Terry Mitchell (u/mitchell.terry)

Posts

Mortar mix changed my whole approach to laying brick

For about six months now I was using the same pre-mix mortar from the big box store, thinking there was no difference between brands. Then I got talked into trying a Type N mix from a local supply yard over in Columbus. The difference in workmanship was night and day. The site stuff held together better on the trowel and didn't slump out of the joints as fast. It made my lines cleaner and I didn't have to stop as often to clean up drips. I was losing about 15 minutes per course just fussing with sloppy mortar before. Has anyone else noticed a big difference switching from pre-mix to site delivered mortar?

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c/budget-friendly-meals•

mitchell.terry•15d ago

My mom's comment about beans made me rethink our whole grocery budget

I was talking to my mom on the phone last Sunday and she said she spends about $35 a week on dry beans and rice for her and my dad. I always thought canned beans were the way to go but she showed me the math. She gets a 5 pound bag of pinto beans for $4 at the local Food City in Nashville and that lasts them almost two weeks. Has anyone else switched from canned to dry and seen a big difference on their grocery bill?

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Recent Comments

12d ago

My old glory hole door hinge gave out right in the middle of a pull

My buddy Dave did that with his water heater back in 2018 or 2019 I think. He kept saying it was making this weird pinging noise and he just knew it was gonna blow. So he went out and bought a new one on a Friday afternoon and had it installed by Sunday night. Old one was still working fine when he pulled it out just sitting there in the garage for like a month before he finally hauled it to the scrap yard. I told him he was crazy for spending all that money on something that still worked but then six months later mine failed at the worst possible time during a holiday weekend and I couldn't get a plumber for three days. So I guess he was smarter than me after all.

13d ago

A master gardener at the Seattle arboretum told me my pruning cuts were all wrong

Seems like nitpicking unless your trees are actually dying from it.

13d ago

Last week at the bindery in Cleveland, a customer brought in a 1920s prayer book that had been repaired three times with modern glue. The spine was a mess, the text block was falling apart. I told her the old timers would have resewn it on cords and skipped the glue entirely.

Respectfully, I've had way better luck with modern PVA over sewn bindings in my shop. Adhesives have come a long way since the old days and a good PVA joint can outlast sewn cords if applied right.

15d ago

TIL I was overcrowding my air fryer basket with frozen fries for months

Yeah exactly, @blake432 is spot on with that. I do the same shake trick and it's night and day for getting that even crisp, not just on the top layer.