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DIY Mishaps: The Superglue Incident

by | Jan 19, 2009 | DIY

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DIY Mishaps: The Superglue Incident

I spent most of Sunday night trying to get super glue off of all of my ten fingers. You see, we were at our old house finishing a few more projects (I’ll share more before and afters of that house soon) when I decided that one of the floor moldings in my daughters room could use some quarter round to finish it off. And being the capable and ambitious woman I am, I decided I could tackle that project myself.

I’ll spare you the details of how this all came about, but in my attempt to install the molding, something went horribly wrong and I ended up gluing all ten of my fingers to the quarter round. Yes, all ten. With super glue.

So, there I was, staring in disbelief at the quarter round super glued to my fingers when I had to make a choice. Immediately.

Should I rip the molding from my fingers and endure the possibility of all the skin being ripped from my fingertips or explain to everyone in Nashville why I had three feet of quarter round stuck to my hands. I decided that explaining the whole incident to anyone would be mortifying. So, I opted to extract the molding from my fingertips.

In spite of the fact that my fingers were completely bonded to the quarter rounds, I am happy to report my skin stayed on. But so did the glue. Right now I am typing with glue encrusted fingers. And, to make matters worse, I threw the quarter round on the floor after prying it from my fingers. When I went back to retrieve the molding, it was now glued to the floor.

This is not the first time I have had a home improvement incident. I’ve fallen off of stools and hit my head on a cement floor while trying to fix pipes, broke a pipe with a wire clothes hanger trying to clear a drain, fallen over backwards while installing curtains, hammered my fingers instead of a nail, stepped in a tray of oil based paint … I think disasters go with the territory of DIY’ers. Or maybe it is just me.

So, please dear friends, while I continue to peel glue from my fingers, do tell me your own home improvement disasters in the comments! Misery loves company! Next time, I’m putting quarter rounds on the honey-do list.

68 Comments

  1. Emily

    Oh Melissa, what a disaster!! I hope you can laugh about it someday! Hugs! I have successfully stuffed all of my disasters in a spot of my brain where they can’t be retrieved. I am sure if I asked hubby though he could share a few of my goofs.

    Emily@remodelingthislifes inspiring blog post..On Grace and Graciousness

    Reply
  2. Tiffany

    Well, I kind of feel bad saying it, but we managed to install new flooring in our living room and hallway without any big incidents. (pics on my blog in today’s post). I think the lack of injury is directly related to the fact that there was no glue or nails involved in the installation. There was a lot of cutting, though. If it makes you feel any better I glue my fingers together every time I use super glue. Every. Single. Time. I don’t think I’ve ever glued them to anything else, but when you glue fingers together, one of them must lose skin when they are separated. I also always burn myself with hot glue. I never learn from these injuries.

    Tiffanys inspiring blog post..The Golden Floor (Snow Patrol)

    Reply
  3. Terri Steffes

    In desperation, one day I filled the holes in our walls with toothpaste and smoothed them out. A prospective buyer was coming and she didn’t give me much time to get the house ready for the market. The walls looked great. The bad part? I did such a good job I couldn’t find the holes to repair them properly. Somewhere there is a house that smells minty good!

    Terri Steffess inspiring blog post..Nearing 400….

    Reply
  4. Helen

    Dear Me! Though I have had my share of mishaps, none compare with what you just went through. I have accidentally gotten super glue on one finger and had a devil of a time removing it. We’re all thinking about you I’m certain …………

    Helens inspiring blog post..Background Noise?

    Reply
  5. Shelly

    For some crazy reason I think that nail polish remover takes off super-glue…not sure though.
    Oh dear, worst DIY accident here was when I was stripping the old finish off the wood stairs in our 100 year old farmhouse. I spaced out and stepped on one of the stairs that had the caustic stripper on it, of cours that stuff is super-slippery, I fell..down the stairs…the stripper went flying – all over the walls and me…I ended up at the bottom of the stairs with stripper burning the skin on my neck and face – thank goodness I was wearing protective eyewear! I tracked stripper into the bathroom where I went to grab towels to wipe that stuff off my skin, of course that stripped the finish off of my bathroom floor….ayyyeeeee!

