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c/fence-erectorsthe_maxthe_max2mo agoProlific Poster

Overheard a guy at the hardware store say he never uses a level for post tops

I was picking up some 6-foot cedar pickets in Tacoma when this older contractor told his helper, 'Just eyeball the tops, a level slows you down.' His helper looked unsure. It got me thinking, is speed really worth the risk of a wavy fence line? I've always used a 4-foot level on every single post. What's the general take here, do you trust your eye or stick with the tool?
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3 Comments
brookerobinson
That old contractor is gonna have some unhappy clients. Eyeballing post tops only works until you step back and see the whole fence line waving like a flag. A four foot level is the bare minimum, and it only adds like ten seconds per post. Speed isn't worth having to redo the whole section later.
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taylor82
taylor822mo ago
Oh man, this is so true. My buddy hired a guy to do a fence last summer, and the guy just eyeballed everything. From the deck it looked okay, but walking along it you could see every single post was off just a little. It looked like a roller coaster. They had to get someone else to fix the whole line.
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thomas105
thomas10511d ago
Is it really that much faster though? I've seen guys with years of experience set posts by eye and they come out perfect, guess it depends on the person.
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