Not Enough Karma | A weekly scroll through Reddit’s construction chaos

Reuven Amar

30 Nov 2025

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7 min read

I love Reddit. I’ve been blocked from subs (subreddits), been accused in a genocide, commented, laughed and above all - felt connected to this amazing, vibrant community. I made myself a habit (what a LinkedIn cliché): morning coffee from the Karmel market, scrolling through the dozens of new messages the construction community is generating.

I had this idea a while ago, and I wanted to give it a try. Maybe there’re more Reddit lovers in the crowd. I’ll start with a collection of posts I liked, nothing fancy or sophisticated insights - those in the weeks to come. Let’s start!

𝗔𝗻 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿.

‘An open letter to the porta john manufacturers’ caught my attention:

Dear Manufacturers of portable toilets,

I hope this letter finds you well. I have but one little constructive criticism I would like to share.

Firstly, don’t fix what ain’t broke. While innovation drives industry, a handle in close proximity to the posterior does not. We did not ask for a flushing handle nor need one. I would recommend that if one needs to be installed, place it on the opposite side. This would create more room and would lessen the risk of getting anally speared in the dark at 7:00 am.

Let’s change for the better! Because no one wants a cold rod to the ass to start their day.

Cordially yours. (1)

𝗣𝗼𝗿𝗻.

Damn, if you’re a fan of food porn, I’ll bet you like it construction style. It’s big, loud, messy and very good at first impression. There’re a couple of subs completely dedicated to architecture or infra crazy buildings and structures. This week highlights are a Jersey metro station (2), or this bridge (3). Sometimes even noise can become popular, like a tailgate slap (4).

My favorite though was: “This was from a book called Incredible Cross Sections by Stephen Biesty. I had a copy when I was younger and absolutely loved it, this was one of my favourite illustrations” (5). Well, I read Harry Potter when I was a kid so I know how to call a magic broom not to build tunnels.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗺 𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁?

Construction can be funny (unless you’re a junior estimator and it’s bid day), sometimes even a meme generator.

Lets start with a classic PM joke about pyramid building (6), and to give you a taste from the comments section: ‘imagine the first meeting… “so guys, scope is… huge triangle’’’, ‘There is going to be a tomb filled with change order scrolls’, and apparently one daily log has actually been found (7). Wonder if ChatGPT can decipher papyrus..

Another candidate: earthwork, somewhere wet (8). His question - “I work in road construction… came across this sinkhole… what is the plastic sub-substructure and why am I not surprised that it failed?” - seems like a serious QA is needed: “As a civil engineer… DM me the location (JHA)…”

Last one in this category: “What was my fiancée’s dad building here? Hello, I am not sure if this is the right place to ask, but does anyone know what my fiancée's dad could’ve been digging this hole for? I assume for a sink, but I just want to be sure. Does it make sense to just leave it like this? Her dad is no longer in the picture and won’t be coming around anytime soon”. Shower, thanks for asking. (9)

𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸.

One of the juiciest topics every week. It’s the GC fault, who the hell paid this trade and how drunk was this installer - all part of how we love to complain 🙂

This week, and it was hard to choose, we had:

• a drunk parquet installer (10)

• ranking worst trade (11) - don’t click unless you want your soul destroyed

• another drunk carpenter from 1875 (12)

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿.

The common reaction to new tech in r/Estimators, r/civilEngineers and r/Architects is very suspicious. Those communities are fed up with overpromises, bots and tech founders or sales teams trying to sell products under the cover of “legit questions.”

Every now and then, though, there’s genuine interest. Last week it was: “Been building an AI estimator for contractors, curious what this community thinks.” They were humble, curious, professional, answered questions nicely - not patronizing - and there’s real interest there. Copy and paste :) (13)

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘄𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆?

Good question. As an industry that lives on 3–5% margins, everyone should ask it daily.

This time we had a live debate about Christmas bonuses: “40–50% of the jobs have been losers… but somehow at every Christmas party it’s congrats for all the money we made and here’s your bonus…”

Answers ranged between jokes like “Insurance” and some heated conversation (ex-Kiewit…) about accounting shuffles, self-renting equipment, selling embankment to yourself, and of course - change orders.

𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗺 𝗴𝗲𝗺𝘀

It won’t get into your Reels, but it’s honest work - dancing Wall-E (14).

My favorite spell on “how construction workers summon big-ass cranes out of nowhere without anyone noticing” (15).

A lovely series of pranks - how do you have time for that?!

For example:

“Put on your jacket, go into the site super’s trailer, grab a fire extinguisher, run out… hide the extinguisher, take off your jacket, return to work as normal, observe upcoming shenanigans.”

And the response: “Doing it naked is a bold choice :)” (16, 17)

And some silly comedy stuff (18).

That was my very first 'Not Enough Karma' post. If you enjoy it, you're welcome and any feedback would be the world for me. And that one is for you :) https://www.reddit.com/r/Construction/comments/1ox8xs9/please_roast_me_for_this_my_community_is_being/

References

(1) https://www.reddit.com/r/Construction/comments/1owx1zq/an_open_letter_to_the_porta_john_manufacturers/

(2) https://www.reddit.com/r/InfrastructurePorn/comments/1p1qleo/newark_city_subway_new_jersey_usa/

(3) https://www.reddit.com/r/bridgeporn/comments/1ozji5d/cincinnati_municipal_water_intake_bridge_campbell/

(4) https://www.reddit.com/r/ConstructionManagers/comments/1p0f06z/name_something_louder_than_a_tailgate_slap_ill/

(5) https://www.reddit.com/r/InfrastructurePorn/comments/1p08xeb/underground_subway/

(6) https://www.reddit.com/r/Construction/comments/1ox174i/thought_you_guys_might_appreciate_this_one/

(7) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diary_of_Merer

(8) https://www.reddit.com/r/Construction/comments/1oxea4h/what_am_i_looking_at/