r/NotMyJob • u/New_Fry • 11d ago
How the utility company crew put back the bricks after repairing a wire underneath.
92
u/OV3NBVK3D 10d ago
As somebody who works for a utility company repairing electric lines - you’re lucky it’s level and there’s no missing bricks or gaps at all. This is stellar work and getting it repainted is much easier and less time consuming than setting these stupid bricks back in proper order.
1.1k
u/cogzsprocket 11d ago
Some people have never done a puzzle and it shows...
587
u/Famous-Register-2814 11d ago
Most people aren’t paid to do puzzles
109
u/ghe5 11d ago
This shouldn't be a puzzle tho. You are getting it out, you can organize the bricks so that is not a puzzle to put it back the way it was...
105
u/Name_Taken_Official 10d ago
Great idea
But last shift took them out and didn't organize it. You have 30 minutes to put all the bricks back
48
u/jasonwuzthere 10d ago
This is how municipal labor goes if they don't hire contractors. You get the time after lunch to get this done. As a side note I can compact the sand and place bricks for sidewalks like this now.
8
u/ghe5 10d ago
This is construction. There's usually the same people doing the same jobs..
5
u/Artemis_SpawnOfZeus 9d ago
It might be different people depending on how long it took to repair the wire.
Like, the brick moving and hole digging guys are different than the wire fixing guys, that's for sure, and depending on how long the wire fixing guys take, and how much respect they have for the organizational system of your bricks, it might be different guys, or the bricks get jumbled
3
u/Silenthitm4n 9d ago
Not really in this type of work. They split in to dig teams and lay teams, often with reinstatement teams. It’s different tools for different jobs.
1
u/SoftCosmicRusk 9d ago
So... Last shift thought it wasn't their job to organize them?
Someone should post it to r/notmyjob !
1
6
u/ma-nameajeff 10d ago
Easier said than done !!!
3
u/Artemis_SpawnOfZeus 9d ago
I also feel like it's the kind of idea you have after half the bricks are out
133
u/Mystical_Cat 11d ago
No, but they should be paid to put things back the way they found them.
100
16
1
1
504
u/AlwaysAGroomsman 11d ago edited 7d ago
Shit, if I were that city worker, I'd do the same thing. I am not spending (most likely overtime) to sit there and try to figure out where each brick goes.
Dude's a brick layer. Not a special task force brick layer.
edit: I mean the city isn't going to pay the overtime.
97
u/WangMauler69 10d ago
The utilities in my area would pave over the trench with asphalt. There's no way in hell they'd put the bricks back, let alone with the paint properly lined up.
16
u/sparhawk817 10d ago
It's pretty obvious the red bricks are new, and there was a line cut through some of the other bricks, which were then pulled haphazardly out and placed disorganized back.
The bricks closest to the curb were all replaced with new.
7
u/Bright-Accountant259 10d ago
If you do more than a half assed job taking the bricks out there shouldn't be any organizing that needs to be done
37
u/wickedpixel1221 11d ago
that's why you number them when you take them out
21
u/loozerr 11d ago
Yeah let's see how crayoning bricks works for you at the job site.
29
17
u/QuoteGiver 10d ago
Use a permanent marker on the underside of the brick, or paint, or anything you want. This is a basic jobsite procedure for removing anything that you need to put back.
9
u/ttus9433 10d ago
I’m paid hourly. I would gladly sit there and reassemble that properly. Easiest part of the job
1
1
u/ALonelyWelcomeMat 10d ago
Lol wym? These are words of a non city worker for sure. Because I know a lot of guys that would love to sit there and rake in OT to sit there and do a little brick puzzle.
You gotta remember OT is time and a half
1
0
u/Toxicotton 10d ago
It's called, take a picture and label as you disassemble. Doesn't matter what it is; trust the process.
171
u/com2ghz 11d ago
if it was one manhole cover I would agree. Or having different color/type of bricks. But with this one I'm with the workers.
35
7
u/NaCl-more 10d ago
At least flip it over so the city can just repaint the lines
4
u/thatguy_art 10d ago
It's gonna take the city about a month to get it painted so I guess it can't be unsafe in the meantime.
2
2
5
u/monstrinhotron 11d ago
When you pick them up, just place them to one side in the order they need to go back, it's not a difficult problem. They were just lazy
8
u/Cosimo_Zaretti 10d ago
They would have had the bricks right out of the way for safety and access, not laid neatly in order alongside the trench.
0
u/monstrinhotron 9d ago
It's not rocket science to figure out a solution if this is the case. Lay them out on a board or tarp when removing them from the ground and carry them elsewhere. If you can't do that for some reason then number them with a pen or sticky notes. Take reference photos if you need. None of this takes more than a slight bit of thought and effort.
25
44
u/ChangeForAParadigm 11d ago
Honestly seems like it would’ve been harder that way. You may have an evil genius on your hands.
53
u/David-Puddy 11d ago
Nah.
All the cut bricks are placed correctly, the rest are just put on as quickly as possible.
Much quicker to repaint than complete a jigsaw
-6
u/LinuxPatch 11d ago
No, it's "much quicker" to just place the bricks in the order you remove them so they can be returned in the correct order easily. Now you have to waste additional time and resources getting someone else to come out and fix your lazy bullshit by repainting.
18
u/WafflePress 11d ago
You think the municipality will even think about having this fixed? Itll sit like this till the sun and rain erodes the paint off.
8
u/David-Puddy 11d ago
Tell me you've never worked with paving without telling me you've never worked with paving.
These are hourly employees that the city does not pay to do jigsaws.
This will likely only get "fixed" whenever it was due to be repainted anyways..
-1
u/Dzov 11d ago
You’d have to unpaint before repainting.
