What It’s Like to Be a Woman In a Man’s World

What It’s Like to Be a Woman in a Field That’s Still 99 Percent Male Nina MacLaughlin. (Photo: Beowulf Sheehan)

In 2008, journalist Nina MacLaughlin quits her desk job of seven years with no plan for what to do next. Though she had no experience to speak of she jumped at the chance to apply to a Craigslist job posting for a carpenter’s assistant. She was especially heartened by the tagline “Women strongly encouraged to apply,” and sent off her application right away.

She got the job, and has been a carpenter in Cambridge, Massachusetts, ever since.

In her new memoir, ‘Hammer Head: The Making of a Carpenter’, MacLaughlin tells us her experience of abandoning her desk job and the satisfaction and joy of learning to work with her hands. She spoke with the Cut about what her career switch taught her about ambition, how working as a carpenter changed her own femininity, and what it’s like to be a woman in a field that’s still 99 percent male.

To read the full interview click the photo or click here.

Île Saint-Louis – Complete Paris Apartment Renovation

Once in a life time you have a client that you just don’t get along with. At first you think things are manageable but things go sour and no matter how hard you try it never gets better.  It’s not the fault of either. It’s just one of those things.

Then once in a life time you have a client that changes everything. Once in a life time you meet someone that is so dynamic, so artistic, so engaging, so maniacal, so passionate yet at the same time so ‘normal’, who can put on a face that is congruent to what people think he should be, he challenges the boundaries of your own perceptions about what is available in for use as an individual in the world.

We are going to call him the Maverick.

On and off, for circumstances we could not control, the better part of three years we were isle-in, like a villain, on penicillin with the Maverick.

It was  a glorious time.

When we met Mavs, we had no idea that he was ‘renting a womb’ as he put it, to have children with his partner.

We eventually met his partner, his wonderful children and enjoyed the company of his warm loving family.

He would bring us simple yet thoughtful and caring gifts from America.

Once he said, ‘Guys, don’t listen to me. There’s a saying ‘Get your hands off my ears. I know what I’m doing.’

How do yo not love a guy like that?

If you are reading this, Maverick we miss this time we had together.  So here is a video in honor of and that begs the inside joke from.

It’s the Isle. Do you know what time it is? 😀

How To Prevent Moisture Condensation In A Bathroom

Moisture (Photo credit: chrisblackburn)

Moisture condensation can be particularly difficult to deal with because it’s not always that easy to notice at first.

Then before you know it there is mold and moisture damage everywhere sometimes so invasive that the only solution is to replace the drywall.

Before you spend money needlessly on a preventable bathroom renovation and repair here are some great tips on how to keep the moisture away and the mold at bay.

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How To Drywall Non Flat Surfaces – Own The Dome

If you think about it Humankind does the square thing really well.

Just look around you. From buildings to rooms to your kitchen counter top, squares and rectangles are just so easy for us to do.

But if you look at Nature the opposite is true.

Drywall (Photo credit: retropc)

From the raindrop to the planets orbiting the Sun it’s the curve of the circle or the ellipse which Nature finds so easy to produce.

So did you ever look at an archway, curved wall or dome and wonder, ‘How did a Human Being plaster or drywall that?’

Well, here is a handy little video with some good tips on how to dry wall a dome ceiling.

At first it sounds difficult but really, after you see this video it might just become second nature. 😀

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Get The Smoothest Wall Possible – The Level 5 Finish

Believe it or not there is is more than one way to finish a flat, untextured wall surface.

We’ve had some clients who were very particular about what they were looking for.

One client who lived in England specifically requested that his apartment in France be painted by brush and not by roller. He said he ‘hated’ the texture that paint rollers left.

We had to let him know that this meant more time therefore more money. He was willing to pay the added expense and was delighted by the result.

In this video we present the Level 5 finish which is the smoothest finish one can deliver using conventional drywall and plastering techniques.

The presenter does a good job breaking the process down into 6 easy steps.

It takes a bit longer but for the client with a discerning eye it just may make all the difference.

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