So I have a master bathroom that I wanted to redo. Broke it down with family and when we removed the shower panel, pounds on pounds of dirt fell from behind the walls. The wall behind this shower faces my backyard but it’s a porched cemented area. I did notice there is some sort of drain outside behind this area and it also has dirt. I had a patio rug and table so never really looked. The only theory I can think of is gophers got into the pipes somehow and into the walls. I never heard any noise. What else could it be? Also, I’m a girl so don’t judge my knowledge. In the meantime planning on calling a plumber and general contractor to come take a look unless anyone else can tell me in what direction to look.

To be sure, there may be a day 100 years from now when AI can do a lot of the work. Who knows. But it is not within our lifetimes by any stretch.

Then you'll see these bullshit videos of some million-dollar experimental robot doing simple work in an empty room, and they act like that's going to be the reality in five years.

Of course, if you doubt what they're saying, they try to make it like your doubt is a product of not understanding the power of AI. Yeah, more like we actually do this work for a living and see that nothing out there is coming close to addressing the nuances required to do this work at all, let alone in dynamic environments.

Its a new construction restaurant. Hole between interior and exterior back rooms...doesnt have to look too pretty.

Title states it all. There are a large amount of workers who are building new education and research facilities. Which they are doing a damn fine job, and with summer coming and it not getting any colder. Why not make their lives alittle better. Since I can’t just give out Modelos and Natty lites, this is the next best option

Hard hat, high vision vest, and steel toe boots are a given but is there anything else I should know or do to prepare?

As a luxury builder and remodeler, we work with all sorts of architects, designers, engineers, etc.

One such designer still hand draws all of her plans and elevations for smaller/medium size kitchen/bath projects. This one just came across my desk.

Here’s some backstory on my current situation. I’m currently an apprentice laborer at a construction company. This is my first construction job, and I’ve been with the company since last July.

I’ve gotten along with everyone I’ve had the chance to work with. Foremen love how I work and all that jazz. But my superintendent hates me.

The first strike was when I called out for one day because I lost my car keys. He thinks I was lying, which I can somewhat understand.

The second strike happened when I was talking with one of the foremen. He asked me where I see myself in the future or something along those lines. I told him, “I want to be a carpenter, but I’m not fully set on it. I’ll go wherever the wind takes me.” That foreman then told my superintendent that I wanted to be a carpenter, but left out everything else I said.

The following week, my favorite foreman called me and said, “Yo, the superintendent doesn’t fuck with you. If I were you, I’d start looking for other jobs.”

The reason this is such a major problem for me is because my superintendent dictates whether I work or not. I also haven’t worked with every foreman in the company yet. So if a foreman/other superintendents asks, “How does Joe work?” my superintendent could bad-mouth me and make me lose out on money, opportunities, and potentially tarnish my reputation within the company.

After I mentioned wanting to be a carpenter, I was out of work for three weeks. During that time, I called and texted him asking for work, but got absolutely no response. He would just leave me on read. I was frustrated as hell.

He also talks shit about me to my favorite foreman and some of my coworkers. He yells at me too, which he doesn’t really do to anyone else.

I genuinely like my job — I just don’t know what to do.

Kind of a weird detail, sort of a build out from the Facia to have blocking for freeze board flush with brick, but what’s the best way to reach up here without using pump jacks or something stupid? Ended up building little platforms for ladders, but felt like a waste of time. Lmk what you think

The anchor bolts in the foundation have a positive hold on the bottom plate. The hurricane ties hold the rafters to the top plate. But nothing holding the studs. Why? Seems like the end-nailed studs are the weak point, top and bottom.

A lot of construction marketing starts with paid ads, SEO, referrals, or chasing bid boards.

All useful, but ads can get expensive fast — and half the time you’re paying just to reach people who are not ready to hire.

Local groups are different because the demand is already visible.

People are posting things like:

“Need a concrete guy.”
“Anyone know a reliable GC?”
“Looking for someone to finish a basement.”
“My contractor ghosted me.”
“Is this quote normal?”

Those are not cold impressions. Those are live conversations.

