15 MORE Epic Construction and Home Improvement Fails!

As a homeowner, fixing up and remodeling your house is one of the best ways to personalize it and improve your value at the same time. But whether you hire a pricey contractor, the neighborhood handyman, or take on the DIY project, sometimes it doesn't turn out quite as well as you expected. In fact, home improvements can even turn into horror stories when the contractor doesn't know what he or she is doing, or just doesn't care.

In part one of this blog we covered 15 hilarious (and head-scratching) contractor and home improvement fails! The blog was so popular that we were urged to bring you part two right away! So here are 15 MORE epic home improvement fails for your amusement!

1. Note to self: measure the drawers WITH the pulls attached before you install them! 

2. I can't really blame this one on IKEA, can I?

3. I wonder what the contractor that installed our new porch lamp had for lunch?

4. So do we move the sink closer, or the faucet? 

5. Epic plumbing fail...or genius door installer?!

6. Whatever you do, DO NOT plug in the hairdryer!

7. Hopefully that plug isn't on this circuit! 

8. If you could ever get out onto that balcony, you could give an epic speech.

9. You might as well file a lawsuit right now! 

10. So...you're telling me street parking is a better option?

11. Are these light switches for the new twins' room?

12. Tiles on the roof? Sure, why not - as long as we have asphalt roofing shingles in the kitchen.

13.  This would have worked IF you used proper duct tape.

14. Do you think they used the same plumber for this...

...and this?

15. This is what happens when you use a home contractor to fix your broken car window! Epic fail! 

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Which one of these epic home improvement fails is your favorite? Do you have have any funny stories or photos of epic construction fails at your house? We'd love to hear from you and we promise to laugh with you, not at you! 

15 Epic home improvement and construction fails!

As a homeowner, fixing up and remodeling your house is one of the best ways to personalize it and improve your value at the same time. But whether you hire a pricey contractor, the neighborhood handyman, or take on the DIY project, sometimes it doesn't turn out quite as well as you expected. In fact, home improvements can even turn into horror stories when the contractor doesn't know what he or she is doing, or just doesn't care.

Here are 15 of the most epic home improvement fails you'll ever see!

1. I'm not a licensed electrician, but I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to install your electrical panel right in your shower. Remember, homeowners: Electricity + Water = BAD!

2. This rain gutter runs right back into the window, maybe into the bathtub or a big fish tank?

3. This is what happens when you have a 30" light fixture but only 20" of ceiling space to install it. At least they'll get some light behind the wall! 

4. Oh boy. I hope they have a great homeowner's insurance policy, because this DIY wiring is going to start a blaze faster than fireworks on the 4th of July!

5. Seriously? Someone actually took the time to install this faucet and outlet without seeing any sort of problem. ZAP! 

6. "Honey, I got the new downspout installed! But there was just one problem." 

7. Two things I can guarantee: 1) These homeowners LOVE Louis Vuitton, and 2) This is not Louis Vuitton's house.

8. The pros and cons of building your house on a hill: great view, but the driveway is like a ski slope.

9. Unless you're plugging in your underwater camera, you probably want to steer clear of this aqua-spouting outlet. 

10. I would have loved to be there when this homeowner turned the new fan on for the first time. WHACK! Oops! 

11. "Yes, I got it all installed. But on a scale of 1 to 10, how much did you think you'll need that drawer space?"

12. "Dude!" "Dude!" "Duuuuuuuuuuude!" 

13. I'm all for saving the trees BUT this may present a slight problem. 

14. Time to institute that Open Door policy; like, ALWAYS open door. 

15. I think this tile guy was doing a great job until that very last tile.

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Which one of these home improvement fails is your favorite? Or do you have your own stories or photos of DIY or home fixing fails? We'd love to hear from you! 

