Eric Wright (u/ericw93)

Posts

That 'simple' stump removal in a tight backyard took me two full days

Got a call for a big oak stump, maybe 30 inches across, behind a shed in Cincinnati. Figured half a day with the grinder, tops. The roots had grown under the shed's concrete pad and wrapped around an old, buried gas line that wasn't on the city map. Had to hand-dig and cut everything with a sawzall to avoid hitting the line. What should have been a 4-hour job turned into 16 hours over two days. Anyone else had a hidden utility line turn a simple job into a nightmare?

3 comments

c/electricians•

ericw93•5d ago

Just realized I was using the wrong size hole saw for a 4-inch can light in a client's kitchen remodel last week.

I was cutting into a ceiling joist and the wobble made me stop and check the specs, which saved me from a bigger mistake, so what's your go-to method for keeping your cuts clean and true in tight spots?

3 comments

c/baking-fails-and-wins•

ericw93•6d ago

Hot take: hand mixing my cookie dough for 5 minutes straight beats my stand mixer every time

I used to just let the KitchenAid run on medium for 2 minutes, but the cookies spread like crazy. Slowing down and doing it by hand gave me way more control over the butter texture. Anyone else ditch the machine for certain doughs?

3 comments

c/diesel-mechanics•

ericw93•8d ago

I hit 500 hours on a single set of injectors in a 6.7 Powerstroke and everyone said I was crazy.

The common shop talk is you swap them at 300 hours to be safe, especially on the high-pressure units. I kept a strict fuel filter change schedule every 50 hours and used a specific additive, running it in a fleet of delivery trucks. They just kept testing fine. It made me question if we're replacing parts too early just because it's the easy answer. Has anyone else pushed a component way past its supposed life with good results?

3 comments

c/budgeting-wins•

ericw93•11d ago

My cheap meal plan app tricked me into buying a year of stuff I never used

I saw an ad for this app called 'EatCheap' that said it would make a grocery list for you based on sales. I paid $40 for a year up front thinking I'd save more. The first week it told me to buy a huge bag of quinoa and like 10 cans of chickpeas because they were on sale. I ended up with a pantry full of stuff I don't even like and still had to buy my normal food. Has anyone else fallen for one of those 'smart' shopping apps that just tells you to hoard beans?

3 comments

c/career-advice•

ericw93•11d ago

Serious question, has anyone else tried the 'reverse interview' trick for job offers?

I was stuck in a job hunt for months, getting offers but never feeling good about them. A friend in Chicago told me to prepare 10 questions for the company, not just answer theirs. I asked things like 'What's the biggest challenge the team faced last quarter?' and 'How do you measure success for this role in the first 90 days?'. It changed the whole feel of the talk and helped me pick the right place. What other questions have you all found really work to figure out a job?

3 comments

c/baking-fails-and-wins•

ericw93•13d ago

Appreciation post: my neighbor's cookie disaster taught me to always weigh my flour

She brought over a batch of chocolate chip cookies last Friday that were flat as pancakes. She swore she followed the recipe exactly, using a one cup scoop from her drawer. I asked if she fluffed the flour first and she said no, she just scooped it right from the bag. That packs in way too much flour, which messes up the whole liquid ratio. I finally bought a $20 kitchen scale six months ago and my cookies have been perfect ever since. Does anyone else have a simple kitchen tool that saved their baking?

3 comments

c/appliance-repairers•

ericw93•13d ago

A job in a basement in Cleveland made me rethink how I test dryer thermostats

I was replacing a heating element on an old Whirlpool dryer, and the customer said it kept shutting off after 10 minutes. I checked the usual suspects, but everything tested fine with my meter. Out of ideas, I ran it empty and put my hand on the exhaust duct after the drum. It was cool, which meant the thermostat on the blower housing was cutting the heat even though it tested okay cold. Now I always do a live heat check before I call a part good. Anyone else run into a thermostat that only fails when it's hot?

3 comments

c/bricklayers•

ericw93•13d ago

That old mason in Cincinnati told me to stop using a level on every single brick.

I was on a big church job about five years ago, and this guy, must have been seventy, watched me for a solid hour. He finally walked over, tapped my level with his trowel, and said, 'Your eyes are better than that glass. You're building a wall, not a watch.' He made me lay a whole course just by sight, and it was straighter than my first one. Anyone else had a mentor tell them to trust their hands over the tool?

3 comments

-1

c/diy-home-projects•

ericw93•15d ago

Shoutout to the contractor who told me my deck stain job looked rushed

I was staining my deck last summer and thought two coats was plenty. A contractor friend came over and said, 'You're leaving gaps that will let water in and rot the wood in a year.' He showed me how to really work the stain into the grain with a brush, not just roll it on. I redid the whole thing with three thin coats, taking my time. Has anyone else had a pro point out a basic mistake that saved a project?

3 comments

Posts

That 'simple' stump removal in a tight backyard took me two full days

Just realized I was using the wrong size hole saw for a 4-inch can light in a client's kitchen remodel last week.

Hot take: hand mixing my cookie dough for 5 minutes straight beats my stand mixer every time

I hit 500 hours on a single set of injectors in a 6.7 Powerstroke and everyone said I was crazy.

My cheap meal plan app tricked me into buying a year of stuff I never used

Serious question, has anyone else tried the 'reverse interview' trick for job offers?

Appreciation post: my neighbor's cookie disaster taught me to always weigh my flour

A job in a basement in Cleveland made me rethink how I test dryer thermostats

That old mason in Cincinnati told me to stop using a level on every single brick.

Shoutout to the contractor who told me my deck stain job looked rushed

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