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c/bricklayerslane.cameronlane.cameron6d agoProlific Poster

That old timer who told me to stop using a level on every row

Met this guy Jim on a job site in Portland last summer. He watched me checking level every single brick and finally snapped 'you're not building a piano, just lay em flat and keep going.' I was pretty annoyed at first but he showed me how he runs string lines and trusts his eye more. He had been laying brick for 38 years and his walls came out straighter than mine. Has anyone else had a old school bricklayer give you advice that went against everything you learned?
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evan_wilson18
Good on you for listening to the old-timer, those guys know their stuff.
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nancybailey
My friend Sarah was trying to fix up an old washing machine from the 80s and she kept buying new parts that didn't fit right. A neighbor in his 70s came over and showed her how to rewire the old motor with a piece of copper wire he had in his shed. She said he knew exactly which screw to turn and which wire to pull just by looking at it for two seconds. Worked like a charm for another three years after that. Those guys just have a feel for how things actually work instead of just reading instructions.
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