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Took Me 5 Years to Realize I Was Setting Rail Brackets Wrong at a Job in Denver
I was working on a new install at a 12-story building in downtown Denver last spring. Always used a level to set each bracket on the rail, just like I learned from my old foreman. Then a younger guy on the crew pulled out a laser and showed me how off my brackets were from the top to bottom floor. Over half an inch of drift that I could never catch with a standard level. Felt like a total idiot for thinking a 4-foot level was good enough on a 60-foot run. Now I borrow our laser on every single job. Am I the only one who skipped this basic step for way too long?
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christopherwilson4mo ago
Man, I had almost the exact same thing happen to me on a job in Phoenix a couple years ago. I was putting up handrail on some stairs in a three story townhouse complex, and I had been using my 6-foot level like I always did. This older welder came over and pointed out that my brackets were walking about a quarter inch every ten feet or so from the bottom of the stairs. He had one of those little self leveling lasers, and when I looked at the line it was like a smack in the face. I spent the whole next day pulling brackets and shimming them back straight. Now I won't even start a rail job without a laser on the truck.
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juliashah3mo ago
Oh boy, that takes me back. I once spent half a day leveling a countertop with a spirit level before a neighbor came over with a laser and showed me the whole thing was off by half an inch on one end. Now I just hand the laser to whoever shows up first.
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elliot_johnson314mo ago
That "like a smack in the face" really hits home, @christopherwilson, and I feel your pain on having to redo all that work.
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