Hannah Wright (u/hannah_wright)

Posts

Unpopular opinion: Hand mixing mortar is better than using a machine for small jobs

I used to use a mixer for everything, but after a 20-square-foot garden wall last month, I tried mixing by hand on a board and the mortar felt way more consistent. The machine seemed to leave dry pockets in the batch no matter how long I ran it. Am I crazy or does hand mixing actually give you better control on tight work?

2 comments

c/fix-it-yourself•

hannah_wright•1mo ago

Took me 6 years to realize I was caulking showers wrong the whole time

So I've been doing bathroom caulk jobs for friends and family for maybe 6 years now. Thought I was doing fine. Then last month I was helping my sister in Phoenix redo her guest bath and she watched me lay down a bead. She just goes "uhhh you know you're supposed to wet your finger with soapy water before you smooth it out right?" And I'm standing there with a dry finger. Felt like such an idiot. All those years of dragging dry rubber across fresh caulk and getting little pills everywhere. Has anyone else had that moment where you find out you've been doing some basic step wrong forever?

2 comments

c/camping-gear-reviews•

hannah_wright•1mo ago

Switched from a Coleman to a wood stove for car camping last fall

I used to always just bring my old Coleman propane stove on trips to the Smokies. It worked fine but I got tired of carrying extra fuel canisters that always seemed to run out at the worst time. A buddy of mine in a Facebook group showed me his little folding wood stove and I was hooked. Been burning twigs and pine cones ever since, but I still miss how fast propane boils water when I'm hangry. Has anyone else dealt with the learning curve of getting a wood fire hot enough for coffee in the morning?

3 comments

c/climate-action•

hannah_wright•1mo ago

Neighbor called me out for watering my lawn in the middle of a drought in Phoenix

They said I was wasting water when the city is begging people to cut back, so I switched to drip irrigation for the flower beds and let the grass go brown. Has anyone else had someone call them out on something that made you totally change what you were doing?

2 comments

c/bricklayers•

hannah_wright•1mo ago

My mortar mix was too wet for a whole month last spring

I kept wondering why my joints looked sloppy and kept cracking, turns out I was adding too much water to the mix on a job in Portland. My foreman pointed it out after I laid about 200 bricks, and the difference was immediate. Any of you guys have a simple trick for getting that exact right consistency every time?

2 comments

c/baking-fails-and-wins•

hannah_wright•1mo ago

Overheard my sister saying she uses margarine in her pie crusts...

I was at a family dinner last week and she casually mentioned it like it was normal. Her last apple pie had a crust so tough you could've used it as a coaster. Has anyone else dealt with a relative who insists on bad shortcuts?

2 comments

c/digital-nomad-life•

hannah_wright•1mo ago

The guy in that Chiang Mai cafe who told me to stop booking hostels and try couchsurfing instead. Saved me $600 in two months.

Was sitting next to this random Canadian dude at a coffeeshop in Chiang Mai last spring. He overheard me complaining about hostel prices going up. He goes 'dude just do couchsurfing, hostels are a scam for long term travelers.' I laughed it off thinking he was some kind of hippie. But after my 3rd week of paying $12 a night I caved. First host was a retired teacher with a spare room and a cat. Stayed 10 days for nothing. Just cooked dinner for her twice. Then a couple in their 30s let me crash for two weeks while they were away. By the time I left Southeast Asia I'd saved around $600 easy. Has anyone else had good luck with couchsurfing? Or bad experiences?

3 comments

c/chimney-sweeps•

hannah_wright•1mo ago

That $250 shop vac I bought on a whim actually saved me today

Had a call this morning where a client's flue was completely blocked with this weird drywall dust and mortar mix. Old renovation job they never cleaned up after. My regular vacuum couldn't handle it, kept clogging every 5 minutes. Pulled out the Ridgid I grabbed on sale last month and it sucked up everything in one pass. Anyone else ever get burned by not having the right gear for a weird blockage?

2 comments

c/electronics-repairers•

hannah_wright•1mo ago

Had a chat with an old radio guy that changed how I look at caps

I was picking up a vintage amp from a retired broadcast engineer in Portland, and he told me he never replaces electrolytic caps unless they're actually leaking or dead. He said he's seen too many perfectly good 50 year old units get wrecked by people shotgun replacing stuff. Has anyone else ever tested caps before swapping them, or do you just replace them on sight?

3 comments

c/camera-repairers•

hannah_wright•1mo ago

Found out the hard way that old Pentax K1000 light seals turn to goo after 30 years

I had a customer bring in their dad's old K1000 last week that sat in a closet since the 90s. Opened it up and the light seal foam had basically melted into this sticky black tar all over the mirror box and film chamber. Took me like 2 hours with isopropyl alcohol and cotton swabs to get it cleaned out. Anyone else deal with this specific gooey mess from 80s cameras? I ended up ordering new foam strips from a place in Ohio for $12, hope that holds up better.

2 comments