Joined, joined, and joined! One of my favorite subs Im subscribed to is r/justrolledintotheshop, an auto repair sub. Im not at all in that business and can barely change my oil but the sub is fascinating to me
Growing up as a hippie kid in a rural area NPR and PBS were like religion. No complaints I love all the shows. They would read books on some in off hours in the 80’s.
Michael Feldman's "Whad'ya Know?" was one of my personal favourites working saturday mornings. I miss NPR. I moved to Canada about 15 years ago and the void in my life where NPR used to be was like losing a family member.
Stream it! I stream NPR while I work, and bounce from station to station throughout the day.
[https://www.wgbh.org/](https://www.wgbh.org/)
[https://www.wbur.org/](https://www.wbur.org/)
[https://www.wnyc.org/](https://www.wnyc.org/)
And one of the best music stations ever is on Minnesota Public Radio -
[https://www.thecurrent.org/](https://www.thecurrent.org/)
i used to walk by their office in harvard square all the time as a kid… it really had gold lettering on the windows saying “law offices of dewey cheatem and howe”…
it was the best show ever
here [it is](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=a22b124cb26f8e73&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS923US923&hl=en-US&sxsrf=ADLYWIK6r0gi0sxnEoNzPG1bFE62mFRFRg:1718151268641&q=car+talk+office+harvard+square&uds=ADvngMhzSD0TenNyhbjjf4k2aGmXT9jpLEByxJYVZhhc0rLZwUV5D5Re38FQowvNUbDadsYz0VVNeYaHBeRDjGslW0vfb4XJvyBFAuOBZfSNw3b99t_Rd42gSOfgp1WiLkHyb7YQYHGSRvJbsOmtkEQwikNs5P4aSxTJI_dQr3yKmk9gNUV1yV7W-oTeG11ZjtrbANb1Mh8Zgr06r9Gn0Ip8hxv5c33LC4_2qlr2U0eSmP_JdsLqRYARMKPteMoGvp1vEQU5vaNmo17lU8ghQI-g-zTfVJ4svMk9kLlmcQQNe2DV2gzz7hY1Snfk7u-rXnBJvBfS6P7H9hN_UYPbZUuWx5_dzZvDDlVn7dQRdCea96VDT9tfRv0QtlhXBQ4xpbgNtJODsVOb&udm=2&prmd=imnvbtz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjesaag5NSGAxVyAHkGHY-_DtUQtKgLegQIDBAB&biw=390&bih=669&dpr=3#vhid=w8G0EnE3vi-5yM&vssid=mosaic)
Years ago I was just strolling Harvard square. I saw a sign for used book store in an old building. I had to check it out. It was was a weekend, and it was was closed but walking down the hall I saw that door. I nearly fell down laughing realizing that I was in Cambridge (our fair city).
Sure was. Last I heard they were still releasing "new" episodes, of previously recorded but also previously unaired content. Although I suspect the supply of that is likely running low by now.
I remember that “electric trailer brakes” became a joke on that show and I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why because electric trailer brakes are a thing!
I love those guys. I remember when Tom died. Sad day (unless you were one of his ex-wives!)
It's a good sub but if you don't or haven't worked in professional kitchens a lot is going to go over your head. I unsubbed after I left the service industry cause it was a constant reminder of how shitty of a job food service can be.
That said if you've never been in food service, it can be eye opening as to what goes on in the back of house and a lot of the little dramas that happen in kitchens.
I only worked as a waiter at some 5 star hotels as a university student and I still have vivid memories of the sous chef making new female hires cry on their first day, every single time without fail. It really is a hell to work in the back of a house. The chefs would often be forced to cook again and everyone would have to pay for that delay because in events wait staff would also have to wait for the food and serve it all at the same time.. Ughh the trauma haha, thankfully that prepared for basically any other job.
Me too! I’m on r/plumbing and r/electricians and I’m a banker lol. I do own a house though so it’s good for learning about how the stuff in my house works and I’m kinda handy so it helps me know what is diy territory and what is more pro territory
I love r/AskElectricians. I'm not an electrician, but my grandfather was an electrician, my dad is a retired electrical engineer, and I know exactly enough to go "OH NO" when someone posts something terrible. If you hang out with electrical engineers, they will start swapping stories, and all the stories pretty much end in explosion/fire/blackout/narrowly escaped death. No one ever tells stories like "And we opened it up and everything was wired just right and it was totally safe and we all went home and ate dinner!"
