid tiles and laminate flooring, did the wiring, poured the floor and plastered the ceilings. The techs were called only twice— toput upinterior doors and install plumbing. Having learnt aboutit, mymother’s acquaintance asked metocome and replace 6outlets and move one toanother place. Noproblem— Itell her the cost, she agrees.
  So, Idrag anangle grinder and hammer drill through half ofthe city, breathe dust, work with her walls half aday. Ifinish the work, clean upthe dirt, show that everything works, ask for payment. She looks atme, bats her eyes, and says she thoughtI was joking about the money. Like I’m aweirdo who likes doing repairs, it’s mykind ofhobby. And Ishould thank her for providing mewith her outlets toenjoy this hobby.
  Ishowed the price for similar services from other techs inour city, but she shouted that she would not pay meanything. Weargued with her for anhour and ahalf, and thenI just packed upmytools and left. Mymom shook off the money infull from her, her friend transferred italong with aninsulting message.
  Since then, Ihave been called acouple oftimes tolay backsplash and paint the walls, but Irefused, although objectively I’m able todoit. I’m afraid toface this kind ofattitude again.©Overheard/ Ideer
• One time, mywife andI decided tojust remodel our bathroom. Noidea how totile, noidea how toreplace atoilet oravanity orasink, noidea how toput aceiling ventin, noidea how topatch floors and patch drywall... but wejust didit. Itcame out great.
  Sometimes you just have tosendit. There’s afix for everything, even ifyou suck atit.©djsedna/ Reddit

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