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Discussion Forum

Stupid job site sayings

| Posted in General Discussion on May 2, 2002 04:22am

Don’t know if this was ever brought up before.  On the job today  one installers said, “Looks good from my house.”  Funny saying, but stupid.  What if the home owner heard him.  Also, it seems to say that he cares little about details and his workmenship.  What do you guys think, and if you have any, like to hear them.

Another one, “Caulk and paint make what a carpenter ain’t.”

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Replies

  1. User avater
    JDRHI | May 02, 2002 05:13am | #1

    "Putty and paint, make a carpenter a saint."

    "Good enough for government work."

    Just two that make my blood boil!

    J. D. Reynolds

    Home Improvements

    "DO IT RIGHT, DO IT ONCE"

    1. Sancho | May 02, 2002 05:15am | #2

      Its ok,  we're not building pianos Darkworksite4: When the job is to small for everyone else, Its just about right for me"

      1. SydBridge | May 02, 2002 05:42am | #3

        If ya' can't throw a cat through it, a good taper can fill it.Syd

      2. chikwithbags | May 02, 2002 05:59am | #4

        Plumb, Level and Square.

        They don't build 'em like they used to.

        "It's perfect"

        1. Rein_ | May 02, 2002 06:11am | #5

          These are two of my own:

          -Be thankful some people are not building airplanes or bridges.

          -Workmanship requires work, a precious commodity.

          1. JamesDuHamel | May 02, 2002 06:24am | #6

            "Nobody's ever gonna see it anyway..."

            "no sweat off my back"

            "Who cares"

            And my all time favorite, coming straight from the mouth of an idiot... "Watch this"James DuHamel

            J & M Home Maintenance Service

            "Southeast Texas"

          2. bearmon | May 02, 2002 06:26am | #7

            Not that I agree with the mentality, but: 

            "Good enough for who it's for." 

            &  "It ain't the Taj Mahal."

            and then there's the "Tail light warranty", as in:  It's guaranteed as long as you can still see my tail lights!

            Bear

          3. jalanx | May 02, 2002 06:51am | #8

            work this bad is 'job security' about a previous persons work

          4. DavidThomas | May 02, 2002 08:08am | #9

            And in the opposite vein, "If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, the first wood pecker to come along would destroy civilization."

            David Thomas   Overlooking Cook Inlet in Kenai, Alaska

          5. KenHill3 | May 02, 2002 08:30am | #10

            Heard a guy I used to work with say this when we were framing:

            "Nothing a good sheetrocker can't fix."

            That one just makes me angry. Everyone down the line who follows after this kind of attitude has to try to make things work around the guy(s) who screwed up. If the foundation guys did a crappy job, all the work that comes after will suffer. Makes for real bad karma and morale on the job.

            For instance, I've come behind some top-notch framing and it was a real pleasure to do my work. Always pass out the compliments when this happens.

            Ken Hill

          6. AlanRoberson | May 02, 2002 09:02am | #11

            "Beat to fit, paint to match"

          7. Piffin | May 02, 2002 09:08am | #12

            This ain't a stupid saying but follows a stupid mistake in the foundation -

            "That one'll chase you all the way to the ridge"Excellence is its own reward!

          8. Bruce | May 02, 2002 02:53pm | #15

            I hear you on that one.  I've spent my carpentry career doing interior trim.  I'm to the point where, if I'm asked if I'll do a job, my first question is, "Who framed it?"  The second one is, "Who hung the drywall?"  Based on the answers, I can choose to do the job, refuse it, or charge a premium to work behind Neanderthals.

    2. User avater
      BossHog | May 02, 2002 03:50pm | #17

      "Good enough for government work."

      I helped my Uncle do some work on a township equipment storage shed a few weeks back. When we were trying to decide whether something was good enough to leave, or needed to tear out, that phrase came to mind. So I told him: "When I say "Good enough for government work", this is the first job I've been on where it actually applies".......(-:

      Redneck Extraordinaire

  2. RonRosa | May 02, 2002 01:52pm | #13

    "Caulk it".

    'We aint building cabnits"

    "quanity not quality"

  3. Bruce | May 02, 2002 02:48pm | #14

    "A man on a fast horse would never see it."

    "Glued, screwed, and tattoed."

  4. Seth_Frankel | May 02, 2002 03:31pm | #16

    "Strive for Mediocrity"

    Referring to an unwanted new worker on a job site . . ."Hey, I'm a professional, I can F**K up my own work."

  5. DaveArbor | May 02, 2002 03:57pm | #18

    My painters gave me a good one after they screwed up a job:

    "That was a stupid thing we did, but hey, if we were smart we wouldn't be house painters!"

    Dave

    Arbor Homes

    1. bill_1010 | May 02, 2002 04:58pm | #19

      "common sense isnt that common"

      1. NormKerr | May 02, 2002 07:22pm | #20

        It is funny, when working on a church to say, "Its not like we're building a CHURCH here... oh wait, yes we are!"