20 Ideas to turn your spare room into the best room in your house.

Do you have that room in your house? You know – the spare bedroom or bonus room that never ever gets used? Do you try to pass it off as a spare bedroom but the 1990’s futon is so uncomfortable that your potential overnight guests would rather sleep at the local emergency shelter? Maybe you’ve just ignored the room, keeping the door shut so long that the vacuum marks are still visible on the immaculate carpet? You may have tried to open it up and use the room in the past, so you purchased some monolithic piece of exercise equipment that only Chuck Norris would endorse and it now sits in the center of the room like a watchful guardian, kept company only by the dust and out-of-season laundry that drapes it? Either way, there’s nothing worse than having a big, beautiful house with an extra room and running out of inspiration or practical know-how what to do with it. Too often, people think there are some unwritten rules they must follow that says what you can and can’t do with your spare room, but we invite you to blow the lid off convention and have fun with it. Only then will you really use and enjoy that room and after all, it’s your house!

Here are 20 ideas for converting a bonus room or spare bedroom into something super fun, funky, and enjoyable:

Tribute to your alma mater:

If you’re still a huge fan and booster of the college you attended, turn the room back into a campus tribute with banners, photos, a framed college jacket or blanket, athletic mementos, and even memorabilia from your time there.

Movie theater.

Put black out curtains or shutters over the windows and turn the room into your family fun movie and media room. Of course you’ll need a big screen TV or projector, and red velvet curtains, a popcorn maker, and authentic movie chairs and some big comfortable lounge chairs are a must.

Hobby room:

Are you into chess? Quilting? Scrapbooking? Rare 16^th century Spanish coins? (Or whatever?) Turn the bonus room into your own personal place where you can relax and focus on your passion.

Coffee shop:

Are you a java lover (like me) and spend way too much time and money at the local Starbucks? Turn your spare room into a mini replica of your favorite coffee shop and start hanging out at home!

Lounge:

If martinis, dim lights, and classy piano music is more your thing, convert your bonus room into a funky, chic cocktail lounge.

Home office:

Consider turning your spare room into a fully functional home office. You can opt to simply put a desk in there or go all the way, transforming it into a real office conference room with several work stations.

No kidding, I had a friend once who turned his bonus room into an almost-exact replica of the oval office, complete with round carpet with the seal, big wooden desk, and Presidential seal framed above it!

Fitness room:

You spend how much on the gym every month and rarely go? I bet if you had your own personal fitness center right at home you’d work out every day – and in the time it takes you just to drive to and from your local gym. Put in rubber-matt flooring panels over hardwood or concrete, a big mirror on the wall, and load up with a the basic weights and fitness equipment you most commonly use. Don’t forget to bolt into the ceiling for pull-up bars or places to hang TRX straps, cables, etc.

Pool room:

If the room is big enough, put a nice pool table in the center of the room and surround it with all the novelties you might find in a billiards parlor. By the way, you can usually find used pool tables for a good rate; transportation is the hard part.

Game room for kids:

Give your children their own kiddie version of Vegas with all of the arcade and video games, bouncing balls, bright walls, and bean bag chairs they can handle.

A huge dream closet!

The husbands out there are all rolling their eyes, but every woman loves shoes, purses, clothes, and even more she loves a big, spacious place to display all of it.

Homework room.

Or you can turn your room into a shrine for education and learning for your kids.

Library.

For those of us who love books and can’t think of anything better but sitting in a cozy library on a comfy chair by a crackling fire (even if it’s fake, clean-burning, or just candles), this may be the bonus room you were looking for.

Wine cellar/tasting room.

Put up some stone (or faux stone) on the walls, slap some wood beams (or faux beams) on the ceiling, and put up wooden racks and barrels and you have your owner personal wine cellar. Don’t forget to add a humidifier and a mini wine fridge so you can store cold bottles or snacks for your friends who come over for tastings.

Family history room.

Not enough people follow their genealogy and roots these days, so you can fill your spare room with old family photos, quotes from loved ones, favorite memories, keepsakes, and a big family tree on the wall.

Pub/bar.

If you already have the pool table, why not go all the way and put a bar in there complete with mini keg for beer pours, dartboard, jukebox, and mixed drinks, and then invite your friends over? (And charge them cover!)

Sports room.

If you’re an avid sports fan, set up your favorite place to watch all the games, host the fantasy football draft, and put up posters, game balls, autographs, and memorabilia from your sports heroes.

Spa, yoga, and meditation room.

I love the idea of a nice room in the house dedicated to just deep breathing, yoga, stretching, relaxation, and everything that goes with a healthier you.

Inspiration room.

