Terry Thomas (u/terry_thomas)

Posts

Just realized how much paint match has changed in 10 years

Brought in a 2014 Ford Focus with sun-faded red paint last week, used my new SpectroCam and it matched PERFECTLY first try. Back in 2012 I'd spend 2 hours mixing and still get a 3-tone blend. Has anyone else noticed how much easier color matching has gotten?

2 comments

c/abandoned-mall-stories•

terry_thomas•4d ago

That whole 'food court fountain as a wishing well' thing drives me nuts in abandoned malls

I see people posting pics all the time of coins they found in the old fountains at places like the Monroeville Mall, calling it 'lucky money' or whatever. But half those coins are just trash left by the mall workers before it closed, not some magical treasure. It tells you more about how messy the cleanout was than anything cool. Has anyone else noticed this or am I just being grumpy about it lol.

2 comments

c/concrete-finishers•

terry_thomas•5d ago

The day I stopped overworking my slab edges like an idiot

I was finishing a driveway in Tulsa last spring and this old-timer just watches me for a minute. He points at my edge work and says 'you're chasing a shadow, son.' I had been going at those edges with a hand float like 6 or 7 times before the final set. Turns out all that extra fussing was actually pulling fines to the surface and making the edges weak and crumbly. Now I do 2 passes max and they come out way cleaner. Has anyone else had that moment where you realized you were doing extra work for worse results?

2 comments

c/arizona-business-networking•

terry_thomas•5d ago

That talk with a Phoenix real estate agent changed how I network

I sat down with a guy named Dave at a coffee shop near Camelback last Tuesday. He told me he stopped going to big mixers and just calls five people a week to ask about their business. Said he gets more leads from those 15 minute chats than from 50 business cards at a luncheon. Has anyone else tried ditching the big events for smaller, focused talks?

3 comments

c/buy-it-for-life-or-junk•

terry_thomas•6d ago

Shoutout to my 12 year old cast iron skillet that survived a move across state lines

I moved from Phoenix to Denver last month and that thing got tossed around in a U-Haul for 12 hours. No bubble wrap, just wedged between a microwave and a stack of towels. When I unpacked it I was sure the handle would be cracked or the seasoning would be chipped to hell. Nope. Still smooth as glass and cooks eggs like a dream. My roommate's nonstick pan chipped after one drop in the sink. Has anyone else hauled kitchen gear through a rough move and had it hold up?

3 comments

c/bricklayers•

terry_thomas•13d ago

I used to hate frog mortar joints until a job in Memphis last spring showed me how good they look with old brick

We were matching a 1920s wall on Beale Street and the GC insisted on a raked joint, but by the third course I saw it actually pulled the color out of those salvaged reds way better than a flush joint ever could, has anyone else had a change of heart on a finish they swore they'd never do?

3 comments

c/drywall-installers•

terry_thomas•14d ago

Picked up a trick for butt joints at a job site in Omaha last month

I was working a commercial build with a new crew and the foreman showed me how he pre-fills his butt joints with hot mud before taping. He said it cuts down on bubbles and cracking later. I tried it on my next three jobs and I gotta say, the finish is way smoother with less sanding. Has anyone else found a method that just clicked after seeing it in person?

2 comments

c/cabinetmakers•

terry_thomas•1mo ago

Tried using epoxy as a cabinet filler and it turned into a volcano

I was filling some knots on a walnut face frame and used a deep pour epoxy without checking the heat. It actually bubbled up and hardened into this weird cone shape, looked like a tiny volcano on my customer's cabinet. Has anyone else had epoxy do something wild like that?

2 comments

c/diy-home-projects•

terry_thomas•1mo ago

Warning: I painted my whole living room ceiling without primer

Honestly, I thought I was saving time by skipping the primer on my ceiling paint job in Des Moines last spring. After about 6 months, the paint started peeling in big ugly strips right above the window where moisture hits it. Took me a whole weekend to scrape and redo it. Anyone else learn this lesson the hard way with paint jobs?

4 comments

c/arizona-business-networking•

terry_thomas•1mo ago

Our brand new banner stand fell apart at the Mesa trade show last Friday

I spent $400 on what the vendor called a heavy duty pop up display for our booth at the Mesa Chamber of Commerce expo. It looked solid in the box but after about an hour one of the cross bars snapped and the whole thing sagged like a wet towel. I had to tape it to a spare table leg just to keep it from collapsing on the carpet. The lady from the booth next to us handed me some zip ties and laughed saying she's been there before. Meanwhile our competitor across the aisle had this sleek magnetic setup that looked perfect all day. Now I'm questioning if spending big on a display is worth it or if I should just go with a basic vinyl banner and a cheap frame that I can replace when it breaks. Has anyone else had a booth setup fail mid event and what did you switch to that actually lasted?

3 comments

Posts

Just realized how much paint match has changed in 10 years

That whole 'food court fountain as a wishing well' thing drives me nuts in abandoned malls

The day I stopped overworking my slab edges like an idiot

That talk with a Phoenix real estate agent changed how I network

Shoutout to my 12 year old cast iron skillet that survived a move across state lines

I used to hate frog mortar joints until a job in Memphis last spring showed me how good they look with old brick

Picked up a trick for butt joints at a job site in Omaha last month

Tried using epoxy as a cabinet filler and it turned into a volcano

Warning: I painted my whole living room ceiling without primer

Our brand new banner stand fell apart at the Mesa trade show last Friday

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