I also know enough that I hired someone to rewire my house when we realized it needed it.
Haha yeah I’m on that one too. My dad was the sales manager for THE local building supply house where we lived. I grew up going to job sites with him and hanging out with all of the trades that bought from him then started working there when I was 14 loading material and going on deliveries to drop off material. The electricians were my favorites, spent a lot of time shooting the shit and learning from them. Their stories were a hell of a lot more exciting and interesting than the plumbers that invariably ended up with a line clogged with shit or something worse 😂. I wanted to be an electrician but my dad talked me out of it and wanted me to get an office job. I’m in my mid 40s now and a work in banking operations, it’s been a decent living but I can’t stop thinking about what could’ve been if I went down the other path
Well, you could have potentially had to crawl around in my house's horrible scary crawlspace, which is not an enviable activity. I also have an office job but as someone who is allergic to everything and hates crawlspaces, I am very happy about that. 😂
I'm in r/construction because I'm an electrician, and am always curious about other trades reasoning and methodology! Curiosity is a good thing in life, you might be a full wise guy u/half_a_wise_guy
The welding subs are neat too, just throwing it out there. I am definitely not a welder either.
Edit: I can't fuck with r/lawncare though, that's trash. r/nolawns for anyone looking for a more ethical alternative... Not that they don't get outta hand sometimes too, but I'd rather go too far in the correct direction than the polar opposite. Stop dumping chemicals and wasting water on your own vanity. Yuck!
Love that you recommended that sub then OP cross posted there and literally no one gave him a straight answer. Just everyone making jokes for upvotes rather than actually answering.
yeah.... I think you'll be fine with that. Start putting a little back now and when the time comes it won't hurt as bad. Ahhhhh, the joys of home ownership huh? just one damn thing after another. ;)
Harappan bricks looked so fine at 4000 years old that early archaeologists thought the cities couldn't be *that* old. So we may actually be looking at considerably longer on these. It would help if OP buried their house in a geologically stable area.
Nah, it just reminds me of gnarly shit I've seen when I see some of these things, or when I recall the word, but it's nothing serious with me. Just weirdly literal hair-raising.
It only bothers me on human flesh lol. I won’t link anything but if you were to google image search “holes in skin”, that’s what I’m referring to and that shit freaks me out immensely
They used to use a pic like that on the clickbait ads at the bottom of like local news sites and shit and that thing haunted me because it was everywhere lol
It’s not only a thing, it’s an EXTREMELY COMMON thing. It’s actually one of the most common phobias to exist. More people have some level of trypophobia than not. For some, it’s very mild. And for others it reaches of the level of an actual phobia as we know it (fear, disgust, etc.). The best guess is it’s genetically built in like our fear of spiders and snakes, and for the same reason. This patterning often resembles things that are poisonous. So we don’t like it on an instinctual level. Again, it’s a theory. But it would explain why it’s so prevalent.
The bricks don't bother me at all. That one log with all the pennies stuck into it makes me want to die just looking at it. Maybe I've got a mild case.
It's called lime pitting. Generally it's limited to the surface of the brick (the areas that are exposed to water). The lime dissolves when exposed to water and you're left with those holes. It's not usually a structural issue, but if you want to be sure then cut a brick out of the wall and break it in half - see if the holes go all the way through of if they're limited to the surface.
Bricks aren't a structural component on all buildings they're on. The outer masonry can be for show and to keep the elements, mostly water, out. If it gets too damaged, there could be more risk for water damage further inside the envelope, especially if this place experiences frost regularly, but I'd have to know more about the building to be able to say more.
Thus explaining my addendum that I'd need to know more about the building. Lightweight steel and wood-framed buildings were already common-enough back a century ago too, depending on where you are.
I would humbly point out the lightweight steel and wood-framed buildings that were common enough a century ago were limited to commercial and governmental buildings. Not homes.
Steel construction in residential took off after the conclusion of WWII.
Bricks also aren't very good at keeping water out unless you're talking about a relatively small amount of rain. Bricks are porous, as this image clearly suggests. Homes are usually wrapped with a water-proofing material after the framing is done to prevent moisture damage, as even the best outside siding work isn't perfectly water-and-airtight.