Maybe this is the place for your dream board or vision board, except you cover the whole wall with it and dedicate the entire room into those things that give you inspiration and clarity.

Art studio.

Have you always dreamed of painting? You’ll be filled with inspiration – and have a place to hide the works in progress - with your own well lit art room.

Music room.

Or if music is more your bag, you can put up foam on the walls to soundproof the room and put all your favorite instruments in there for family jams. Take it a step further with a small sound booth (made out of the closet with a glass door) and set up a board and you’ll have the only recording studio on the block.

25 Interesting facts about Home Depot, the world's biggest home repair store.

If you own a home, chances are you are a frequent visitor to a local Home Depot store. Some of us even remember fixing up our first little home, when we practically lived in the Paint and Hardware aisles of the home improvement mega store. But no matter whether you're a weekend DIY warrior or a professional contractor, here are some interesting facts about the world's biggest hardware store:

1. Home Depot is by far the largest home improvement retailer in the United States as well as the world. It now operates in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Canada, and Mexico, as well as other ventures overseas.

2. It’s also been our fastest growing retailer, surpassing the expansion of Target, Best Buy, and even Wal-Mart.

3. Home Depots operate out of huge warehouse-style buildings, with floor plans averaging 105,000 square feet and offering just about everything a construction project needs, from the biggest builder to the DIY weekend warrior.

4. The largest stores are in Union, New Jersey (225,000 square feet!) and Anaheim Hills, California (204,000 square feet).

5. The company was founded in 1978 by Arthur Blank, Ron Brill, Pat Farrah, and Bernard Marcus. Their original goal was to build superstores far bigger than any of their competition, which provided good prices based on volume purchasing and offered excellent customer service. Some would argue the latter!

6. The first two stores took over buildings leased by J.C. Penny in metro Atlanta in 1979. Home Depot still maintains its corporate headquarters in nearby Cobb County, Georgia.

7. Every year, Home Depot totals about $90 billion in sales on average, with ¾ of that coming from retail sales. It’s a permanent fixture on the Fortune 500 list of biggest companies in America.

8. Throughout the 1990s and 2000’s, Home Depot has frequently amended its company slogan. Since 2009 it’s been “More saving. More doing” which replaced "You can do it. We can help,” the slogan since 2003. Other past slogans include "The Home Depot, Low prices are just the beginning", "When you're at the Home Depot, You'll feel right at home", and "The Home Depot: First In Home Improvement!"

9. Home Depot now dominates the online construction and home improvement market as well, with at least 120 million visitors to their site every year.

10. Home Depot has the most employees who are Olympians and Olympic medal winners of any company in the world.

11. The company is active in politics, with 72% of their campaign contributions going to Republican candidates in past elections. Former Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli was a personal friend of U.S. President George W. Bush and made the maximum allowable contribution to his campaign.

12. The Home Depot is a huge advocate of athletics on every level. NASCAR driver Tony Stewart pilots the Home Depot car and they support Joe Gibbs Racing. The Home Depot also have supported the U.S. and Canadian Olympic teams and co-founder Arthur Blank owns the Atlanta Falcons 

13. You can buy some strange things in Home Depot, including a Remington heat clip set for hair extensions, a brownie making machine, a children’s’ potty training kit, pink Flamingo statues, a $600 Viking corded phone, and a jerky gun to turn your dried meats into jerky sticks.

14. The Home Depot has long flirted with an international presence. It has 180 stores in Canada in every territory and employs 35,000 people there. It also has 11,000 employees in 106 stores in Mexico with an annual 10% growth rate. At one time they also expanded to Chile and Argentina, though those experiments soon were pulled back.

15. Looking to cash in on the prosperity and real estate boom in China, they opened 7 stores, but closed those in 2012 because of fledging sales. Apparently it was a cultural difference that precipitated the failure, as Chinese shunned Home Depot’s “Do-It-Yourself” philosophy. In China, manual labor is considered for commoners or lower class, and the Chinese who could afford Home Depot wanted completed design and remodel projects, not step-by-step help and tools. A representative of Home Depot said it best in an interview with the Wall Street Journal: "The market trend says this is more of a do-it-for-me culture.”

