Appreciation post: The hex key that fell into a wall cavity and I let it stay

I was trimming out a door in a 1920s row house in Baltimore last month and dropped a 5mm hex key between the studs. I could hear it rattling around in there, taunting me, but honestly fishing it out meant cutting a hole in fresh drywall. I left it in there and told the homeowner it was a built-in feature now. She laughed and said at least it was a good brand. My apprentice thinks I'm crazy, but I've done this three times in the last five years and each time it haunts me less. Has anyone else just accepted the wall cavity as their permanent tool graveyard, or do you actually chase those things down?

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wendy97814d ago

Three out of five years and counting, that's basically a retirement plan for tools. I lost a 10mm socket in a wall back in 2017 and I still hear it shift when someone slams a door. Honestly, the wall cavity is just nature's way of saying "you weren't using that one anyway." My favorite part is when the homeowner eventually sells and some poor future renovator finds a little treasure trove of hex keys and sockets. It's like leaving a time capsule for the next guy, except the next guy is probably cursing my name.