That moment I caught myself using the wrong measuring wheel on a site walk

I was out last Tuesday on a job in Charlotte checking linear feet for a sidewalk pour. Took me 10 minutes of walking before I noticed the wheel was measuring in tenths of a foot, not inches. Threw off my whole takeoff by about 30%. Now I double check the dial before I even start rolling. Anyone else ever trust their gear too much without verifying first?

3 comments

3 Comments

miles_roberts19d agoMost Upvoted

Did you at least catch it before they poured the concrete?

janarivera19d ago

My last major concrete pour I triple checked the measuring wheel against a tape measure before I even marked the first stake. I learned that one the hard way after a deck foundation ended up two feet off because I grabbed a metric wheel by accident. Now it's just part of my routine, costs me maybe thirty seconds total.

lily7019d ago

Caught mine halfway through measuring for a fence line once. Now I always do a quick 10 foot test roll against a known distance before I start on anything serious. Saved me last week when I grabbed a metric wheel by accident without realizing it. Just a couple extra seconds at the start keeps you from having to redo everything later.