PSA: I was laying my line blocks wrong for years until a guy on a site in Austin pointed it out

I always set them with the line on the outside edge of the block, which meant the line was never dead straight against the brick face. He showed me to set the line on the inside edge of the block, so the string touches the brick corner you're working to. Has anyone else had a simple setup tip that fixed a long-running issue?

3 comments

3 Comments

stellachen19d agoTop Commenter

That's one of those things that seems so obvious once you hear it... but you can go forever without realizing. Makes total sense to have the string actually touching the work surface. Had a similar thing with a chalk line, always snapping it from the top until someone pointed out you get a sharper line from the side. Just a tiny shift changes everything.

keith_rivera1919d ago

Setting it on the outside edge works fine for me, lets you see the line easier when you're back a bit.

jordan9039d ago

Kinda depends on the brick and the mortar joint size for me. If you're running a fat bead, that outside edge method @keith_rivera19 mentioned can actually keep the line from getting gummed up. The inside trick is perfect for tight work though. Makes you wonder how many little habits we pick up just because nobody was there to show a different way.