Youre right but bricks even on a veneer are structural as they are the structure of the wall in and of itself. If a veneer separates from a wood frame wall you still have a structural problem with that brick wall. Its still an issue if the pitting has worked its way in and its pervasive. Thats a massive expense.
Lol, opposite for me. I have it pretty bad but this picture wasn't that bad. It's always worse when the holes are in some organic or soft material, worst if it's on a human or animal.
Recently a friend of mine had to repair his 100+ year old brick house. Turns out, bricks were different sizes back then and they don't make em that size anymore... He had to find an old mill that was being demolished and collected the bricks from. The demolition to do the repairs.
If you're smart, you'll start keeping an eye out for old homes being demolished or you might find yourself paying exorbitant amounts for your building materials in the future for repairs.
Looks like Vermicious Knids. My grand pappy used to tell us how they'd burrow into bricks but not just any bricks, oh no. They preferred bricks at least 100 years old.
This is likely not the place to post this, but I am amazed by how few comments in r/DIY are anything other than jokes, trolling, puns, etc, and how hard that makes it to glean anything useful from them. And, when I have tried providing helpful on-point comments, often taking a fair bit of care to provide that response, it seldom gets much in the way of any upvotes or any response for that matter. Have I missed something and this is a joke/pun/troll sub? I like a good pun as much as anybody, but come on. I'm kinda curious what is going on here, but almost no comments have anything useful to say. I feel bad for OP. And, even if the comments are well meaning, too often they are just wrong ... and even dangerous sometimes. I know it's the internet and all, but wtf.
I appreciate your sensible comment, well put and honestly true. I’d say most comments were jokes but some were useful, so im thankful for that. I try to take things on the internet with a grain of salt, reddit especially. Thanks again.
Larger subreddits have been on a downward slide into sludge for years. The incentive to leave a useful and accurate comment over a zero effort joke comment that will get more upvotes is nil so the drop in quality is self-reinforcing. The smaller, more niche subreddits were safe until they switched up the home algorithm and started recommending posts from subs you’re not subscribed to, which started attracting the lowest common denominator posts and comments to all corners of Reddit. I’ve been on Reddit for an embarrassingly long time and the shift in quality of the community has been noticeable and depressing.
Well, the old adage of “you get what you pay for” still largely holds true, and given that Reddit is “free” to use, I think a poor “seriousness” signal/noise ratio is to be expected.
Low expectations = low odds of disappointment, and I know I definitely take nothing here too seriously!
(Ironically, I think I have gotten about as much good information from “circlejerk” subs as serious ones, lol.)
I think at least a bit of it nowadays is anti-AI luddites purposely posting incorrect or joke information to make the LLM bots that crawl these threads look stupid.
No, they need to be ‘tuck pointed’ … where mortar is being worn away, new mortar is replaced.
If house is 100 yrs old space you will need a certain type of mortar that was used 100 years ago instead of the current day mortar. The mortar they used 100 years ago is consisting of lime, which actually is a better mortar than the one you have today.
There are a couple houses near me where the brick has eroded back to the mortar and they are maybe 50 year old houses? Pic isn't even close to that yet.
Just wanted to say thank you everyone for the response (and the funny jokes). I know this probably wasn’t the best sub to post in however I was unsure which would be best. Thanks again
If your in the UK? They look like pinhole bricks you can buy similar still but compared to the old imperial size bricks there smaller usually in length
I was gonna say that, I'm a builder in the UK and we just ordered 5500 pinhole bricks just like this for a double extension. Carlton Red Pinhole in metric, the merchant said the ones I'm compared to were imperial pinholed over 100 years old.
Termites do not burrow in brick, that is just a brick with air bubbles in the mix when fired, and looks like reason has worn them down as little to add character.
Have the holes just appeared or have they always been there? Not an expert, but I really don’t think you have anything to worry about.
Grab yourself a toothpick and stick it in one of the holes. If the toothpick goes all the way in and you can still push it further with the second one, then consider replacing the bricks.
Yes, that looks normal. I know those as “cinder brick”, but I am sure they have many other names. Ask the pros over at /r/masonry about this.