    Shellys inspiring blog post..Paint Ponderings

    Reply
  6. Pam D.

    I used to use a heavy-duty soap to clean my hands after using oil paints. I can’t remember the name — but it was a liquid soap that felt fairly gritty. It worked wonders! My grandfather introduced me to it in the 60’s (he used it for heavy grime as an electrician). Maybe something like that still exists that could clean your poor fingers!

    Reply
  7. gabrielle

    oh sorry Melissa….I know sometimes super glue isn’t worth it.

    Well about two years ago…I got an old iron bed for my daughter. So I set it up in my living room to paint just the rails that I got off ebay, you know the ones with the cogs and pins. I laid down a sheet over our hardwood floors (in the house we rent). Started to paint….everything is going great, the bed is looking good. I knock over the paint can. So what if it falls on the sheet….I let the paint dry on the bed and then I drag the sheet to her room and realize that the paint has leeked all over the floors and it is now dried because it is in front of the living room windows!!!! Stupid me….yes….cloth is pourous….Should I call Martha or my husband? Didn’t know who would know what best? Well….I ended up calling my DH he said don’t touch a thing. He went to Dunn Edwards they gave him a cleaner upper stuff and he used it and it didn’t strip the hardwood off the floors…my hero..saved the day! Who needs Martha?

    gabrielles inspiring blog post..I got an F!!

    Reply
  8. Liz

    LOL!! Oh bless you :) How’s your skin

    My Mum super glued her hand to a pine cone decoration at Christmas when she was trying to repair the hanger on it, luckily dad had something in the back on the garage that got it off! I have no idea what it was??

    My disaster didn’t involve personal injury, but I painted my melamine kitchen cupboard doors. I *promised* my husband that they would look amazing – which they did for about a week. Then we got a puppy and 18 months later….well lets just say that I should have left them alone. There are scratches *everywhere*, and they look like something you’d drag out of a dumpster! I don’t know whether to try and get them back to the wood melamine or try and cover them again? He’s pretty much furious at me everytime he goes in the kitchen and has now banned me from painting anything else – oops!

    Liz@VioletPosys inspiring blog post..Monday Link Love

    Reply
  9. jen

    Ok – these are too funny. I am still looking at my mishap. I finally decided to go around and touch up everything with some fresh paint…baseboards, walls, stair landing and all the stairs, my cabinets etc.
    Well, since I don’t always have a lot of time, I pushed ahead and for four hours I did touch ups.
    The next morning, I woke up horrified. I had seen the slight discoloration the night before, but just assumed that it was because the paint was wet. I had stored my paint both outside in the shed and then in our attic. Obviously, the temparature change did something to the coloring because it was about 1-2 shades darker. I have yet to fix it….everything now just looks like it has hand prints or dirty smudges on it – seriously, and yes, it has been months. AHHHH!! I can’t match the paint anymore, so in order to fix it all, I must completely repaint everything. Yep – misery loves company!

    jen@Balancing Beauty and Bedlams inspiring blog post..Calgon take me away!

    Reply
  10. Jenna

    When we were early in our home improvements, we replaced the gold-flecked shower wall with a nice white one. We needed to use Liquid Nails to tack it to the wall. I bet you won’t guess but my sweet husband shot LN into my eyes! We couldn’t figure out how to get the tube to start working & I was looking when he poked a nail into the end. We called the ER & they were useless. We called Poison Control & they told me to rinse in water for half an hour. I ended up hanging upside down with the top of my head in a bowl in the sink with my eyes open. (Luckily I could breathe through my nose that day!)

    Reply
  11. aubrey

    I think I’ll save up for a contractor from now on. I’ve also heard that nail polish with acetone gets superglue off.

    So far, I’ve only had bad luck trying to hang a curtain rod and it not working at all, or staying up with duct tape.

    aubreys inspiring blog post..Unclutterer

    Reply
  12. Joan

    I am wayyyyy too lazy to be a DIY but I imagine if I was one, what with my clumsy gene and all, I’d have some stories to tell.
    Let us know how you make out getting the glue off.