16. Despite their international setbacks, Home Depot is still considering expansion to the UK, Ireland, and Poland.

17.Despite the success of their super stores, Home Depot has had plenty of failed business experiments, too. They opened several convenience stores and fueling stations aimed to attract contractors, builder based HD Supply, and a line of home furnishings, landscaping suppliers, and an EXPO appliance design center

18. In a gruesome scene that played like something out of a zombie movie, a man once walked into a Home Depot in California, grabbed a sheet rock saw, and started sawing his own arm off. A police officer in the store immediately applied first aid, saving his life. No one knew why he did it though it was thought he was in some sort of drug-crazed episode.

19. The real estate market crash of 2008 hit Home Depot particularly hard, as they had to close 54 stores nationwide and lay off thousands of employees. In 2008 and 2009, their sales were down approximately $20 billion from their peak.

20. The company is deeply invested in philanthropic causes. The Home Depot Foundation, the charity wing of the corporation, has donated over $200 million in contributions, materials, and time to organizations like Habitat for Humanity, California-based City of Hope National Medical Center, and KaBOOM!, who builds playgrounds in inner cities.

21. Home Depot has a good track record of supporting U.S. military veterans, and offers an ongoing 10% discount to our military community.

22. Inexplicably, Home Depot employees are still not unionized. In 2004, workers at a Detroit store voted down a proposal to garner union representation, which would have made them the first store to do so.

23. In 2014, Home Depot suffered a massive security breach of its customers’ financial data and other records. The damage was discovered to include about 56 million credit card numbers of its customers. To make amends, Home Depot offered a free year of credit monitoring to those affected and revamped their electronic payment systems.

24. Home Depot funds an interesting project at Duke University – the “Home Depot Smart Home”. On campus, ten upper class engineering students live in a special home designed like a research laboratory, collecting their feedback and innovations on security and home monitoring, home technology, communications, energy efficiency, entertainment, and the environment.

25. Home Depot reports that they are environmental conscious, committed "to the environment and pledge to continue to be an industry leader in looking for products and services that are respectful of our world”. While it’s been criticized for not doing nearly enough to promote responsible building, lumber, and chemical waste initiatives, Home Depot has introduced a environmentally-safe label for 3,000 of its products and pushes for recycling and cleaner-energy lighting. The Home Depot Foundation pledged $100 million over the next decade to build 10,000 green affordable home units and plant at least 3,000,000 trees.

35 Creative ways to improve your home's curb appeal.

1.         Hide your garden hose in a nice pot.

Unsightly garden hoses and spray nozzles can easily be coiled and stored inside of a big ceramic pot or planter. 

2.         Reface your foundation.

If you have a plain and boring concrete or stucco foundation, add faux or half bricks, tiles, or faux stone to turn a negative into one of its nicest features.

3.         Highlight your address numbers.

Instead of small black letters near your front door, why not get creative with larger letters built into in a false rock, concrete column or stone feature with built-in lighting.

4.         Add a pathway.

Build a pathway to your side yard or driveway with mulch, stone, great plantings, and stepping-stones.

5.         Install shutters.

Nothing makes the face of your home look better than nice shutters outside each window.  Look at plenty of color patterns but try a glossy paint with deep, dark colors like black, crimson, or hunter green. 

6.         Get a new front door.

Replace your humdrum front door with a classic stained wood or modern full window door. 

7.         Add window boxes.

Remember those shutters we put up?  Follow that up with box planters outside each window (or just the second floor) with colorful flowers.  Stained wood or bright paint looks great on these.

8.         Plant vines over unsightly areas.

If there’s an area of the house that isn’t particularly nice to look at – like if it has utility poles, boxes, or lines – you can simply put up a vertical trellis in front of it and plant some vines. 

9.         Build a trellis above the garage door.

Let’s face it – garage doors are ugly.  But an easy weekend project of building a nice trellis over it, complete with interwoven vines and some accent lighting, and your garage will be the envy of the neighborhood. 

10.       Paint your front door.

Don’t worry if your budget doesn’t allow for a brand new front door – you can repaint your existing one!  To make sure the new layers of paint don’t keep it from closing properly, you might want to sand it down some before applying primer and paint.  Match this too your shutters with glossy paint.

