Amy Murphy (u/amy_murphy15)

Posts

Hit 100 yards of broom finish in a single pour yesterday

We were doing a big warehouse floor in Kansas City, and the boss said we had to broom it all in one shot. Everyone said it was too much area for a good finish. We set up three guys on ride-on trowels with brooms attached, ran them in a line, and kept the edges wet. It came out perfect, no cold joints or marks. Anyone ever try a broom job that big without stopping?

2 comments

c/florists•

amy_murphy15•6d ago

Honestly, I threw some leftover ranunculus stems in a bucket with a little bleach water on a whim last week.

Tbh, they lasted a full 14 days, which is wild for a delicate stem. Anyone else have weird little tricks that actually work?

2 comments

c/drafters•

amy_murphy15•7d ago

My first boss said to always draw the centerline first, and I finally get why

When I started drafting in 2007, my boss at that small firm in Omaha had this rule: the first line on any floor plan had to be the centerline of the main wall. I thought it was just some old school habit, a waste of time when I could just start drawing walls. For years after I left that job, I ignored it and built plans from the outside in. Then I got a huge remodel project last month, a 1920s house with nothing square. I spent hours fixing dimensions that wouldn't close because my starting point was off. In a fit of frustration, I cleared the screen and drew that single centerline down the middle of the existing structure. Everything else, the new walls, the openings, just fell into place from that one line. It locked the whole chaotic layout into something I could actually work from. Has anyone else had a simple piece of advice they brushed off for years before it finally clicked?

2 comments

c/furniture-finishers•

amy_murphy15•8d ago

Question about stripping old shellac from a 1920s oak dresser

Last week I got a piece from a house in the old part of town, and the shellac was so thick it felt like plastic. I tried denatured alcohol like always, but after 3 hours it was barely lifting. My buddy Mike said to just sand it, but I'm worried about losing the original detail on the legs. Anyone have a better way to get that old shellac off without wrecking the wood?

2 comments

c/commercial-divers•

amy_murphy15•8d ago

I read a report that said the average offshore saturation diver works about 120 days a year.

Found it in an industry safety review from Norway last month. I always figured it was more like 200 days, given the project lengths. Some guys say that's the sweet spot for pay versus burnout, but others argue you need more days to stay sharp and make real money. What's your actual schedule look like on a typical rotation?

2 comments

c/business-operations•

amy_murphy15•8d ago

Switched our team to a four-day week last month and it's actually working

Our output in Phoenix stayed the same, but our project manager said error rates dropped by 15%. Anyone else try this and see a change in quality, not just hours?

2 comments

c/education-resources•

amy_murphy15•9d ago

I called those online coding bootcamps a scam for years

I was sure you needed a four-year degree to get a real job in tech. Then a friend of mine finished a six-month program in Chicago and landed a job making 75k. I looked at the curriculum and it was all stuff companies actually use, not just theory. They had him building real projects from day one. Now I'm the one eating my words. Has anyone here made a similar switch and found a good program that actually works?

2 comments

c/camping-gear-reviews•

amy_murphy15•12d ago

The time my new tent turned into a bathtub during a surprise downpour

I was out near Lake Tahoe last fall, testing a brand new 'stormproof' 2-person tent I'd just bought. The forecast said clear skies, but we got hit with a solid hour of heavy rain around midnight. At first, it was fine, but then I felt a cold spot on my sleeping bag. A small puddle was forming right under my hip. Over the next twenty minutes, that puddle grew into a proper pool covering about a third of the tent floor. The bathtub floor seams just weren't sealed right from the factory. I spent the rest of the night on a damp foam pad, listening to the rain. It really made me question if 'factory seam sealing' is ever good enough, or if you should always do it yourself with a tube of sealant. Has anyone else had a tent fail its first real test like that?

2 comments

c/comic-book-fans•

amy_murphy15•13d ago

My local shop started a 'blind bag' trade night and it saved our group

Our comic group in Austin was getting stale, just talking about the same big two books every week. The owner at Red Dragon Comics suggested we all buy one $5 mystery back issue, read it, and then trade with someone without knowing what they got. I ended up with a weird 80s 'Savage Dragon' issue I never would have picked! It forced us to talk about art and story instead of just characters we already knew. Has any other shop tried something like this to get fans out of their comfort zone?

2 comments

c/carpet-installers•

amy_murphy15•15d ago

Finally got that weird seam in the old house to lay flat

Had a job in a 1920s bungalow last week with a floor that was out of level by almost an inch over eight feet. The homeowner wanted a single piece of carpet in the living room, but the dip was so bad the seam kept wanting to pucker. I spent about four hours just on that one seam, trying different tack strips and stretching from three different points. Ended up using a power stretcher on the far wall and a knee kicker from a weird angle on the side. I was sure I'd have to tell them it wouldn't work. Has anyone else had a floor that bad and what's your go-to fix?

2 comments

Posts

Hit 100 yards of broom finish in a single pour yesterday

Honestly, I threw some leftover ranunculus stems in a bucket with a little bleach water on a whim last week.

My first boss said to always draw the centerline first, and I finally get why

Question about stripping old shellac from a 1920s oak dresser

I read a report that said the average offshore saturation diver works about 120 days a year.

Switched our team to a four-day week last month and it's actually working

I called those online coding bootcamps a scam for years

The time my new tent turned into a bathtub during a surprise downpour

My local shop started a 'blind bag' trade night and it saved our group

Finally got that weird seam in the old house to lay flat

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