Rant: The homeowner who watched me work for an hour before saying a word

Last Tuesday, I was installing a pocket door frame up in Nashua and this guy just stood in the doorway, arms crossed, not saying anything. After about 45 minutes he goes, 'You measure twice but you only check your level once, you sure that's enough?' I laughed it off, but then he showed me a hinge he'd made in his garage where he'd shimmed it three times before it worked. Now I check my levels on both sides of every jamb, and honestly his comment has stuck with me more than any foreman's advice I've gotten. Anybody else had a quiet observer drop a better tip than a seasoned pro?

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1 Comment

wright.jesse26d ago

Man, I gotta disagree with you there. That homeowner just got lucky with his timing. I've had homeowners hover around and drop some half-baked theory they read online, and it usually makes the job worse, not better. A seasoned foreman knows why you check things a certain way, not just that you do it. That guy gave you one decent tip, but I've seen plenty of guys get thrown off by some random suggestion and end up chasing a problem that was never there.