        (a good reason to get work working on the Space Shuttle, just so you can make that joke too)

        All of the sayings above are only funny when they are said by someone who is known for doing careful work. If they are said by just some person who's work is average, or who's quality is unknown then they just don't understand how humor works.

        Or maybe they are not trying to be funny and really are an a**.

        :o)

        1. Froed | May 02, 2002 08:09pm | #21

          I heard a gc once say to a client "It's your money."  The gc laughed, the client didn't.  Don't remember what the question was.

          In another conversation this same builder had, I heard him say "You don't expect me to know the whole code, do you?"

      2. User avater
        Homewright | May 02, 2002 10:47pm | #22

        "He's aspiring to mediocrity" -what I told a homeowner who asked me about a new boss I worked for one project then quit because (here's another one)- he's a 'handy hack' and I don't stoop that low...  He's among an age old genre of bottom feeders who give credence to the benefit of birth control!  Preventive maintenance is always easier.

      3. richdes | May 03, 2002 04:10am | #27

        A little putty a little paint will make it look like what it aint.

        We fix every thing but broken hearts.

        Good enough

        Straight enough

        Tight enough

        A little short but it'll work

        How's it look from the street

        I really like the "Beat to fit, paint to match" from a few posts back. Maybe I'm an optomist but I like to think that the majority of the real contractors out there strive to do the best job they can and take pride in their work. I know that I try to do this every day. But I think that all of us have been there on a long hot (or cold) day and maybe throw in an unappreciative client when many of these "stupid" sayings have been more than appropriate.

      4. user-284410 | May 03, 2002 04:11am | #28

        What you tell a complainer: "Hey if it was easy anybody could do it"

        1. Schelling | May 03, 2002 04:38am | #29

          "We don't waste our time or your money by thinking."

        2. MisterT | May 03, 2002 04:43am | #30

          The guy reading the level... "a little more ... perfect , go alittle more Iwant this better than perfect!!"

          As for any one who gets uptight over this stuff, Lighten up lifes to short not to have a sense of humor!!

          Why do it right when you can do it over!

          I don't care how we do it, it all pays the same.

          Can't see it from my house, at 2 a.m., with the porch light off!

          Mr T

          Layers

          Onions

          Have

          Layers,

          Carpenters

          Have

          Layers

          1. joeh | May 03, 2002 05:00am | #31

            Mister T reminded me of the "Better than plumb" apprentice up a steeple? Whose story was that? It was 2 or 3 years ago, bet it's in the Archives!!  Joe H

          2. rez | May 03, 2002 05:39am | #32

            good enough for the kind of girls I go out with.

  6. gabramshe | May 03, 2002 12:25am | #23

    'That's why they make tape two inches wide' and 'They call it 'rough' framing for a reason you know'.



    Edited 5/2/2002 5:26:53 PM ET by Grateful Woodworking aka George A.

  7. DiscoStu82 | May 03, 2002 12:42am | #24

    Some good ones there guys.  It just shows how many hacks are out there.  These sayings are funny at the bar, but not on the worksite.

    1. grantlogan | May 03, 2002 02:45am | #26

      When asked "What the #### were you thinking?", a previous employee replied "I don't get paid to think. I get paid to work."

      gl

      Work hard, play hard, sleep hard, wear glasses if you need 'em.

  8. Brudoggie | May 03, 2002 02:24am | #25

    Overheard a rock hanger awhile back say " Tape is 2 in. wide right? " Wow!!!

  9. JonFish1 | May 03, 2002 05:45am | #33

    "Damn, I cut it twice and it's still too short."

    It's true.  I heard one of our helpers say it.  It makes me weep for the future.

    1. grantlogan | May 03, 2002 07:14pm | #34

      I had a job superintendant tell me yesterday that he "didn't get paid enough to know anything about that."

      gl

      Work hard, play hard, sleep hard, wear glasses if you need 'em.

      Edited 5/3/2002 12:14:56 PM ET by grantlogan

  10. PhillGiles | May 03, 2002 07:56pm | #35

    Overheard on various jobs:

    "just need a bigger hammer"

    "we'll say it's rustic"

    "it's not like we used a chainsaw"

    "we're framing doors, not pictures"

    "I don't think this job will make it to the brochure"

    "I hope you're not counting on a recommendation from this homeowner"

    "what ? big sale on caulk ?"

    "make sure the agent only shows this one at night"

    "you expected me to carry my mitre saw in from the truck to trim two lousy windows ?"

    "90º, that's 42 'n' a half on each side, right. Why ? You always need a little filler ya know."

    .

    Phill Giles

    The Unionville Woodwright

    Unionville, Ontario

    1. User avater
      james | May 03, 2002 08:08pm | #36

      we sloped this ( wall, ceiling, foundation, deck...) for drainage

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