
27. A Sagging Ceiling Revealed a DIY Nightmare
Unfortunately, inspectors don’t catch all of the issues when you first buy a house. This new homeowner was doing repairs on his new house, and posted a photo on Reddit of what he found. “I was wondering why the ceiling was sagging before I removed it… There was extensive reframing done, and I just removed those joists entirely. Everything was wrong on that house, especially major soil and structural no-nos.”

As you can see from the photo, the wooden beams used to support the ceiling were not properly installed. There are slots cut out of the wood, without a beam used to support it. Basically, the previous home owner decided to do a bit of DIY, or hired a cheap contractor who didn’t know anything about engineering. When most people do a DIY project, they’re only thinking about saving money in the short-term. They’re not always thinking about the long term effects, or how it’s going to hurt the next home buyer. This falls under the category of projects that should NEVER be DIY. Instead of attempting structural work like this on your own, always hire a professional.