Do it Myself Nest Repair

Last summer our bedroom a/c and heating unit conked out, and we had to replace it. Now, almost a year later, I find myself spackling around the damage. Instead of hiring our super or handyman, I decided to do-it-myself. The air conditioning unit had been expensive enough without the added cost of touch ups.

“It’s going to cost a lot—at least $2000,” our handyman (ever the pessimist) had informed us.

Frying in bed was not an option. My husband and I both have trouble sleeping—even under ideal circumstances. So we paid out $2000 plus tips to our building handyman and his assistants. Unfortunately, in the process of removing the old unit and installing the new one, the paint and plaster was damaged. I could have insisted that the handyman repair the damage at the time, but that would have been an extra charge. I decided to leave that expense for another time when I needed the apartment to look its best.

That time is now. I’m having a party and want my home to look good. I’m tired of requesting services and products only to receive no response despite my willingness to pay and endure a seemingly endless wait. The world has become unresponsive, unpredictable and unhelpful. The best and fastest way to accomplish a goal (albeit a small one) is to do it yourself.

Besides, how hard could it be to spackle and paint either side of an air conditioning unit? I thought it would be easy-peasy to go to Ace Hardware—the so-called helpful place—and purchase spackle, paint, scraper, tape, brush, etc. Boy, was I wrong.

On my first trip to Ace, I was advised to buy spackle in a tube to fill in around nail heads and small holes. Being an eager beaver, I spread out newspaper and decided to start that afternoon. I changed into old sweatpants, donned my gardening gloves, opened the tube and squeezed. Nothing came out. Nothing. I squeezed harder and harder until my hand ached and I was dripping in sweat. Whatever small amounts of dryish spackle oozed out of the tube would not go into the holes. Frustrating, to say the least.

Trip #2 to Ace yielded new spackle and a small can of lavender matte paint to match my bedroom walls. I was proud of myself for saving the correct paint chip from three years ago to ensure that I would buy the right color. Bring on the Grape Ice!

Again, I was eager to start. The new spackle in a can smoothed on easily. But after the spackle dried, it was a shock to learn that the strip I painted was much lighter than the surrounding wall. Obviously, Ace had sold me the wrong color, with the result that I had a light lavender stripe on a darker lavender wall. My wall looked even worse than before I had started.

Back to Ace I went, armed with my receipt and pictures of my wall with the incorrect paint. A big sign in the paint area read: “No refunds or exchanges on custom paint.” But I was determined to be the exception. A salesman referred me to the store manager, and after some discussion they agreed to remix the paint and make the exchange.

Eager to complete the project, I hurried home to finish the job. The paint still looked a bit lighter than the surrounding area, but a friend assured me that the new lavender would be the right shade when it dried. Just to be sure and for the sake of consistency, I painted the whole rest of the wall.

I must confess that my spackling was not the best. Lumps and bumps remained. But the paint was the correct color and I had achieved the necessary—if not professional—result. More importantly, the job was completed on MY schedule (before my party). No waiting around for painters or handymen to show up and no payment necessary.

I will not be doing any further renovation. But it was a relief to finally be in control of SOMETHING in this chaotic world. In a small and temporary way, I could distract myself from the stock market crash with a do-it-myself repair.