A framer told me my tape measure was lying, he was right

Last Tuesday on a job in Austin, an old framer watched me mark a rafter and said, 'Your tape is telling you what it wants, not what it is.' He showed me how thermal expansion on a sunny roof can shift a 25 foot tape by almost 1/8 inch by 2 PM. I had never factored the heat into my layout, always trusted the tool blindly. Now I pull my measurements twice, once in the shade and once on the deck, and split the difference. Anyone else ever had a seasoned guy point out a basic tool habit you never questioned?

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1 Comment

hernandez.jordan12d ago

Half a degree difference ain't gonna make your roof fall down, dude.