11.       Create a container garden.

Our first instinct is to plant everything in the front yard, but it’s way easier (and looks really cool!) to mix and match fun, funky, and colorful containers to hold flowers and plants.

12.       Update your mailbox.

Just like your address numbers got a makeover, spruce up your mailbox.  Instead of having it hang by your front door, build a classic wooden pillar and have it sit out on the street, or wrap the base in brick or stone.  Build in a sturdy mailbox but make sure it locks.

13.       Set up a sitting area.

It’s amazing how inviting a front porch or front yard looks with some simple outdoor furniture so you can sit outside and enjoy it.

14.       Update your front porch light.

Replacing outdated lighting with new, modern lighting is a great way to improve curb appeal without breaking the bank.

15.       Replace your garage door.

Trade in your dented and dated garage door with a gorgeous wooden carriage door or faux wood door.  You can even get these to open horizontally to complete the look of a million dollar mansion!

16.       Fix up your garage door .

If you don’t have money to replace it, you can have a row of horizontal windows cut into your existing door and add screw-on hardware that makes it look like a classy carriage door.

17.       Add new hardware to your front door.

Add a new knob, big brass knocker, and brass kick plate to any front door to make it look brand new. 

18.       Add an archway.

Build an archway on the way to the front door and cover it with vines, colorful flowers, and cool lighting.

19.       Paint the exterior.

You may not want to paint the whole house, but there’s nothing wrong with painting only the front, including a three-color pattern with the trim and the front door and shutters different colors.

20.      Paint over concrete steps or porch floor.

Paint old and weathered concrete steps or a porch with dark and glossy paint.  Black looks great, but remember to prepare the concrete well first and use specialty mason/floor paint because of the high foot traffic. 

21.       Power wash.

Rent a power washer for the day and spray clean your house, your roof, inside gutters, stucco, walkways, and your driveway.  Just remember to wash from the top down so you don’t create a bigger mess.

22.       Replace your welcome matt.

Don’t forget that something as simple as a new, colorful, and personalized welcome matt can make a great first impression.  You can even build your own out of painted wooden slats!

23.       Wash windows.

Take out the Windex and the old newspapers (better and less expensive than paper towels) and give your windows a good washing – they’ll really sparkle!

24.       Plant a tree.

To break up a monotonous lawn, plant a tree and surround it with a mulch bed and other lower plants or flowers.

25.       Upgrade your porch railing.

If you don’t have money for a brand new porch, you can replace the posts and spindles and repaint to make it look new.

26.       Add edging stones to your driveway.

I love this look – instead of a boring asphalt driveway butting right up against the lawn, set in edging stones, pavers, or bricks along the way.

27.       Hang outdoor curtains.

Outdoor fabrics are weather resistant and sheer enough to let light in, so use them as outdoor drapes hanging from your overhang or porch ceiling with tiebacks.  The neighbors will rave about it!

28.       Outdoor chandelier.

While you’re at it, replace your boring overhead light fixture with an outdoor chandelier to make your front porch look like the foyer of a million dollar mansion!

29.       Add lights to walkway.

New landscaping lighting along pathways gives your home that welcoming glow at night.

30.       Hang string lights.

Wrap trees, posts, and front porches with strands of white outdoor lights.  The key is being subtle so it doesn’t look like Christmas!

31.       Put up hanging plants.

You can make any porch pop by hanging pretty flowers or lush ferns from pots suspended from the ceiling, complete with their own mister watering system.

32.       Rip out the lawn.

Replace the front lawn with natural landscaping and symmetrical flower gardens to give it an organic, modern look.  You can even have fun and recreate the beach with small crushed gravel that looks like sand, “beachy” grasses, and seas shells and starfish scattered around!  

33.       Put a bench in the garden area. 

Simply adding a sitting area can add curb appeal.  Don’t be afraid to go with something bright and fun.

34.       Add elements of water.

A fountain, water feature, or koi pond makes a great signature piece in the front of your home.

35.       Hang a porch swing.

There is no better way to add curb appeal – and even add value to your home – with a hanging swing on your front porch.  A nice one isn’t too expensive and you can easily attach it to a strong beam with chains or thick ropes.  It will add instant charm to the front of your house!