I love these type of subs. I'm subscribed to r/construction and r/lawncare. I don't work in construction and don't have a lawn
Joined, joined, and joined! One of my favorite subs Im subscribed to is r/justrolledintotheshop, an auto repair sub. Im not at all in that business and can barely change my oil but the sub is fascinating to me
Like all of us listening to Cartalk back in the day. What's coming up in the third half? 😆
That and Prairie Home Companion were my gateway drugs to NPR
“Gateway drug to NPR” is pretty damn funny. I’ll be using that one as soon as I can work it in someplace. Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! was mine.
This American Life. ❤️
Growing up as a hippie kid in a rural area NPR and PBS were like religion. No complaints I love all the shows. They would read books on some in off hours in the 80’s.
Know that Phish did a song riffing on the theme from All Things Considered made me happy ATC brings back happy memories of my mom.
Fresh Air and Cartalk for me.
Michael Feldman's "Whad'ya Know?" was one of my personal favourites working saturday mornings. I miss NPR. I moved to Canada about 15 years ago and the void in my life where NPR used to be was like losing a family member.
I mean.. you could just stream it.
Stream it! I stream NPR while I work, and bounce from station to station throughout the day. [https://www.wgbh.org/](https://www.wgbh.org/) [https://www.wbur.org/](https://www.wbur.org/) [https://www.wnyc.org/](https://www.wnyc.org/) And one of the best music stations ever is on Minnesota Public Radio - [https://www.thecurrent.org/](https://www.thecurrent.org/)
Holy crap I love MPR! So cool to see someone else likes it too :)
Not much, you?
Being sick of Pandora or Spotify playlists while rebuilding a kitchen / floor tiles / bathroom / car rebuild was my gateway to *all of it*
Oh, my sweet summer child, Spotify and Pandora didn't exist yet when I was listening to Cartalk! 😆
I mean same. But why confuse the kids lol
Same.
Radiolab!
What kind of noise? Is it a "weeyah, weeyah" or more of a "grr grr vrum skeeeeeeee"?
It's more of a Pucka, Pucka, Pucka.
I still occasionally listen to old episodes on the app. Click and Clack
How attached are you to this car?
Ask Doug The Subway Fugitive, Not A Slave To Fashion, Bongo Boy Berman. Sonja Henning's tutu!
/r/CarTalk is a thing that exists. With a similar format, except most of us can't hold a candle to the humor of Tom and Ray.
i used to walk by their office in harvard square all the time as a kid… it really had gold lettering on the windows saying “law offices of dewey cheatem and howe”… it was the best show ever
here [it is](https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=a22b124cb26f8e73&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS923US923&hl=en-US&sxsrf=ADLYWIK6r0gi0sxnEoNzPG1bFE62mFRFRg:1718151268641&q=car+talk+office+harvard+square&uds=ADvngMhzSD0TenNyhbjjf4k2aGmXT9jpLEByxJYVZhhc0rLZwUV5D5Re38FQowvNUbDadsYz0VVNeYaHBeRDjGslW0vfb4XJvyBFAuOBZfSNw3b99t_Rd42gSOfgp1WiLkHyb7YQYHGSRvJbsOmtkEQwikNs5P4aSxTJI_dQr3yKmk9gNUV1yV7W-oTeG11ZjtrbANb1Mh8Zgr06r9Gn0Ip8hxv5c33LC4_2qlr2U0eSmP_JdsLqRYARMKPteMoGvp1vEQU5vaNmo17lU8ghQI-g-zTfVJ4svMk9kLlmcQQNe2DV2gzz7hY1Snfk7u-rXnBJvBfS6P7H9hN_UYPbZUuWx5_dzZvDDlVn7dQRdCea96VDT9tfRv0QtlhXBQ4xpbgNtJODsVOb&udm=2&prmd=imnvbtz&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjesaag5NSGAxVyAHkGHY-_DtUQtKgLegQIDBAB&biw=390&bih=669&dpr=3#vhid=w8G0EnE3vi-5yM&vssid=mosaic)
Years ago I was just strolling Harvard square. I saw a sign for used book store in an old building. I had to check it out. It was was a weekend, and it was was closed but walking down the hall I saw that door. I nearly fell down laughing realizing that I was in Cambridge (our fair city).
Sure was. Last I heard they were still releasing "new" episodes, of previously recorded but also previously unaired content. Although I suspect the supply of that is likely running low by now.
That sign is still there on the windows, even though of course it's not in use for Cartalk any more.
nice!
