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Thinking back on the old way we used to do expansion joints

Last week I was cutting joints on a warehouse slab in Tempe, just me and the walk-behind saw. It made me remember a job three years ago on a strip mall up in Flagstaff, where the crew boss still insisted we hand-tool every single one with a groover. Took us two full days for what we'd do in one morning now. Last month, my new guy asked why we even carry the hand tools anymore. I had to show him how you still need them for tight corners the big saw can't reach. Anyone else still keep the old groovers around for specific spots, or am I just being stubborn?
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3 Comments
ruby659
ruby6599d ago
That bit about the new guy asking why you still carry hand tools, I mean that's the whole thing right there. It's not just about corners, sometimes you get a callback on a ten year old job and the specs literally say hand-tooled joints. If you show up with a saw cut, even if it looks the same, the inspector can fail you on principle. Idk, maybe it's just me but I keep the old stuff because the plans from back then are still out there waiting to bite you.
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jordan_henderson13
jordan_henderson139d agoMost Upvoted
Had a 2004 spec sheet that required a 3/8 inch hand groover last month. Old plans don't care how fast your new tools are.
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ryan_black
Tell me about it, my truck's basically a rolling museum. @jordan_henderson13 finding that 2004 spec is exactly why I can't throw my old groovers out. Guess we're stuck with this stuff until the last inspector retires.
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