That week I patched my roof with a bucket and duct tape and it held for 3 years

Back in 2020 I had a leak in my garage roof right before a big rainstorm hit. I couldn't get a roofer out for like two weeks so I grabbed a plastic bucket and cut it into a shingle shape. Then I sealed it with some heavy duty duct tape I had sitting around. That little patch lasted through three winters and two summers before it finally gave out. My neighbor laughed at me when he saw it but I told him it cost about $4 total. I still can't believe how solid it stayed. Has anyone else had a janky fix that just wouldn't quit on you?

3 comments

3 Comments

price.tara1mo agoMost Upvoted

Man that's the real deal right there. People don't get that most fixes don't need to be pretty, they just need to work. We've gotten so brainwashed by home shows and influencers telling us everything has to look perfect. But the truth is a lot of life is just making stuff hold together long enough. I've got a garden fence held up with zip ties and a broken rake handle. Been like that for four years. It's not pretty but it keeps the deer out. Sometimes the janky stuff teaches you more than the expensive stuff. You learn what actually matters and what's just for show.

ryan_ellis1mo agoOG Member

Used to call stuff like that ghetto. Now I call it genius.

the_lee1mo ago

Pretty sure half the stuff in my house is being held together by spite and whatever I found in the junk drawer at 2am lol. That bucket patch is legendary though, like a $4 middle finger to the whole roofing industry. Ryan_ellis is right too, we really need to retire the word "ghetto" for stuff like this, it's straight up problem solving at its finest. Bet your neighbor's $800 roof patch didn't last three years without leaking somewhere. Honestly the jankier the fix the more I respect it, because you know that person actually looked at the problem and said "nah I can beat this with trash and tape." It's almost like the universe respects cheap desperation and decides to let it ride.