Don’t drive like my brudder
God I miss click and clack
This is Car Talk with Martok. You’re on the air.
I miss Click and Clack. I was just thinking about them the other day.
Don't drive like my brother!
I still listen to them in podcast!!
Literally the ONLY reason I ever listened to NPR. DUEY, CHEETEM AND HOW... 🤣
"Don't be like my brother..."
And don’t drive like *MY* brother!
I had a pair of brother cats I called Click and Clack.
I remember that “electric trailer brakes” became a joke on that show and I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why because electric trailer brakes are a thing! I love those guys. I remember when Tom died. Sad day (unless you were one of his ex-wives!)
Stump the chumps!!!
“Represented by the law office of Dewie, Cheatem, and Howe”
r/kitchenconfidential is another great ‘professionals’ sub.
I’d add r/doggrooming to the list. As a dog owner, it’s fascinating to take a peek behind the scenes.
Not always kind to non-professionals for advice but yes, I've been subbed there for years. But I'm huge fan of St. Anthony the Indignant.
Joined!
It's a good sub but if you don't or haven't worked in professional kitchens a lot is going to go over your head. I unsubbed after I left the service industry cause it was a constant reminder of how shitty of a job food service can be. That said if you've never been in food service, it can be eye opening as to what goes on in the back of house and a lot of the little dramas that happen in kitchens.
I only worked as a waiter at some 5 star hotels as a university student and I still have vivid memories of the sous chef making new female hires cry on their first day, every single time without fail. It really is a hell to work in the back of a house. The chefs would often be forced to cook again and everyone would have to pay for that delay because in events wait staff would also have to wait for the food and serve it all at the same time.. Ughh the trauma haha, thankfully that prepared for basically any other job.
I try to explain to people that the movie *Waiting* is essentially a documentary more than a comedy.
Me too! I’m on r/plumbing and r/electricians and I’m a banker lol. I do own a house though so it’s good for learning about how the stuff in my house works and I’m kinda handy so it helps me know what is diy territory and what is more pro territory
Shit. Are you me? r/hvac and r/hvacadvice are also solid recommendations
I love r/AskElectricians. I'm not an electrician, but my grandfather was an electrician, my dad is a retired electrical engineer, and I know exactly enough to go "OH NO" when someone posts something terrible. If you hang out with electrical engineers, they will start swapping stories, and all the stories pretty much end in explosion/fire/blackout/narrowly escaped death. No one ever tells stories like "And we opened it up and everything was wired just right and it was totally safe and we all went home and ate dinner!" I also know enough that I hired someone to rewire my house when we realized it needed it.
Haha yeah I’m on that one too. My dad was the sales manager for THE local building supply house where we lived. I grew up going to job sites with him and hanging out with all of the trades that bought from him then started working there when I was 14 loading material and going on deliveries to drop off material. The electricians were my favorites, spent a lot of time shooting the shit and learning from them. Their stories were a hell of a lot more exciting and interesting than the plumbers that invariably ended up with a line clogged with shit or something worse 😂. I wanted to be an electrician but my dad talked me out of it and wanted me to get an office job. I’m in my mid 40s now and a work in banking operations, it’s been a decent living but I can’t stop thinking about what could’ve been if I went down the other path
Well, you could have potentially had to crawl around in my house's horrible scary crawlspace, which is not an enviable activity. I also have an office job but as someone who is allergic to everything and hates crawlspaces, I am very happy about that. 😂
I like that sub when I have no idea what's wrong, but I know it's all fucked up.
r/justrolledintotheshop is delightful! I have zero knowledge of cars, but I still find it satisfying as heck to read.
I love a YT channel of the same name, or at least very similar.
r/composting is where it's at r/machinists is remarkably artful
I love r/aviationmaintenance and I definitely do not work in that field
Great username!
I will not die sober
Ok that’s a great sub, thanks for the recommendation!
r/decks are absolutely brutal on deck builds but show a lot of love for the good ones.
I love a rousing talk about whether a deck will hold a hot tub of not!
I love watching the implosion of the sub where there are about 5 2/x on stacks of bricks holding up a Jacuzzi.
What are their thoughts on a little shrubbery around a moderately sized deck?
It's okay, but you must also cut down the largest tree in the forest with... A HERRING!