    Joans inspiring blog post..From There to Here …

    Reply
  13. Tidymom

    Oh no!!! I’ve superglued my fingers numerous times (I’m much more careful with that stuff now a days) – but I don’t think I’ve ever done all ten fingers at once!! oh you must have been scared to rip that off!!!

    Doing lots of dishes make the glue come off! LOL

    Good luck hun!
    ~Tidymom

    Tidymoms inspiring blog post..Been sick…and Twilight behind the scenes

    Reply
  14. Joan Kosmachuk

    Oh Melissa: I do feel for you. Here’s one of my many home decor disaster stories. My husband was out of town and I decided I’d tackle wallpapering the dining room. The only problem was that the dining hutch was pretty heavy for me to move (even after I’d emptied it) so I just pushed it back a few feet and bravely worked in the small area afforded me between it and the wall. So, there I am smoothing out the first sheet and I back up and suddenly I feel the top of the hutch give way behind me. Fearing for the glass doors I drop my tools and race around to the front of the cabinet to catch the falling hutch. It is too heavy for me to hold and soon I am on my back, on top of the wallpaper paste tray on the floor with the entire dining hutch resting on top of me. It was midnight. This is a good reason to befriend your neighbors as soon as you move in. I could just reach the phone cord and I used it to pull the cord over to me. I called my neighbours and woke them up. They graciously ran over in their bathrobes (thankfully they had a key as the door was locked) and helped me out. No real damage to anything but my pride — hope that helps you feel better!

    Joan Kosmachuks inspiring blog post..Tough times call for a little charm.

    Reply
  15. Megan Lowden

    I hated the horrible orange tile with white grout on our kitchen floor -original to our 1950’s house (you can only imagine what lovely color the grout had turned). So, when I was 6 months pregnant and my husband was out of town, I snapped and installed black and white vinyl peel and stick tile over the old tile…lets just say that 2 years later, it isn’t holding up so well…

    Reply
  16. Lisa

    Oh no! I hope it is starting to come off – glad you are OK. I leave the home improvement stuff to my hubby, so I haven’t had any mishaps, but hubby did step on a rusty nail – Ouch!

    Lisa @ Stop and Smell the Chocolatess inspiring blog post..Simmering Soup – Day 3 – Chili and Soup Link-Up

    Reply
  17. Angie

    I stood on our new stool from World Market ($99 stool) in order to rearrange my daughters shelf in her room–but wait, here’s the twist, I had socks on, and the stool has a slick finish to them. As soon as I thought, wow I should not have socks on, I slipped one way and the stool went the other, the stool scraped all the way up my shins and I landed on the stool, broke it to pieces–$99 down the drain, bleeding shins, black and blue. I sat there just crying feeling sorry for myself. Not to mention being in a lot of pain. I have the scars to prove it!
    So No Socks when standing on a stool!!
    ~Angie~

    Reply
  18. Lindsay

    My DH actually super glued his fingers last night. hahaha

    My DIY disaster – When we bought our very first house several years ago, we decided that we had to immediately paint the master bedroom walls that the previous owners had painted a Barney purple. I wish I was kidding about the purple, but I was not.

    So, being the DIYers that we are, we decided to do it ourselves. There was a LOT of wall space to cover with primer and then the calming blue paint we selected, so we got some of those rollers with the long handles that you pour the paint into the handles and then use a trigger to release it into the roller.

    Mine got jammed up and when I was fooling with it, I managed to squirt a ton of paint…into my EYE! My DH grabbed me and threw me into the shower to clear my eye. Luckily, I got all of the paint out without causing any damage to my eye, but ouch.

    I’m a Texas gal. I should have known better than to look down the barrel of a (paint) gun.

