Can we talk about how a drywall square in St. Louis saved my layout time by half?

I was marking out studs on a job site in St. Louis and borrowed a guy's drywall square instead of my tape measure, and it cut my layout time by half, has anyone else swapped tools like that and seen a big difference?

2 comments

2 Comments

lily23012d ago

Wait, hold on, you're using a drywall square for layout? I gotta say, I see that differently. A tape measure is way more accurate for marking out studs on center because you can lock in exact measurements without fighting the square's edge. Plus that square is heavy and clunky to move around, especially if you're working alone on a ladder or in a tight corner. I tried using one for layout once and ended up with a bunch of marks that were off by a quarter inch because the square shifted on me. Just feels like a recipe for a headache when you're trying to hit 16 inches exactly every time.

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the_julia12d ago

Yeah I actually read something about this somewhere. Some old timer was saying the trick with a drywall square is you gotta use it like a guide for your tape measure, not as the main marking tool. Like, you set the square against the edge of the sheet, but you still rely on your tape measure for the actual 16 inch mark. The square just keeps you square. But honestly, I tried that method and it still felt like I was doing more work than just sticking with a tape measure and a good pencil. That square just adds weight to the whole process.