I finally saw a guy try to lay a whole wall without a story pole and it was a mess

This was on a job in Cincinnati last month. I was doing the floor in the next room and kept hearing this weird, heavy sighing. I peeked out and saw this guy, a new hire for the other crew, just eyeballing every single course. He had a level, but no story pole, no line, nothing. By the time he got about four feet up, the whole thing was leaning in like a drunk sailor. The lead guy came over and asked him what he was doing. The kid just said, 'I thought I could keep it straight by feel.' I almost laughed out loud. You can't just guess your way through a brick wall. A simple story pole with your joint marks saves you hours of tear-down and heartache. It's one of those basic things they should teach day one. Has anyone else had to step in and stop a rookie from making a huge, avoidable mistake like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

mary_kelly20d agoTop Commenter

Yeah, that reminds me of a plumber we had who tried to set a whole bathroom group by eye. The vanity ended up six inches off the wall because he never checked his run. Some people just skip the basics, and it always costs more time in the end.

fisher.kevin20d ago

My uncle did that with a fence once. Measured once, cut twice, had to buy all new posts.