    Lindsays inspiring blog post..Touchy Feely Window Seat Cushion

    Reply
  19. Susie Harris

    Oh you poor thing, smile. I too had a bad history with super glue. That stuff has a grip on it that just wont let go. My husband tried to help me but we were both laughing so hard… then I had to pee. Oh you should have seen that! I was laughing..husband laughing..needing to pee and super glue stuck to a rooster. Yes, I did lose some skin but thats just the price you pay for a DIY project. I cant wait to see you at Blissdom…glue and all. True friends will understand~

    Susie Harriss inspiring blog post..A giveaway between friends…

    Reply
  20. Holly

    We remodeled our home in Florida painting the cabinets and adding a glaze in them, put in new faucets, sink, and appliances. It was back in 2001 and we had splurged and bought my first glass top stove. It looked so good. My husband bought a new range hood but the connector that was on the old did not match with the new one so it was off while he bought the new one. I decided to add all the bottles of oil and vinegar back into the cabinet above the stove. I am 5’3″ so can’t see that high. Well, I put the first bottle in and it came out the bottom of the cabinet and crashed to the stove and BROKE the glass on the stove. It was over $120 to replace the top of the stove. FYI- the range hood is the bottom of the upper cabinet. When it is not installed there is a big ol hole.

    Hollys inspiring blog post..It’s my blogiversary!

    Reply
  21. Mrs. Q

    Melissa,
    Try nail polish remover (acetone) it should break up the bond between your fingers and the superglue :)

    Thankfully, I do not have any home remodeling mishaps, yet.

    I did injure myself yesterday though.

    Hubby and I were in the kitchen cleaning and I decided to lay a kiss on him. Well, I wanted to complete it with a dip and I forgot that he just had slippers on. I dipped and in slow motion I saw us falling toward the fridge. My hubby’s head would have hit the fridge hard had I not grabbed him in a headlock so my elbow hit first. We hit the floor HARD! And we laughed even harder. What made it even funnier is the kids were in the other room and came running to see what had happened. It took us a while to convince them that mommy and daddy were okay admist the uncontrollable laughter!

    I have a two nice dark purple bruises on my elbow today…LOL!

    Mrs. Qs inspiring blog post..Sacred Joy Restored

    Reply
  22. A-M

    I almost did what you did….. so the next time I wore latex hospital gloves. Have a box of them now, under the sink! A-M xx

    A-Ms inspiring blog post..Easy

    Reply
  23. teresa

    Lets see, where do I begin- I have had my share of mishaps and mistakes- the Latest and actually the worst …was the time we applied concrete stain to every piece of cement in our yard {that’s not the bad part} it was after it was stained we applied a sealant; which made the cencret stain look fabulous! But get it wet and it became a slippery slide. We were given the wrong advice and put the wrong kind of sealant down. Yikes- it took a year for shinny sealant to wear off. the concrete is now save but not as pretty.
    Glad you were able to pry your fingers free- life wouldn’t be as fun without your daily inspiration.
    Good luck-

    teresas inspiring blog post..Faces

    Reply
  24. Vee

    Oh ouchie! I think my worst disaster was when I walked through paint without knowing it and tracked it everywhere. I ‘d make an awful burglar. John would say that the worst was the day he cut off a finger, so see? It could be worse! This home improvement business isn’t for wimps.

    Vees inspiring blog post..I Have a Dream

    Reply
  25. Pam

    Oh, I am sorry that happened, but I couldn’t help thinking of Tim the Tool Man Taylor from Home Improvement! When I was in college, I carried bleach thru my moms house and didn’t realize it was leaking so she had nice little bleach spots on her carpet when she got home and 15 years later they are still there and she always points them out to anyone new who comes in!

    Reply
  26. Brianna

    LOL… a little nail polish remover works to get the crusties off! Good luck!

    Briannas inspiring blog post..Craft Cruises

    Reply
  27. Sarah

    One of the babies knocking one entire gallon of GOLD (as in METALLIC GOLD…not just the color!) Ralph Lauren sparkly paint ALL THE WAY down a full set of newly carpeted stairs. It crashed opened on one of the top steps of course. After my husband and I argued about whose fault it was (the baby’s fault, right???) we decided to just replace the carpet.

    Sarahs inspiring blog post..Monday’s "Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees"…A Weekly Look Into a Mother’s Lesson Plan

    Reply
  28. Michelle

    I have had my fair share of DIY mishaps, never with superglue but with lots of paint!

