That guy on the Bothell Community Board said to pave my driveway myself to save money

A user named "FixItFrank42" swore up and down that pouring asphalt was easy if you watched a few YouTube videos. I followed his advice, spent $1,200 on materials, and got a lumpy mess that cracked within 3 months. Had to pay a contractor $3,800 to rip it out and redo it proper. Anyone else had bad luck taking DIY advice from this board?

3 comments

3 Comments

thomas.parker2mo ago

That "watch a few YouTube videos" line always gets me because people forget the videos don't show the years of practice and mistakes professionals already made. It's like that pattern I see everywhere now, where people think watching a tutorial makes them an expert just because they can follow steps in a controlled setting. Those online experts never mention the cracked driveway or the drywall that fell down the next week, so you end up paying triple what you would have if you just hired someone from the start.

brian_rivera591mo agoMost Upvoted

Read a study a while back that said most DIY projects end up costing about 30 percent more when you factor in the tools people buy and the mistakes they have to fix. I think about that every time I see some guy on Reddit bragging about saving money on his own brake job or bathroom tile. They never mention the trip to the ER or the flood in the basement later on.

the_karen2mo ago

Oh honey, you are SO right. People really don't get it.