Saw a guy at the lumber yard using a chalk line to mark studs on a concrete floor

I was grabbing some 2x4s this morning and watched a contractor snap a chalk line on the slab for stud placement instead of measuring each one separate. He said it saved him about 20 minutes per wall on the last house he framed. Has anyone else tried this trick or do you stick to measuring each layout by hand?

2 comments

2 Comments

logan_young2913d ago

Wait, a chalk line on concrete won't really snap a clean line, you need a soapstone or keel for that.

craig.mila13d ago

Snap a line of soapstone first just to get your layout close, then go over it with a sharp carpenter's pencil or a concrete marker. The soapstone dust sits on top of the concrete better than chalk does, but it smudges easy if you walk on it. I've had good luck with the blue chalk on smooth finished concrete for short lines, but on anything rough or dusty it just turns into a blurry mess.