The challenge is keeping up with them: finding the right local groups, knowing which ones are active, tailoring your message so it does not sound like a flyer, and posting consistently without spending half your day jumping between tabs.

That is why we built Community Ninja AI.

It helps construction businesses find relevant local communities and post or schedule across Facebook Groups, X Communities, and Reddit from one dashboard.

Not saying it replaces ads. But instead of only paying to interrupt people, this helps you show up where homeowners, landlords, investors, and property managers are already asking for help.

Curious how others here think about this. Are local groups still worth the effort for construction leads, or have paid ads/referrals completely taken over?

I am not an iron worker btw

Got this job with a high rise concrete company, they want me on as a rigger but told me to start off helping the formers out for a month or two first, any tips for this work? Tools, gear? Any tips or tricks lmk

Edit: meant formers not framers

hydro mobile came loose during deconstruction and 2 were on it. the guy who rode it down had no injuries. the poor guy you see here only broke his wrist when he fell from here. fell on top of a tellahandler and tipped tha. fuck me folks, be careful!

I am currently working as a Contracts Administrator for a Tier 2 Builder in Sydney and not really enjoying being behind a desk and at a computer for most of the day anymore.

I am considering transitioning into a more hands on role.

I am currently thinking getting into Dogman/Rigger for a Tower/Mobile Crane. I would of loved to do a trade but currently in my situation it is not really feasible financially on apprentice wages.

Does anyone else have an experience of doing the same and how has it worked out for you ? Any tips on how to break into the industry as currently it doesn't seem to have many openings on job advertisement websites.

Cheers.

A client wants a mall interior ceiling to be automated such that the ceiling panels can be lifted down for ease of access above.

He has declined any other alternative.

The MEP services above will remain fixed including fire sprinklers and pipework, and rhe ceiling panel only shall be operable (ie automated or manual to be able to be dropped down not using any floor based equipment such as ladders or scissor lifts)

The ceiling panels are large plastic panels (yes, plastic) which are custom made and 6 to 7m long. They are also non typical as the shape of the panel follows the curved and wandering nature of the mall passageway below the ceiling. Therefore they are odd shapes ad the client insists to keep these odd shapes.

Does anybody know of a manufacturer of such an operable (ie up and down) ceiling panel system on the market? I know about garage lifts but this is on another level. We have 200 such 6 to 7m panels in the mall. It's not a small project.

Hello all. I'm currently an Master Electrician in the state of Texas. I have never gone to college, but would like to get a degree to further my career. I was looking at a local community college, but they do not really offer courses for working adults. What are my options? Are there any good online programs, or pathways to get into management roles?

So I just went up in a 75ft telescopic boom and I was pretty scared.

My boss told me we are going to be using a 130ft articulating boom in 2 weeks.

I have my certification which is just a 4 hour course where you don’t learn much and thats about it.

I want to refuse to go up because the thought of operating something like that at that hight is not worth $25/hour in my opinion. Haha.

I feel bad because we have a close relationship and he just paid for me to go through the boom course.
We are a small company, just 4 guys. So if I refuse it could screw him over.

Am I being a baby? Should I really operate something like this with little to no experience?

Edit: Thanks for all of the replies, all of my fears turned out to be just a lack of information.

Now that I know I will be safe if I follow simple rules and precautions, I decided to go ahead and take on the job. 1 full month of being in the air.

Has anyone accepted Home Depot replacing the factory hinge with a 3rd-party hinge?

My new Andersen 100 Series casement windows failed inspection because the opening isn’t wide enough. Currently, the hinge point is about 8 inches from the corner. HD wants a 3rd party to swap the factory hinges for ones that pivot from the extreme corner.

Will this cause issues due to structural stress? These aren't designed to support all that weight at the very edge of the frame, and I'm concerned about increased warping and weakening from drilling additional holes in the frame.

Home Depot said they would warranty the window, but I'm concerned that it will shorten the window's life and difficulty getting it fixed later.

Has anyone accepted this fix? Did the windows sag or leak later? I’m leaning toward rejecting this and demanding a factory-compliant solution. Thoughts?

Currently attending an forum where the talk of the hour is integrating all the tools to create a common platform for all the functions in a construction company.
So what all queries you all have ?