Thanks to the Southern Idaho Home and Garden Show, this is the time of year when I'm reminded of one of the greatest fails in the history of home ownership. It's the time when I thought it would be a good idea to try and fix my roof with rubber in a can.

The story begins this way. My parents built the home I grew up in. Several years ago, I inherited it. Generally speaking, they did a good job putting it together. But, thanks to many not-so-nice thunderstorms, the roof was not in great shape.

This was not a problem when my dad was alive, because he knew how to fix stuff. I don't. I sit in a room and talk to myself professionally, and have adapted no other skills in my lifetime.

What the roof needed was a new roof. What it got was a radio DJ who wanted a cheap shortcut. It's amazing that I didn't end up in the ER.

As a general rule, if your roof repair begins in the "As Seen on TV" section at Wal-Mart, you know you're in trouble. That was my destination after seeing the guy on the Flex Seal commercial who claimed that this wonder product could fix practically anything - IN A CAN!

On my first trip to the store, I picked up the clear version of Flex Steel. As I recall, I was trying to be sly and fix my roof without leaving a big mess. That didn't work out. What happened is I went into my attic, Flex Seal clear can in hand, and began spraying anything that didn't move.

A week later, a thunderstorm went through our town and I had water coming down my chimney. So, back to the store I went. This time, I bought the black version of Flex Seal thinking it would be better. Nope.

When I got up into the attic, I realized the error of using the clear Flex Steel. I couldn't tell where I had sprayed and where I hadn't. So, I proceeded to basically guess where I hadn't sprayed and went for it. Strike two.

Instead of fixing my roof, now every thunderstorm would not only dump water on my roof, but would also cause clumps of wet Flex Seal to fall into my attic. Winning!

This is why many people come from all over to the Southern Idaho Home and Garden Show. Professionals that actually know what they're doing, unlike me, are there and can answer questions and give demonstrations on how real home repair and maintenance is done.

One thing you won't find at the Home and Garden Show? Flex Seal. (*hangs head in shame*)

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