That one old timer who told me my straight edge was off by a hairs width

I was laying out some foundation lines on a site over by the river last summer, and this retired guy walks up, just watching me. I had my 6 foot level and a chalk line, thought I was squared up perfect. He says "your line's off about a 16th from that tree over there." I laughed it off but checked anyway, and sure enough, I was off. How does someone see that from 30 feet away? He stuck around for another 20 minutes giving me tips on reading shadows and wind drift on the string. Anyone else have a random old timer pop up and save you from a stupid mistake?

3 comments

3 Comments

nina_taylor11d ago

Old timers always have that weird built in laser eye.

zara_sanchez11d agoMost Upvoted

...and honestly I think people make too big a deal out of this stuff. I mean yeah it's cool that the guy had a good eye but it's a 16th of an inch on a foundation line. In the real world that kind of tolerance doesn't matter half the time. Concrete settles, wood warps, weather changes things. I've seen guys chase perfection on a job site and end up wasting an entire afternoon when nobody was ever going to notice the difference anyway. Not saying the old timer was wrong or anything just that maybe it's not the life lesson people make it out to be.

fiona_carr2611d ago

Yeah but is that even a real thing or just a story people tell to make themselves feel important? Like the whole "old timer with the laser eye" thing sounds like something you'd hear at a bar and nod along to but then think about later and realize it doesn't add up. Foundations aren't built by eyeballing a sixteenth of an inch, they're built by string lines and levels. And if he was that good, why wasn't he running a crew instead of standing around pointing at lines? Maybe it's just a nice little myth we tell to preserve the romance of hand work but in reality you'd rather have a laser level and a tape measure than a guy squinting at the ground.