Found out my framing crew was leaving 2x4 scraps everywhere, and a $40 magnetic sweeper saved my knees

Morgan Hayes · 2026-09-23T05:55:05.118936+00:00

So we were wrapping up a garage build out near Red Deer last month and I kept noticing the guys stepping around piles of cut offs and bent nails near the slab. I must have pulled three screws out of my boot soles in one afternoon and my knee was already barking from kneeling on gravel all day. I tried the whole "just yell at them to clean up as they go" thing for about a week and it did nothing, so I grabbed one of those 24 inch magnetic sweepers off the shelf at the supply house for around $40. Told the crew whoever finishes a wall section runs it over the area before moving on, takes like 90 seconds. First day we filled half a pail with nails and staples I never would have seen, plus it snags the metal banding off bundles that always seems to vanish into the dirt. Honestly the best part is the site looks way cleaner at inspection time and the clients stopped giving me weird looks when they drive by. Anyway, just wondering if anyone else has a cheap tool that ended up doing more for site safety than the fancy stuff, because I'm now eyeing one of those rolling magnet bars for the truck bed too.

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Found out my framing crew was leaving 2x4 scraps everywhere, and a $40 magnetic sweeper saved my knees | Alberta Contractors - Guest Forum