14 People Who Proved a “Simple Renovation” Can Go Completely Off Script

Anyone who has ever undertaken a renovation in a high-rise knows it’s not just about changing the wallpaper; it’s a full-fledged adventure with a plot, characters, and challenges. You might plan everything in advance, but it’s a multi-story building, which means there will always be a neighbor, wire, or pipe that have their own plans. Read, smile, and remember how it was for you.

• I moved into the “human hive” in the fall. Started a renovation and began drilling. On the second day, the doorbell rings, I open the door — there’s my neighbor with a massive drill, twice the size of mine! I thought, here we go.
  But he looks at my little drill and says, “Brother, what’s with this buzzing thing? Take mine, it’s normal, at least the job will get done faster. My cat gets nervous from your squeaking.” Now we take turns drilling and sometimes visit each other.
• My neighbor started replacing the floor and while fastening the joists, he drilled through to our place. My husband went over to talk to him, mentioned he got a bit carried away, and brought him over to show the problem. I asked the neighbor, “So, are we going to make it a 2-level apartment? That’s a start.” © Tatyana Alferova / Dzen
• My husband and I started a renovation and ordered tiles. The loaders, 2 strong guys, brought in the boxes. My husband is paying when one of the guys hesitates and says, “Ma’am, could we, um, measure the walls?” We were puzzled, why on earth?
  Turns out, these 2 goofballs had a bet on whether a piano, which they had to move tomorrow, would fit in our elevator. They measured the hallway and the elevator with a tape measure, shook hands, and left satisfied. We laughed for half an hour afterward — they are professional and enthusiastic!

• We were renovating the bathroom and hired a plumber. And this “specialist” ran a pipe from one corner to another diagonally across! I am not a confrontational person... but I yelled so loud that the plumber ran away, leaving all his tools behind.
  The next day, my husband was at home. The plumber showed up timidly asking, “Is your wife home?” He asked for permission to take his things and disappeared in an unknown direction, of course, without any payment. In the end, my husband googled how to do everything correctly and did it himself. © Everything will be fine! / Dzen
• There was an old jet tub being replaced, sink torn out and replaced, and toilet. The guys doing it didn’t tell me which day I’d be without the toilet, I just got home from work around 6 p.m. and they’re like “The toilet will be back in tomorrow.” I had to scramble to find some place to stay for the night where I could have a damn toilet. © Unknown author / Reddit
• My sister and I were once putting up wallpaper for our mom because we wanted to save her money. You know, professionals charge a lot. We managed not to argue while doing it.
  And after putting the wallpaper up, we realized — nope! They don’t charge a lot! © Natalia Novikova / Dzen

• I have neighbors with a child living above me. The father of the family, a clumsy do-it-yourselfer, removed the insulation and laid the laminate flooring (he admitted it himself).
  And now I can even hear his dog scratching. I won’t even mention the rest. I’ve been sleeping with earplugs for 8 years now, there’s no other way. © Alexandra / Dzen
• The management was doing repairs in the building stairwell. As soon as the paint smell from the house disappeared, one of the neighbors started painting the floors on the stair landings. We thought it was also from the management company. A week later, a notice was posted: bring money to apartment N for floor painting.
  It turned out, the old ladies from the 5th floor decided the floors needed painting, hired a neighbor, and after it was done, they demanded payment for her work. They annoyed everyone for 3 months, and in the end, everyone paid just to stop their non-stop nagging. © Overheard / Ideer
• I fell in love with my husband all over again when we were doing renovations after the divorce. As a boss — he’s just amazing. But as a husband — no. It’s a pity we never worked together; maybe the marriage would have lasted longer. © Noname / Dzen

• I moved into a new apartment and did a renovation. At the same time, I changed jobs, and I really liked my new boss. Often, I heard him complaining to other people about the neighbors, saying it was impossible to live because of their renovations. It turned out that my apartment was right above his.
  Now we’re renovating again, merging the apartments: my boss is now my husband. © Overheard / Ideer
• I was a renter in an old Victorian that had new owners. They had to rewire the place and the electricians punched holes in the walls and ceiling. This project took weeks. When the holes were opened in the ceiling, bats came down from the attic so I had to patch over the holes with cardboard and tape until the electricians came back to finish up...
  Actually I think I gave my 60 days notice and left before they patched the holes. There was already a mouse problem, and the bats were too much. © Unknown author / Reddit
• Every few months, I do renovations because I get tired of the color of the walls and the arrangement of furniture, shelves, and outlets. Everything’s annoying, inconvenient, and unattractive. I work from home — that’s important. And it was only recently that I realized I was bothering the neighbors.
  How it happened — I don’t know, but I never realized I might be that neighbor who’s always drilling and keeping others awake. I was just renovating and was even annoyed when the neighbors upstairs were stomping. They lived like that for 2.5 years and didn’t complain. © Overheard / Ideer

• I live on the most wonderful street. My neighbors and I don’t just say hello, we are friends. We have neighborhood chats, share things with each other like theater tickets and more. When I was renovating, I borrowed a drill 3 houses down without any hassle.
  We try to help the elderly as much as we can — we wallpapered a room for one over the weekend, and brought a load of cat food for another who cares for stray cats. It’s like a little community. © Overheard / Ideer
• A pregnant friend was doing renovations. 2 days later, a neighbor shows up saying that her workers stole his rug and that she owes him $50. She paid because she didn’t like conflicts.
  The next morning, she was woken by the neighbor’s wife who came over to return $50. She said, “Don’t listen to him much.” And then she left. © Overheard / Ideer

And these renovations turned ordinary houses into dream homes. Check them out.