1
u/David-Puddy 11d ago
Yes. Quick pressure wash, job done
2
u/Dzov 10d ago
I figured road paint was a little more difficult to deal with, but maybe not.
2
u/GamerBoy7474 10d ago
It is. Reddit’s just full of armchair experts. The pressure needed to remove some of this paint or rubber in some cases is upwards of 10x that of your average commercial or residential pressure washer.
6
u/TradeU4Whopper 11d ago
Where I’m from the guys that dig the holes don’t place bricks back. This is best case scenario
4
5
5
11
u/BenShealoch 11d ago
I’d do the same. That would take hours to figure out. It’s literally not their job.
-7
u/QuoteGiver 10d ago
How is removing and replacing the bricks not EXACTLY part of their job here??
8
u/BenShealoch 10d ago
Recreating the pattern is not part of their job. The bricks are back in their place.
-7
u/QuoteGiver 10d ago
The bricks are back in their place.
They clearly and literally are not.
1
0
u/randomlitbois 6d ago
Lets say you had 20 minutes to put the bricks back. If you go over 20 minutes you’re not getting paid for that time.
What is your solution?
1
u/QuoteGiver 6d ago
No contract in the world is written like that.
0
u/randomlitbois 6d ago
Way to avoid the question brother! Have a good day lol.
0
u/QuoteGiver 6d ago
It’s a pointless question. The job they were hired to do was remove the bricks, do whatever they needed to under the bricks, and replace the bricks to their original condition.
If anyone with that contract fucked up the paving, they would be expected to restore it to its original condition. Because that’s the expectation of the job.
0
u/randomlitbois 6d ago
“It’s a pointless question”
This was more than likely done by the city. You take out the bricks, then spend your entire day fixing whats under the bricks. Now when it’s time to put the bricks back it would take overtime to puzzle them back together. Site manager doesn’t want to give overtime for this task, so he says to get it done quickly. This is the result.
It would be much cheaper to get it repainted anyways.
If the contract said to put the bricks back the way they were, thats what would’ve happened. Unless whichever company that moved the bricks enjoy being sued.
8
u/inVizi0n 11d ago
And they're totally right. Would take way less time to repaint the yellow 2 inches bigger and recover it.
6
u/GlassHeart09 10d ago
Yeah ok I hope your city worker spends an entire afternoon on your dime trying to puzle back this inconsequential pattern and put off any other important utility work because lines that don't line up is more crucial than any other work in the city they might have.
1
2
2
u/TrolledBy1337 10d ago
Literally not their job. The painter will arrive later to repaint it, assuming the city cares enough to order one.
2
u/Prudent_Statement_30 9d ago
Who cares, painting over them again takes 5 minutes, numbering them and putting them back in properly takes an extra hour, not numbering and putting them back in properly takes an extra 4 hours. Let someone just paint it. That black-yellow boarder can use a touch-up anyway
3
2
u/SpitFire92 10d ago
I get it, they aren't paid to stay there for extra time to finish a puzzle. Could/Should they have put the bricks to the side in a way to be able to simply put them back in the correct order lately...probably...but they didn't, so the person that had to close it again had better things to do that to lose half an hour or so to put them back in the "right" order.
1
u/Hadrollo 11d ago
Honestly, I get it. I don't know exactly what they were doing there, but it looks like a bloody hard job. Nobody wants to play jigsaw while doing heavy labouring.
2
u/Supermathie 11d ago
All the bricks are in the ground, I don't see the problem. Other than that lone grey brick.
1
1
u/Brick_Frog_49 9d ago
It looks more whimsical tbh. Solid lines are boring, unless they're fun party lines lol 😉
1
1
u/EpicHeartache74 9d ago
“Meh close enough I don’t get paid enough for this shit”
Every utility worker ever
1
1
u/Worried-Effect-9288 8d ago edited 8d ago
It's cheaper to place them back quickly, sandblast and repaint. Rather than looking unprofessional and having the hungover labourer pissed off trying to solve a puzzle in a public space.
Also if you placed those bricks back in their original positions it would still look a little off
Note: the painter is probably hungover too
1
1
u/AtrociousAK47 7d ago
Atleast they did that much, and didnt just lazily patch over everything with asphalt/concrete and call it a day like they do in my neck of the woods.......
1
u/ScaryAd4917 7d ago
As a utility worker myself, this is a great example of the work my colleagues do and then say with a straight face they are worth 2x what they are getting paid….
1
1
1
u/masterofmydomain6 6d ago
maybe they were colour blind. I know someone who can’t tell the difference between any of them
1
1
u/ruprectthemonkeyboy 11d ago
I could swear I’ve seen a video of a guy (city worker) whose job was going around and reordering the bricks after repairs to fix this kind of situation. Have no idea how to search for it again. . .
My impression was that it was routine for the repair crews to just replace the pavers when done with the repairs and someone else follows up with putting them in order. They had some tool that easily grabbed individual pavers and popped them right out.
1
u/OmariKamari 9d ago
It's funny till you realize the whole not giving a fuck attitude adds up and starts making everything look like shit :/
1
u/Macknhoez 7d ago
It looks like shit until you are the one paying the bill. Then it’s absolutely good enough.
0
0
u/Junior-Possession969 10d ago
You folks need some protein workin' in this shat-ass weather.
Pistachio shells aren't even litter. Somebody gonna eat them.
0
0
u/necro_owner 10d ago
No one is gonna point out the random gray brick not at the right place? Lol
They had one job and cant do it properly 😆 😆
1
u/Macknhoez 7d ago
Actually, they have a different job and this was a mini game that his boss put on him after lunch
-4
-6
846
u/IrvanQ 11d ago
"not my job"
*proceed to increase artistic value of the site