Lessons learnt the hard way
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381125)
Rockingham, Australia
June 1, 2026 3:17am CST
There has been a lot of interesting talk her lately about flatpacks and building furniture. Many years ago, early in our DIY career, we made a cabinet for a bathroom. It was L-shaped and Vince did a great job with the framework. It all fitted very nicely.
One of the last jobs was to cut out the top which again was L-shaped. We laid the sheet of whatever it was upside down on the bench. We measured twice and cut once, as the saying goes but we’d cut on the ‘wrong’ side so the L was going the other way. It was a mirror image of what it was supposed to be, if that makes sense.
The photo shows the finished cupboard after we eventually got it right.
8 people like this
9 responses
@LindaOHio (221989)
• United States
2h
The finished product sure looks nice. Hubby and I were never DIYers.
3 people like this
I know exactly what you mean, it happened to us with an L shaped cabinet.
It's so frustrating when we realize our mistake.
@JudyEv (381125)
• Rockingham, Australia
1h
I'm sure we've learnt one or two things with every new project.
@JudyEv (381125)
• Rockingham, Australia
1h
Yes, we managed in the end but we wasted quite a big sheet of board.
@moffittjc (128649)
• Gainesville, Florida
Just now
Nothing like life lessons learned the hard way! And yes, I can admit that I've made many mistakes cutting things incorrectly, even after measuring twice and cutting once!
@AliCanary (4361)
•
3h
Oh gosh, that must have been frustrating! L-shapes are tricky. What are flatpacks? That's a term I don't think I've heard.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381125)
• Rockingham, Australia
1h
Lots of furniture now, if bought online especially, will come in flat cardboard packages - flatpacks - and you have to assemble the items yourself.