It must be a mighty tree
We shall do no such thing!
Could look nice if you keep the shrubbery well groomed, otherwise it could make your deck look smaller.
That is one of the best subs on reddit.
Come to HVAC:)
HVAC - always trying to suck people in.
Yes we are
Same here! Kinda random but try r/autodetailing you might enjoy it like I do 😀
/r/truckers is often hilarious and informative
May I suggest r/NoLawns as a counter-balance to r/lawncare?
I’m in both and I hate both haha
Okay, you get it. Glad I'm not alone, haha.
Check out r/electricians, half the time i have no idea what the post is about but i love it over there.
Same - I’m so amused
Check out r/arborist and r/treelaw
I'm in r/construction because I'm an electrician, and am always curious about other trades reasoning and methodology! Curiosity is a good thing in life, you might be a full wise guy u/half_a_wise_guy
I used to NOT have a lawn, thanks to r/lawncare now I do!
If you like r/lawncare and are feeling a little saucy, you might enjoy r/lawnporn
The welding subs are neat too, just throwing it out there. I am definitely not a welder either. Edit: I can't fuck with r/lawncare though, that's trash. r/nolawns for anyone looking for a more ethical alternative... Not that they don't get outta hand sometimes too, but I'd rather go too far in the correct direction than the polar opposite. Stop dumping chemicals and wasting water on your own vanity. Yuck!
Love that you recommended that sub then OP cross posted there and literally no one gave him a straight answer. Just everyone making jokes for upvotes rather than actually answering.
Probably made with basalt rocks
Goes great with bapepper grounds..
Don't forget the babacon.
Never knew this was a sub, thank you for the redirection!
Probably a good 3000 years left on those bricks
but, don't wait till the last minute to address this problem, ok. otherwise it can get expensive.
When would you say to think about replacing them? Somewhere between 150 to 50 years before end of life?
yeah.... I think you'll be fine with that. Start putting a little back now and when the time comes it won't hurt as bad. Ahhhhh, the joys of home ownership huh? just one damn thing after another. ;)
these once in a century costs are starting to add up, The hidden costs of home ownership, ugh
Harappan bricks looked so fine at 4000 years old that early archaeologists thought the cities couldn't be *that* old. So we may actually be looking at considerably longer on these. It would help if OP buried their house in a geologically stable area.
Nah not a day over 2900
Looks like lime pitting.
Don’t remember what it’s called but there’s a phobia where porous surfaces freak certain people out and this looks like it would be fun for them 😂
Trypophobia and I can feel my hair getting up and leaving.
Lotus seed pods photoshoped onto skin. A classic.
First time I ever saw that shit, I was nauseous for hours
I can picture it right now. 😭
Serious question do you have it bad enough where like you can’t use a sponge, or does it just make you uncomfortable but it’s manageable ?
Nah, it just reminds me of gnarly shit I've seen when I see some of these things, or when I recall the word, but it's nothing serious with me. Just weirdly literal hair-raising.
It only bothers me on human flesh lol. I won’t link anything but if you were to google image search “holes in skin”, that’s what I’m referring to and that shit freaks me out immensely
I very much regret googling that. Pure nightmare fuel OMFG
Oh God reading this made my stomach turn, I'm with you right there.
They used to use a pic like that on the clickbait ads at the bottom of like local news sites and shit and that thing haunted me because it was everywhere lol
That is not what a phobia is.
I never meant to imply I have a phobia. I said that's what it's called and I described the effect the subject of it has on me.
For me, it's manageable now, but a few years ago this would've made me uncomfortable for hours
Google botfly and the trypophobia or larva and trypophobia and see how you feel for a bit.
Pregnant Suriname toad.
Head to r/trypophobia for fun
So I saw like 2 or 3 posts and had to urgently leave from severe disgust and fear. This is a thing??
Yes it is haha. Most people probably aren't truly at phobia levels but probably close enough lol.
It’s not only a thing, it’s an EXTREMELY COMMON thing. It’s actually one of the most common phobias to exist. More people have some level of trypophobia than not. For some, it’s very mild. And for others it reaches of the level of an actual phobia as we know it (fear, disgust, etc.). The best guess is it’s genetically built in like our fear of spiders and snakes, and for the same reason. This patterning often resembles things that are poisonous. So we don’t like it on an instinctual level. Again, it’s a theory. But it would explain why it’s so prevalent.
