Notice I said “inexpensive”, not cheap. Cheap suggests bad quality or not worthwhile to me.
Thought of this thread idea after looking at this product and wondering how it looks/works. Could it have a value in a rental? Be a solution for a part time cottage or cabin? The reviews are pretty good on many of the options.
It’s stick and peel (and easy remove) “tile” squares - for walls.
What are some small projects you have done that you have been satisfied with the results or the product used and would recommend? Could be for a home. A renter. A college student. A person with little DIY skills. Or not!
Trust me, I do subscribe often to the “you get what you pay for” mantra. But I thinking people have hacks to share - products or projects that were inexpensive, do-able and you were pleased with.
The thing both our kids did that worked for both of them was replacing the vertical blinds (or other drapes) their rentals came with to have lightweight blackout curtains instead. They were able to reverse the process at the end of the lease so they had the curtains for their next rental. The curtains were very inexpensive and lightweight but made a world of difference so they could sleep as needed.
Cost was likely under $50-100 for materials plus a bit of unskilled labor. Value for them was priceless!
i spent all summer updating my red brick fireplace. I tiled the hearth with slate, and above that used a stacked stone called airstone from lowes. I’m quite pleased with the results. i did not have the right tools, and ended up with blisters at one point cutting some miter cuts on the stones by hand. But i didnt pay labor costs and learned a bit in the process (i know how to mix quikrete i know about notched trowels now)
it really updated the look of our family room. cost: around $500. (if you look at airstone, i mixed two of the colors that are offered. it looks really good i have to say!)
I would be somewhat leary of the stick-on tiles as a DIY project, because it seems like you would still need a tile cutter and some expertise in laying it all out so as not to have something half–.
We went in July to help S move into a new apartment at his new grad school. H replaced all the light bulbs with brighter, better versions (not a lot of windows in the place) and installed a dimmer on the overhead dining area light switch. Small details, but it did make the place brighter and homier!
@bgbg4us , we have been wanting to do what you did, but we thought it would be too hard. So glad to hear you survived! H plan to retire in March (while I keep working) … that might just be one of his first projects.
I am leery of some dyi projects that watching U-tube videos make doable. Neighbor should have paid the pros for his French drain project.
I have done landscaping projects involving pulling out bushes and replacing them but had the pros do a front lawn renewal and major tree pruning. I have painted some small rooms but let pros handle the house outside and major paint jobs.
I have replaced all sorts of light fixtures, timers, light switches, ceiling fans (replaced, not new, supports already there) but am glad I had the pro replace the bath fans I purchased- they needed to have new roof openings we found.
Got the Lowes deal for nine shades/blinds installation then did the rest myself after observing how it was done. Measuring is so critical- one small oops means at the bottom of a pair of sliding doors are about a mm off, learned tricks about multiple shades so no gaps other places. Figured out, and did some revisions for half circle windows when I couldn’t find any solutions that worked. Hate to sew but have done other window coverings when couldn’t find what I liked. Curtain rods of course.
Epoxied the garage floor with advice from several U-tube videos for cleaning and applying, pleased.
Saved tons of money, especially on electricians. Oh, and the operative word is “I”. H is not handy.
I just watched a youtube video and they cut through the “tile” with a box cutter. I could do that. I guess it looks like tile, but really isn’t. Thanks, abasket. I will now get my back splash.
One inexpensive change we made was hanging a “plug-in” swag lamp in the corner of our family room. No electrician needed. We just had to make sure the chain was long enough.
S17 worked the summer landscaping - really more landscape construction bc he didn’t mow. He proudly declared “fire pits are easy” so we’re in the process of him building one before he heads back to school! Just bought the stone at Home Depot
If you have recessed lights with incandescent or (horrors!) CFL bulbs, replacing the bulb and the probably yellowed by now trim with an integrated LED insert is easy, inexpensive, and makes a difference for the lighting quality and the electric bill.
We had white thermofoil cabinetry in a bathroom. Removed the thermofoil from the facade of drawers and cabinets, by heating it with a hairdryer and peeling it off (easy), sanded and painted them (white!) with Benjamin Moore Satin Impervo paint, which is not cheap but gives a lovely finish. We’ve also replaced drawer and cabinet pulls and upgraded the front door handle set and lock. Plus a zillion other projects, but these are a few little ones.