    Michelles inspiring blog post..Inspiration

    Reply
  29. Jeremy

    Back in college a roommate and I were fixing up our apartment (to hopefully get out security deposit back) and as I was cleaning the sink in the bathroom he looks at the wall and says “hey is that stucco” before I could say anything he pushed on it, creating a 5″ whole in the wall….so much for cleaning

    Jeremys inspiring blog post..Barack Obama is Not Your Messiah

    Reply
  30. Michelle

    Poor thing! I haven’t had a super glue mishap while doing home repairs, but I did have one once while arguing with my husband. We were visiting my in-laws and got into it because he was in a bad mood. (Yeah, like arguing will cheer him up, right?) Anyhow, while swinging around the bedroom, I accidentally broke my MIL’s decorative birdcage. So, redfaced, teary, and upset as can be, I proceeded to repair it with super glue. Then I glued three of my fingers together. Yup, that was a memorable argument.

    Michelles inspiring blog post..Bottle Shopping

    Reply
  31. AM

    I glued the fingers of one hand together while my infant son was asleep. I had something on hand to get it off though!

    Reply
  32. Courtney from Mommie Blogs

    We just moved into our home, and I was painting the bathroom. Mind you, I was painting our bathroom this absolutely awful green paint (can not even explain the color or decision to purchase it). as I was on the step stool painting, I step down, missed the last step and put my foot, ankle and calf in the paint can and it spilled everywhere.

    the awful green paint went EVERYWHERE!

    best of luck with removing the glue!

    Reply
  33. Jennifer

    I’ve never done anything that bad. But…my mother-in-law swallowed a nail while hanging a picture. This led to a visit to the ER and xrays over several days until the nail could no longer be seen!

    Jennifers inspiring blog post..Butter

    Reply
  34. Tsh

    Melissa, that is hilARious. Why would you be mortified to tell me? I would have laughed my head off! :) I have so been there, done that. Well, okay, not literally – but I’ve done tons of diy blunders.

    Tshs inspiring blog post..12 Tips for Thrift Store Shopping

    Reply
  35. Linda

    Hey,
    I’m always afraid that will happen so I use Fabri-Tac which you can get at Joann Fabric or Michael’s Craft stores. Fabri-Tac is great and glues anything not just fabric. Take care, Good health to your fingers, Linda

    Lindas inspiring blog post..New Craft/Sewing books…YEA!

    Reply
  36. Misti

    What a funny image I have in my head! That’s one I haven’t done, only because I am scared to death of super glue! I try to let my husband to those jobs, or I would be sure to stick to something. Hope the fingers heal soon. I am a total klutz, tripping and falling are my downfalls, literally! My kids have watched me crash so many times, probably because I can turn on a dime, my kids know not to follow too closely, now.
    Stay away from the glue, Melissa…
    ~Misti

    Misti @ Studio M Designss inspiring blog post..Paint Fanatic: More paint redo’s

    Reply
  37. C Aultman

    I usually have the best results with removing super glue, with just a plain old emery board. Just buff the glue away.

    C Aultmans inspiring blog post..Fall garden update………

    Reply
  38. chacha

    Superglue is nasty stuff! Nails are better :o) At least your skin stayed on – the glue will eventually wear off.

    I think my worst story would involve personal injury. There’s a reason they tell you to wear safety glasses when you do stuff. I had been stripping crack-isolation barrier (basically paper glued to the concrete slab) and so I was cleaning up my tools with lacquer thinner and I got to “splashy” with it and got it in my eye. Oh, the burning. I spent like 20 minutes flushing my eyeball with cold water. I can still see, so no major damage done, but it scared the crap out of me.

    Lesson #1,456,721: wear safety glasses when handling caustic materials.

    chachas inspiring blog post..The Dude Abides

    Reply
  39. Jan

    Yep…acetone nail polish remover will help remove it. Even the thicker remover, used for artificial nails, works…and would stay on a bit longer, perhaps even work better.

    *sneaking off laughing hysterically*

    Jans inspiring blog post..Monday Home Tours…with Jan

    Reply
  40. Janet

    Just this morning I dropped the scissors and stabbed myself in the toe. What are the chances ?

