My framing crew chief in Charlotte said my nail spacing on a shear wall was off by a full inch, which got me thinking about how we all learn the little things.

What's one piece of job-site feedback that really stuck with you and changed your method?

3 comments

3 Comments

Sometimes the old rules are too strict. A full inch on a shear wall is nothing to lose sleep over if the work is solid. The best feedback taught me to trust the build, not just the tape measure.

laura2112mo ago

Hold up, an inch off on a shear wall is no big deal? That's the kind of feedback that really got to me early on. Those specs are there for a reason, especially with something meant to keep a house from racking in a storm. An inch over the whole wall adds up to a lot of missed nails, which means less holding power. My old foreman said trusting the build is good, but the tape measure tells you if the build is right to begin with. That stuck with me to always check the spacing twice, because close isn't always good enough.

henryf536d ago

Yeah I mean I get where you're coming from but is a whole inch really going to make or break a house? Like I've seen walls that were off way more than that and held up fine for decades, so maybe we overthink this stuff sometimes. Not saying specs aren't important but there's gotta be some wiggle room.