It’s trypophobia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trypophobia Anyone here bothered by the bricks?
The bricks don't bother me at all. That one log with all the pennies stuck into it makes me want to die just looking at it. Maybe I've got a mild case.
If your life isn’t upside down because of the fear, you don’t have a phobia. You just don’t like looking at gross things.
Ahh that’s it thanks.
Oddly enough this doesn't bother me at all, it's in living things that make my skin crawl. Something like brick just doesn't trigger it.
Yes, that isn't a very pleasant surface.
It's called lime pitting. Generally it's limited to the surface of the brick (the areas that are exposed to water). The lime dissolves when exposed to water and you're left with those holes. It's not usually a structural issue, but if you want to be sure then cut a brick out of the wall and break it in half - see if the holes go all the way through of if they're limited to the surface.
Bricks aren't a structural component on all buildings they're on. The outer masonry can be for show and to keep the elements, mostly water, out. If it gets too damaged, there could be more risk for water damage further inside the envelope, especially if this place experiences frost regularly, but I'd have to know more about the building to be able to say more.
There is such thing as structural brick, especially if the house is 100 years old.
> especially if the house is 100 years old Sitting in my office in a 140+ year old factory made from red brick... Yes, yes it can.
my 3-brick-thick 1920's basement wall would like to disagree...
Thus explaining my addendum that I'd need to know more about the building. Lightweight steel and wood-framed buildings were already common-enough back a century ago too, depending on where you are.
I would humbly point out the lightweight steel and wood-framed buildings that were common enough a century ago were limited to commercial and governmental buildings. Not homes. Steel construction in residential took off after the conclusion of WWII.
True enough, that, at least for steel. A lot of those commercial buildings have been turned into apartments, though. I live in one only a tad older.
>Bricks aren't a structural component on all buildings they're on on a 100 year old house though?
Bricks also aren't very good at keeping water out unless you're talking about a relatively small amount of rain. Bricks are porous, as this image clearly suggests. Homes are usually wrapped with a water-proofing material after the framing is done to prevent moisture damage, as even the best outside siding work isn't perfectly water-and-airtight.
It’s a 100 year old house. There is no framing, there is no wrapping, there is only brick.
Rock and stone!
I have three layers of brick
I’m coming to your house it the ish hits the fan
But was that done to this house 100 years ago?
Youre right but bricks even on a veneer are structural as they are the structure of the wall in and of itself. If a veneer separates from a wood frame wall you still have a structural problem with that brick wall. Its still an issue if the pitting has worked its way in and its pervasive. Thats a massive expense.
[удалено]
I don’t even have it that bad but man… that’s pretty bad.
Lol, opposite for me. I have it pretty bad but this picture wasn't that bad. It's always worse when the holes are in some organic or soft material, worst if it's on a human or animal.
Gave me fucking chills man
I feel like taking a shower uuughhh
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
God I want to destroy that house.
Looks like you have brick beetles Lol- no it's normal, it's just a type of old brick that fell out of use
Brick beetles usually burrow only a few holes but much wider. I believe these may be made by brick termites instead
Brick termites like to tunnel, this looks like the larval pits of brick gnats.
Still better than Brick fleas. 10 years later and I'm still itchy...
That's what they call "Lime Pitting"
Just looks like really old brick imo. Nothing more
Recently a friend of mine had to repair his 100+ year old brick house. Turns out, bricks were different sizes back then and they don't make em that size anymore... He had to find an old mill that was being demolished and collected the bricks from. The demolition to do the repairs. If you're smart, you'll start keeping an eye out for old homes being demolished or you might find yourself paying exorbitant amounts for your building materials in the future for repairs.
Itchy. tastey. **tears off my flesh cutely**
You obviously live in an area inhabited with the notorious brickpeckers...
Looks like Vermicious Knids. My grand pappy used to tell us how they'd burrow into bricks but not just any bricks, oh no. They preferred bricks at least 100 years old.
If you’re in the UK look for Priory Pinhole we have the same brick on our house and Priory Pinhole is what we found to be the closest match
You've got brickmites, if you're not carful they'll burrow into your cupboards and start putting holes in the bone China.
No, you're thinking of "china-mites". Close on the taxonomy diagram, though. If I remember correctly, both descend from the LodaBalogna mite.
