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My old foreman told me to always check the grade twice before backfilling a trench
He said 'trust the stick, not your gut' after a job in Tacoma where we had to re-dig 40 feet because the laser was off. I ignored him once on a small residential pour, thinking I could eyeball it. Ended up with a 2-inch slope over 15 feet and the homeowner made us tear it out. Anyone else have a simple rule they learned the hard way?
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oliver_adams6mo ago
Honestly I've had the opposite happen more, where we over-checked and wasted time. On a tight schedule last summer, checking twice meant we lost half a day waiting on a grade check that was fine the first time. Sometimes your gut from experience is worth something, lol.
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wendy_garcia166mo ago
But come on, how often does a laser really lie? Seems like overkill for every little job.
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camerony825mo ago
Yeah, I gotta disagree there. Lasers can be off more than people think, especially if the ground is soft or the tripod gets bumped even a tiny bit. I've seen situations where a laser said something was level but a quick string check showed it was a quarter inch off, which would have been a headache later. Overkill maybe, but an extra 5 minutes with a level or string can save you ripping out work down the road. Your gut is fine for rough stuff, but I'd rather trust a second check than have to explain why something's crooked after the concrete's poured.
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