    Janets inspiring blog post..Yep, Michael Smith AGAIN…

    Reply
  41. Neutral Dwelling

    Thank you for the chuckle! I can’t think of any mishaps at the moment but I’m sure there are some lurking just around the corner :)

    Neutral Dwellings inspiring blog post..India Flint – EcoPrint

    Reply
  42. Hannah E

    I decided to texture the walls (over where I removed wallpaper) in my kitchen before we moved into this house….EVERYBODY told me how easy it was, simple as could be, etc. They all lied. I followed all my friends’ instructions and slapped the joint compound up there and it looked like it was going to be great. I was actually super proud of myself, as this was my first DIY home improvement project ever. I left it to dry and came back the next morning to see that my beautifully textured walls had cracked really badly and started crumbling. The texture was falling off the walls. It looked horrible. THEN everyone I talked to about it said how hard texturing walls was and how it didn’t always turn out well or so easily. Where were those people in the beginning?! I made several trips to Home Depot and Lowes to ask for help, but I was so clueless, I didn’t even know the right terminology to even explain what I was trying to do. They confused me so much. The Home Depot guys got some great laughs that day. Finally, someone told me that since there had been wallpaper, I needed to use kilz primer BEFORE the joint compound, instead of after, like everyone else had previously said. Well, thank you…you were only about five weeks late with that helpful information. It was such a disaster. Even now that I know how to do it right, I NEVER want to add texture to walls again.

    Hannah Es inspiring blog post..The Madness Has Begun!

    Reply
  43. Megan

    Ok, I totally understand. My story is too long to type, and with my 3 year old tugging at my sleeve, I will just leave you the link to my post about it- http://littlebellabean.blogspot.com/2009/01/misadventures-with-spray-adhesive.html
    Read at you own risk. Lol. By the way, my mom sent me here, telling me I must read about your incident. (Violet, at Create Beauty)
    I feel your pain!!
    =)
    Blessings to you,
    Megan

    Megan @ LittleBellaBeans inspiring blog post..To love all things…

    Reply
  44. LuLu

    Oh my goodness, i have had blunders but not with super glue thank goodness that sounds like it would hurt. the latest blunder i made was boiling water over in my pot after I just had cleaned my flat surface cooktop, it is so hard to remove burned water on it so I quickly grabbed a cloth to wipe it up and IT STUCK… somehow a noncotton cloth was placed in with my flour sack clothes I use in the kitchen and didn’t notice… and it stuck… so instead of burned water I had burned fabric/plastic stuff all over the burner… yep made it so much worse.
    LuLu

    LuLus inspiring blog post..Olive Branch Turns Over a New Leaf

    Reply
  45. Tim

    This story really made me smile! Based on what happened, it sounds like the rest of the 1/4 round will never come up!

    Shelly was probably right, Nail Polish Remover is usually 100% Acetone which is the best thing for the really sticky stuff. I keep trying to convince my wife, Kim@ForeverWherever that she should buy “nail polish remover” by the gallon at Home Depot. No luck.

    I’ve just started a new blog about remodeling and home improvement stuff. Stop by and visit!

    – The Remodeling Guy

    Tim @ Remodeling Guys inspiring blog post..The Wintertime Blues, and Reds, and Yellows, and…

    Reply
  46. Violet

    Hi Melissa, Even though I continue to do projects, I consider myself ‘glue and tape impaired’. Hot glue is my worst enemy … I always burn myself. Or glue moss to my fingertips. And super glue should be renamed to Skin Glue. These projects mentioned here, and yours, should be a TV show parody of the DYI shows. Now that’s reality tv!

    Reply
  47. Catherine

    Melissa,
    You poor girl! I’ve fallen off ladders more times than I care to admit. That is why I gave up doing wall finishes and murals for a living. I only do it for myself and friends now. I fell off the ladder while working in the home of a friend and her husband was there to help me. He asked me if I was hurt and I said at this point even my pride isn’t hurt because I’m so used to it!
    Hugs,
    Cathie

    Catherines inspiring blog post..Banner Painted in Music Room

    Reply
  48. Amy

    Ouch!!!! Glad your fingers stayed in tact.

    Amy @ Living Locurtos inspiring blog post..Something fun!

    Reply
  49. Louise

    I did something similar when super glue first came out….I glued my fingers together while trying to glue a fake nail on…wasnt so bad until my client came in for her haircut…LOL. Well, just get one of those big fat black nail files from the beauty supply house & sand away! It really works & if you have any callouses, sand them off too! Sorry to hear about all of your DIY mishaps.

