TIL a trick for keeping your line tight in high wind

Last week I was on a job in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the wind just would not quit. We were building a garden wall, maybe 40 feet long, and my mason's line kept sagging and dancing all over the place. I was getting so frustrated trying to keep my courses straight. My foreman, a guy named Ray, saw me fighting it and just walked over. He took two of our standard concrete blocks, set them about ten feet apart past the end of the wall, and tied the line off to them instead of the wall itself. He said the weight of the blocks kept the tension perfect and the wind couldn't shake the wall enough to mess with the line. It was such a simple fix, but I'd never seen it done before. Has anyone else found a good way to handle string lines when it's really breezy?

3 comments

3 Comments

ward.anna12d ago

That's a great trick, and it shows how the best solutions are often simple ones!

rodriguez.mia12d ago

But simple answers can miss the bigger picture.

theas2812d ago

It's funny how we overcomplicate things when the answer is usually right in front of us.