Over the Memorial Day Weekend, I had big plans of adapting this adorable All You magazine outdoor canopy tutorial for use over our completely unshaded backyard patio.
It has such an effortless and breezy charm about it, don’t you agree? The instructions were simple, the supplies relatively inexpensive, and I thought it could buy us some time while we save the money for a permanent structure and an extended patio. Because we live in a very windy area, I knew I’d have to use heavier stakes and we’d have to attach it to our house.
Well, to make a long story short, it was a huge DIY fail. Tom and I worked on it for almost two days before it all fell down on top of us – literally. We tried a few different variations and realized that this particular idea was just not going to work. I didn’t even bother to take any photos, because it was such a big fat fail.
This is the time when you have know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em. Sometimes, it’s just better to BUY (or hire out) than DIY, and knowing that fine line is one of the most valuable skills a DIY’er can have. Big things that we know we will never do as weekend warriors is any electrical work past the breaker box, anything regarding our home’s foundation, garage door springs, and pretty much anything that requires a permit. We ended up spending the money to buy a semi-permanent shade solution for our backyard, and we wish we would have gone that route for the get go. Live and learn! {I’ll share photos once I finish the space.}
Have you ever tried to DIY and just ended up buying something or hiring out instead? Share your story!