    Reply
  50. Jessica

    I hope you’ve gotten it off. I’ve done that many times, and I usually just pick at it until it comes off or file it off with a nail file.

    I guess my biggest DIY disaster was the time I fell through a floor. We had just bought an old mobile home and I was demoing the disgusting kitchen. I knew there was a weak spot in the floor so I was trying to avoid it, but I was also trying to remove some carpet that had been glued under the walls. One misstep and I went through clear up to the hip. Luckily it was right in the middle of two joists with nothing underneath it–no insulation, no underbelly seal, nothing. So I didn’t hurt my leg and we found out we had even more work to do. I don’t even know how anyone lived in that place it was so bad.

    I actually went through another rotten spot another time, but that time I was quicker and I jumped back before my leg went all the way through. There was also the time I stepped off the deck to pick up some boards (the steps that the previous owners had let rot right off the deck) and I stepped on a nail probably an inch and a half to two inches long that went through my shoe and all the way into my foot. You’ll understand why I wasn’t very happy about using the electric saw or helping DH use the power nailer–that place was trying to kill me and I didn’t want it to succeed!

    Jessicas inspiring blog post..Random things I must tell you, internet

    Reply
  51. Dee

    I am laughing so hard, I’m crying.
    I am glad every one is safe… for now : )
    Dee

    Reply
  52. jane

    hi! i hope it all turns out ok, skin where it belongs and beautiful molding finishing the room! i never seem to get superglue right. mine never holds stuff EXCEPT my skin. i’ve sworn off it!
    my best incident is the red paint my daughter spilled on her bedroom carpet (formerly off-white) when we were redoing the room. about a quart of it. i got about 3 cups of it up. that really wasn’t enough, but it wasn’t like that was the only spot on the carpet, let’s be honest! and then there is the pine green wax of the candle that exploded. again, getting most of it up didn’t quite do the job.
    answer in both cases: AREA RUG! creativity to the rescue! and getting over each event with a shrug! jkj

    Reply
  53. Jennifer

    Melissa, I read your post to my hubby and his “work crew” as they met at my house before starting out for the day. Boy did they have a good laugh. See you’re spreading good cheer all the way here in Georgia. Ha, ha. I had to tell you that. They all left with a smile on their faces. Very creative though, I hope you got it all down eventually.

    Jennifer@Southern Charms inspiring blog post..New Year Inspiration

    Reply
  54. katiedid

    I am so sorry…but I cannot get the image out of my mind, and cannot stop laughing! But rest assured, we have had many a mishap around here as well. Suggestion: do not try to paint anything outside late in the afternoon. It will not dry, and the dew will collect and make wet paint run off all over your brand new Ipe decking while you sleep dreaming of a job well done.

    katiedids inspiring blog post..The Family’s Room

    Reply
  55. Audrey

    Oooh, the best incident I can think of wasn’t exactly home-improvement…it was DIY home-building. We were just about done finishing the cement for our basement floor, I was reaching in from outside the footings, bent over, smoothing mud around some plumbing pipes. My husband was running…can’t remember the name of the machine, but it looked like one of those rotary floor-buffers…anyway, he caught one of the pipes with it, and it whipped out of his hands and around and the handle whacked me right in my little-ole-unsuspecting head…knocked me FLAT on my can. I have to admit, I had to walk away and have myself a good cry for a minute. Kinda hurts just thinking about it! ;)

    Audreys inspiring blog post..Lip Smackin’ Good

    Reply
  56. Vivian

    Hmmm…gluing quarter round. I haven’t finished my baseboard project because I thought I needed to buy those little nails. But super-glue! What a great idea.
    p.s. Sorry about the fingers.

    Reply
  57. victoria ~ auction girl vintage

    Hey Melissa, thanks for a hearty laugh. Of COURSE you ended up with molding glued to the floor. You probably knew that acetone-based nail polish remover will break a superglue bond without damaging your skin, but it’s kinda hard to open the bottle when all your figners are glued to a piece of wood …

    My personal DIY disaster was more than 25 years ago, when my future husband and I had a bunch of friends on the roof of our house, removing several layers of old, thin, highly flammable and very leaky shingles. We had a covered hacienda-style porch that ran the width of the front of the house, and there were ladders and scaffolding set up all along the porch for access to the roof.