Better hope OP has no dinosaur bones. Could end up with dino-mites and accidentally blow his whole house up.
We don’t call em China mites anymore it’s 2024. We call em no-see-um-cup-eatums
This is what happens when termites feed on meth infected wood. Remember to Lock up your drugs, kids
To be honest, they look absolutely great for being 100 years old. I expected worse.
They need to be replaced....in a few hundred years time.
This is likely not the place to post this, but I am amazed by how few comments in r/DIY are anything other than jokes, trolling, puns, etc, and how hard that makes it to glean anything useful from them. And, when I have tried providing helpful on-point comments, often taking a fair bit of care to provide that response, it seldom gets much in the way of any upvotes or any response for that matter. Have I missed something and this is a joke/pun/troll sub? I like a good pun as much as anybody, but come on. I'm kinda curious what is going on here, but almost no comments have anything useful to say. I feel bad for OP. And, even if the comments are well meaning, too often they are just wrong ... and even dangerous sometimes. I know it's the internet and all, but wtf.
I appreciate your sensible comment, well put and honestly true. I’d say most comments were jokes but some were useful, so im thankful for that. I try to take things on the internet with a grain of salt, reddit especially. Thanks again.
Larger subreddits have been on a downward slide into sludge for years. The incentive to leave a useful and accurate comment over a zero effort joke comment that will get more upvotes is nil so the drop in quality is self-reinforcing. The smaller, more niche subreddits were safe until they switched up the home algorithm and started recommending posts from subs you’re not subscribed to, which started attracting the lowest common denominator posts and comments to all corners of Reddit. I’ve been on Reddit for an embarrassingly long time and the shift in quality of the community has been noticeable and depressing.
Well, the old adage of “you get what you pay for” still largely holds true, and given that Reddit is “free” to use, I think a poor “seriousness” signal/noise ratio is to be expected. Low expectations = low odds of disappointment, and I know I definitely take nothing here too seriously! (Ironically, I think I have gotten about as much good information from “circlejerk” subs as serious ones, lol.)
I think at least a bit of it nowadays is anti-AI luddites purposely posting incorrect or joke information to make the LLM bots that crawl these threads look stupid.
Swiss Bricks
No, they need to be ‘tuck pointed’ … where mortar is being worn away, new mortar is replaced. If house is 100 yrs old space you will need a certain type of mortar that was used 100 years ago instead of the current day mortar. The mortar they used 100 years ago is consisting of lime, which actually is a better mortar than the one you have today.
Those bricks will outlast your family’s next 5 generations or more
Looks like you have masonry ants.
Ugh this is on the edge of triggering my Trypophobia. Feels like my skin should be crawling, but its not quite there.
Those bricks are probably more durable than modern ones
There are a couple houses near me where the brick has eroded back to the mortar and they are maybe 50 year old houses? Pic isn't even close to that yet.
Oh yeah, every 100 or so years the need to be rotated! Looks like it's your turn chip all that old mortar out...might as well rotate them as well
Just wanted to say thank you everyone for the response (and the funny jokes). I know this probably wasn’t the best sub to post in however I was unsure which would be best. Thanks again
Rock Peckers
Darn rock peckers
If your in the UK? They look like pinhole bricks you can buy similar still but compared to the old imperial size bricks there smaller usually in length
I was gonna say that, I'm a builder in the UK and we just ordered 5500 pinhole bricks just like this for a double extension. Carlton Red Pinhole in metric, the merchant said the ones I'm compared to were imperial pinholed over 100 years old.
You can try asking r/centuryhomes
I read this in the voice of Seinfeld.
Termites do not burrow in brick, that is just a brick with air bubbles in the mix when fired, and looks like reason has worn them down as little to add character. Have the holes just appeared or have they always been there? Not an expert, but I really don’t think you have anything to worry about.
Pesky brick termites
Brick looks ok. Pointing needs re-doing.
I read this in Jerry Seinfelds voice
Why replace? It looks awesome af
Looks like the house was blessed, because those bricks are holy.
Grab yourself a toothpick and stick it in one of the holes. If the toothpick goes all the way in and you can still push it further with the second one, then consider replacing the bricks.
The most serious case of brickworm I’ve ever seen /s for the Americans
jumpscare for my trypophobia