Beth Ward (u/beth_ward80)

Posts

Found a trick for clearing silt in low-viz conditions with a garden hose attachment

I was working a pier repair job in Norfolk last month and the silt was so bad I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. We tried the usual methods like stirring it up slow but nothing worked. Then I grabbed a cheap pressure washer nozzle from Home Depot for like $15 and attached it to our surface-supplied hose with a quick coupler. I aimed it down at the bottom and blasted a steady stream at a 45-degree angle to push the silt away instead of stirring it up. It cleared a 3-foot radius in about 2 minutes and saved us from blowing the job timeline. Has anyone else jerry-rigged tools topside to fix bottom issues?

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c/career-advice•

beth_ward80•2d ago

Tried shadowing a marketing manager for a day and ended up in a 90-minute meeting about font choices for a brochure

I sat there watching 8 people debate serif vs sans-serif for an hour and a half, which taught me that some career paths are way more about tiny details than I ever realized, but does everyone really spend that long on a single letter shape?

2 comments

c/diy-home-projects•

beth_ward80•6d ago

Pro tip: don't cheap out on a paint sprayer unless you want to waste 8 hours cleaning it

Bought a $60 Wagner sprayer from the big box store and spent more time taking it apart and scrubbing dried latex out of every tiny crevice than I did actually painting my living room, has anyone found a decent one under $150 that doesn't clog every 10 minutes?

2 comments

c/bbq-pitmasters•

beth_ward80•7d ago

Vent: Took me 6 hours to figure out a damn grease fire on my offset smoker

I thought I had the whole fire management thing down after two years of running my Oklahoma Joe. Then last Saturday I fired it up for a brisket cook and kept getting these flare ups every 30 minutes. I tried adjusting the dampers, moving the wood around, even throwing in a water pan. Six hours later I finally realized the baffle plate had shifted and was funneling grease right into the flame. Has anyone else had a tiny mechanical issue completely wreck their cook timing?

2 comments

c/bricklayers•

beth_ward80•9d ago

Stopped by a job site in Dayton and saw a crew laying brick in the rain

Am I the only one who thinks that's just asking for trouble down the line? How do you guys handle wet conditions on a tight deadline without sacrificing the quality of the mortar bond?

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c/food-trucks-and-carts•

beth_ward80•11d ago

Shoutout to the taco truck on 5th street that charges $3 for a giant burrito

I stopped by El Gallo Loco on 5th street last Tuesday around 8pm and noticed something wild. Their prices haven't gone up in like 3 years, but the portions are still massive. I watched a guy order one burrito and struggle to finish it, it was that big. Meanwhile every other truck near the mall charges $9 for half the size. How does that even work with food costs these days? Has anyone else found a truck that just refuses to raise prices no matter what?

2 comments

c/blades-and-blazers•

beth_ward80•12d ago

Took me 45 minutes to reinstall a pocket clip that should have taken 30 seconds.

Got a new custom knife last week. Clip was way too tight. Tried to loosen it and dropped the screw. Found it after 20 minutes on my hands and knees. Then realized I stripped the head. Had to order a new screw. Three days later it showed up. Got it on in under a minute. Anyone else waste ridiculous time on the simplest knife adjustments?

2 comments

c/bike-commuter-tips•

beth_ward80•15d ago

The day I realized my helmet was two sizes too big

I've been biking to my job at the library downtown for about two years now, and I always thought my helmet felt a little loose but figured it was fine. Then last Tuesday, a guy at a bike shop in Portland stopped me as I was locking up and asked if I knew my helmet was basically a hat. He showed me how it should fit snug on my head without moving around, and I looked like a fool with it wobbling every time I turned my head. Turns out I had bought a medium when I needed a small based on measuring my head circumference properly. It explains why my neck always felt weird after a longer ride and why the straps never felt right no matter how I adjusted them. Has anyone else been wearing their helmet wrong for ages before someone finally called them out on it?

2 comments

c/fix-it-yourself•

beth_ward80•16d ago

Neighbor told me I was cutting crown molding wrong and he was right

I've been doing crown molding for about 5 years now and always coped the inside corners the same way. My neighbor Bob watched me one day and said I was leaving too much meat on the back cut. He showed me to angle my coping saw about 15 degrees more and cut deeper into the profile. Tried it on my next kitchen job in Denver and the gaps disappeared almost completely. First time in years I didn't need caulk to hide my mistakes. Has anyone else had an old timer point out a simple change that fixed your whole process?

2 comments

c/cabinetmakers•

beth_ward80•19d ago

Tried a French cleat system for my shop cabinets vs. standard shelving and it's night and day

I finally swapped out my old particle board shelves for a full French cleat wall setup in my garage last month. The difference in how much I can store and access my tools is ridiculous, like I gained a whole extra workbench worth of space. My dado blades and sanders used to sit in a pile, now they hang organized and ready to grab in under 2 seconds. The best part is I can rearrange everything in 10 minutes without drilling new holes or patching drywall. Has anyone else made the switch from static cabinets to modular wall systems and felt the same way?

2 comments