    I was in the front yard, about 25 feet from the porch, when I heard the phone ring inside the house. Not wanting to miss the call, I ran across the yard, seriously misjudging the height of the scaffolding. My upper body came to a dead stop when my forehead slammed into a 2″ thick scaffolding plank, but my feet kept going for another millisecond, tipping me backwards and slamming me flat on my back on the concrete walkway. A classic slipped-on-a-banana-peel type fall — minus the banana peel — performed at high speed while being smacked in the forehead with the equivalent of a baseball bat.

    Just like in a car accident, the “loose” items continued their forward movement: my silver-and-turquoise stud earrings literally SHOT out of my earlobes and hit the front wall, six to eight feet from where my head stopped. Quite a lesson in Newtonian physics [an object in motion remains in motion until acted on by another force]. My earrings were discovered on the porch later in the day: I had no idea they were missing, as I’d been busy holding ice packs on the front and back of my head.

    No concussion, just two big-bumps-with-bruises, and a seriously bruised ego. What should have been just a couple hours of feeling foolish grew into 25 years of “Hey, remember the time Victoria …” My foolish fall gained the stature of Myth, becoming A Story Of Great Proportion, retold with relish at family holidays, gatherings of friends-who-were-there, and — of course — at least once during any and all DIY projects I’ve done over the past 25 years.

    Cheers,

    victoria ~ auction girl vintage

    victoria ~ auction girl vintages inspiring blog post..Real Food Wednesdays ~ Healthy Fast Food, Quickie Pasta Dinners

    Reply
  58. Sabrina

    Ooh, nasty! That glue can be fun, huh?

    I didn’t have this incident, but my hubby did. We were making wall panels to cover a mural for my baby room, and I saw how my hubby was using my nailer. “Move your hands, they’re in nail range” I told him. Apparently he was fine… until a few seconds later. Sure enough, the nail didn’t go in quite straight and skinned his finger. We don’t say we put our blood, sweat, and tears into that room for nothing!

    Sabrinas inspiring blog post..More Pictures

    Reply
  59. Courtney

    This really isn’t a home improvement story, but still kind of funny!

    After my dad passed away, I was sort of in charge of all the household “manly” chores, because my mother was limited by a walker. So i had to learn to cut grass, exc. This includes taking care of both our pool and hot tub. On my first try changing the hot tub water, which I had seen my dad do a million times- i managed to flood our entire basement.

    I attached the pump and hose and directed it to the wash basin in the basin, because our hot tub is actually in the house, not outside, where we could drain it easily! The hot tub was draining perfectly, so I walked away and had dinner. When i returned after dinner to check the progress, there was water everywhere!

    I had to get the shop vac and vacuum out the water from the carpet, and luckily I rolled the carpet up and hung it outside to dry. It was a mess, and from that day forward, I always duct tape the hose to the basin, so it doesn’t accidentally fly out!

    Reply
  60. Michelle

    Well once I was painting our overhand on our house, with a paint roller. I was told by my parents to get the paint very think so I would only have to paint once. Well the paint was so thick that as I rolled it on, it was dripping- on my hair! Even though I washed my hair everyday, the paint didn’t come out completely for a good 10 days or so!

    Reply
  61. Debbie Keds

    Hey Melissa, I just came across your delightful blog and your Super Glue story.

    My Super Glue mishap story is actually some prankster karma at my expense. I’ve always been quite a little prankster all of my life, and I used to keep a tube of Super Glue in my purse to the right opportunity to make mischief on a friend of family member. This time I decided to tie my sister’s shoe laces in knots on her favorites sneakers and squirt a drop of Super Glue on the knots. She’d have to cut the knots out before she could wear them. Instead, I Super Glued my right hand to the knotted laces of both of her sneakers! My sister had to help me to get free.

    The next time my sister visited my house, she cut the laces out of my favorite sneakers.

    Debbie

    Reply

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