Had to pick between a new hoist rope or a full motor rebuild on a 15-year-old traction unit in a downtown office building, and going with the rope first saved the building owner $8,000 in immediate costs.

The motor had a slight hum, but the rope showed three broken outer wires in a 10-foot section, so I argued for the rope replacement first, and after we swapped it, the car ran smooth and the motor noise actually went away, which makes me think the strain was causing it. Anyone ever have a secondary symptom clear up after fixing the primary, obvious fault?

Found a whole food court fountain still running in the old Sunrise Mall

I've been exploring for years and always assumed the water was cut first. Seeing that fountain splash in the dark last month made me realize I'd been ignoring active utility lines as a hazard. Anyone else run into something still weirdly 'on' in a place that's supposed to be dead?

TIL a huge chunk of fence posts rot at ground level because of a capillary effect I never knew about.

Read it in an old agricultural extension bulletin from Iowa State, says moisture wicks up wood like a straw. Anyone else run into this and have a good fix besides just using metal posts?

I bought a $50 'ultralight' camp chair that broke on its first trip

Got the Trekker Ultralite from an online ad, and the leg snapped when I leaned back at a campsite near Bend. It was just cheap plastic joints under the fabric. What's a good sturdy chair that won't fall apart?

Tried a new creosote remover from a supply house in Omaha and it actually made the buildup worse.

It was a gel formula that hardened into a crust instead of breaking down, took me an extra hour to chip out. Anyone run into a product that backfired like that?

A friend in Lisbon said my packing list was a waste of space

They saw my bag and said, 'Why are you bringing three pairs of jeans to a hot city?' I swapped them for one pair and two light pants, saving a ton of room and weight. What's one thing you packed that you now leave at home?

Had a customer today who insisted our return policy was 'illegal' because they missed the 30 day window.

They yelled at me for fifteen minutes straight, saying I was personally stealing from them. It hit different because my manager backed me up for once and told them to leave. Anyone else had a boss actually stand their ground?

That fancy new magnesium float cracked on me during a pour in Phoenix last Tuesday

We were finishing a 30 yard driveway slab, about three hours into the job. I went to make a pass and heard a loud snap. The handle had cracked right at the blade connection, leaving a sharp piece of metal sticking out. I had to stop everything, grab my backup aluminum float, and finish the section by hand. Has anyone else had a magnesium tool fail like that under normal heat? I thought they were supposed to be tough.

My old house had a door that would not stay closed without a fight.

The latch plate was just a bit too high, so the bolt would not catch right. Instead of moving the whole plate, I tried a trick from a guy at the hardware store. I used a metal file to shave down the top edge of the strike plate hole by about an eighth of an inch. It took maybe ten minutes and the door clicked shut perfectly. Has anyone else fixed a sticky door with a simple file job instead of a full remount?

Rushing my fence stain job led to streaks. How can I fix this without starting over?