My uncle swore by using a string line for every single post, even on short runs

He ran a crew for 30 years and drilled it into me that eyeballing it, even for a simple 20-foot section of privacy fence, was asking for trouble. I ignored him on a quick side yard job in Tempe last fall, figuring six posts in a straight line was easy enough to judge. We set them all, started hanging rails, and by the third panel you could see a slight but definite wave in the top line. Had to pull two posts and reset them, which added almost three hours to what should have been a half-day install. He was completely right, the string line is non-negotiable. Now I run it for anything over three posts. Has anyone else learned this lesson the hard way on what seemed like a simple job?

3 comments

3 Comments

noah_murray1mo ago

Watched a buddy skip the line on a short deck railing and the whole thing had a visible lean. He spent more time fixing it than he saved.

oliviagrant1mo ago

That's the universe's way of charging interest on shortcuts. I mean, I've definitely been that guy before, trying to rush a simple job. You get all confident, skip one dumb step, and then spend the next three hours with a level and a sinking feeling. It's like a law of nature or something.

palmer.richard27d ago

My cousin skipped the string on a short fence and it looked like a roller coaster.