MNN - Mother Nature Network

Winter is upon us and you know what that means — it's DIY season. The frigid temperatures mean less venturing outside and more activities inside the house. Fresh New Year's resolutions have people surveying their homes, looking for something that needs fixing. Hardware store sales will be another lure, drawing in optimistic Mr. and Ms. Fix-Its like shoppers to a Walmart on Black Friday.

 

Another common theme for DIYers is YouTube. DIYers everywhere like to film themselves fixing up parts of their home or creating cool gadgets. Many are successful, teaching others what DIY done right looks like. But these are not their stories. In the following videos, you'll see the faces of DIY home improvement gone wrong.

 

The simple lightbulb change is something most of us learned in Household Chores 101. It's a straightforward procedure: Get something to stand on, unscrew the old bulb, and screw in the new one. Just make sure you've got something sturdy to stand on.

 

When you're fixing or moving heavy objects, always ask for help. You're not Superman, and good friends will usually be glad to lend a hand. Otherwise you could break the stuff you're moving — and possibly yourself.

 

Didn't Dad teach you to be careful with power tools when you were a kid? (Apparently having long hair and using these tools don't mix.)

 

Popping on your headphones and cutting the grass is a zen way to DIY. But first, make sure you understand the power of your lawnmower or you just might catch an unexpected ride.

 

When you do a DIY project, sometimes there are red flags. When the roof you're repairing creaks louder than a rusty gate is one such flag. 

 

One rule of thumb when you're moving furniture out of your house: safe is better than easy. And make sure your helpers know what they're doing, or you could end up spending more money than you'd get for that furniture.

 

What was this guy thinking? A simple understanding of physics and remembering to keep a safe distance away from potential disaster could have averted this crisis.

 

It seems easy enough — take a chainsaw and start carving into a tree to chop it down, right? There's two things this amateur lumberjack forgot, though: a tree topples the way it leans and the bigger something is, the harder it falls.