I hated our tiled bathroom countertops. We measured the counters, went to a quartz place, ordered new countertops with sinks, and installed them ourselves. Great new look for only a few hundred dollars. Now I need to refinish the cabinets. The demo and installation were far easier than I had expected.
Don’t know if mine were “worth it” or not. I was pushed into them because they were too small for ANYONE to come do for us.
When we first moved into this house (35 years ago), the hall bath had plywood on the floor, seriously, no tile or anything. I put in the vinyl flooring myself, thinking that when we redid the bathroom, it would get professionally done. It only took 10 years. I was happy with it the entire time.
When we got quartz put on the kitchen counters, the company ONLY did the counter top. I wanted a tile back splash, so DH measured and cut the tile and did the design pattern (we laid them end on like diamonds instead of squares and put an embossed one in the center row). When I decided the design didn’t pop, I mixed acrylic paint and painted the design the same color as the counter top (dark red). I was worried it would wash off, it will scrape off, but has held up.
When we had a cobblestone patio put in for DD’s 8th grade graduation pool party, I paid a random laborer to deliver and install. He delivered, but since I was going to be gone, I paid him and left. He left then too… SO DH and I installed a 15X30 patio in sand in one day because the next day was the party. DH has re-leveled it a couple of times but it actually held up and other than being backbreaking was very easy.
After our basement room flooded last winter and we tore out the carpet and pad (over concrete) we put in fake wood click together flooring. It was easy and looks GREAT. Helps to have a perfectionist DH, because if I had been in charge maybe it wouldn’t be as straight nor as tight, but it honestly looks like a better install than the HW professionally installed in the bedrooms. That one, I’d recommend for a play room of any sort. It is not any longer a high traffic area, but it is holding up so far.
I always painted the rooms, except for the last time when we (I thought) were getting ready to sell and we had the ENTIRE inside of the house painted so it was fresh… that was 8 years ago. Now it needs new paint and I am tempted to DIY. Painting is not hard.
Our little project that was easy and so worth it was shower floor regrouting with epoxy grout. It did require a few hours of my elbow grease to get the old grout out, but then it was quite smooth sailing. I opened all windows to lower the temperature in the bath (this was December in Seattle) so the epoxy would cure slowly. When it was all grouted, I closed the windows… a day later we had nice impermeable grout in the shower that needed no sealing.
I had been interested in the peel and stick wall tiles that look like stone for a back splash until I found out that unless you seal them (which changes the color and may make them a glossier finish) they will water spot and grease will stain them. They are porous. So you can’t really wash it which defeats the purpose of course for a kitchen… Oh well…
I saw a youtube video where a girl put in the glass looking peel n stick wall tile in her kitchen which looked really nice. She said she had to go back and actually glue some spots that were coming up at the edges over time but overall she was pleased. Said it was very easy to install (as long as you get it on straight at the beginning–otherwise it can turn into a big mess).
Some negative comments I came across were that the glass tiles just look too fake, don’t stay adhered, some of the tiles in the boxes they got weren’t in great shape (which drove up the cost). Not suitable for moist environment like the bathroom which is where a lot of people would have liked to use it.
Gotta say that more than half of DIY projects and learning to do them is having the right tool for the job. There are quite a few things I’ve learned to do over the years like put in every blind/shade/curtain in my house, put up shelving everywhere, I can paint pretty well, I’ve refinished a few pieces. I’ve fixed my dishwasher, my refrigerator. I have MY drill, MY sander, MY saw–just for me! They’re light and on a smaller scale than the ones my husband thinks he needs. I own my own tool kit and have learned to not let anyone touch it. Nobody. Get your own stuff!
But if I needed my whole house painted at once vs an easy room I’d hire it done in a flash. The pros we’ve had come in and it’s done with no muss and no fuss. In and out pretty quick where it would’ve taken me forever. And they do a great job. Your results may vary…
Cheap suggests bad quality or not worthwhile to me.