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My uncle's 'just eyeball it' advice almost cost me a whole job
I was installing some wide plank hickory in a living room in Des Moines last summer and my uncle Bob stopped by to 'help'. He's been laying carpet for 30 years and thinks he knows everything about flooring. I was trying to get the first row dead straight with a chalk line and a laser but he kept telling me to just eyeball it and go. He said builders don't use lasers and my grandpa never needed one. Two hours later I had a 3 inch gap at the far wall because the whole room drifted. I had to pull up 4 rows and redo them with a proper reference line. Has anyone else had an older relative give terrible advice on site?
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karen_sanchez104mo ago
... so your uncle Bob is the kind of guy who thinks because something worked for his dad in 1970 it's still the right way huh... I gotta ask though, how did he react when you had to rip up all that work? Did he finally admit maybe a laser is useful or did he just blame it on the hickory being tricky or something? I've met guys like that who will never admit they're wrong even when the proof is right there in a three inch gap.
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danielgonzalez4mo ago
Man I used to be the SAME way, thought lasers were overkill like my old man. But after helping a buddy who eyeballed a tile layout and ended up with cuts that looked like a toddler did them, I saw the light. Now I set a laser line and check it every few rows, way less headaches.
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