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A client in Denver told me my post holes looked like a drunk squirrel dug them
Honestly, I was setting posts for a cedar fence last month and thought I was doing fine. The homeowner came out, pointed at my holes, and said they were all over the place and looked like a drunk squirrel did the work. He was right, they were a bit off my usual line. I started using two strings instead of one, a main line and a parallel guide line exactly 8 inches out. Ngl, it added maybe 20 minutes to the layout but the posts went in perfectly straight. Has anyone else had a client call them out on something simple that you just got lazy about?
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logan2636mo ago
Yeah, the part about using two strings instead of one is key. I read a thing a while back from an old carpenter who said a single line is just a suggestion, but a second line makes it a rule. It's so easy to get a little off when you're just eyeballing it from one side, especially if the ground is uneven. That client calling you out probably felt bad in the moment, but it sounds like it got you a way better method. Sometimes you need that outside look to fix a lazy habit.
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anna1776mo ago
Wait, hold up. Sometimes that "lazy" single line method is totally fine. If you know your ground and you've done a hundred fences, eyeballing from one string gets the job done fast. @logan263's old carpenter quote sounds nice, but adding a whole second line for every simple residential job is overkill. That client was just being picky, most people never even look at the post holes once the fence is up.
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