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Overheard a GC in line at the hardware store say something that stuck with me

I was grabbing more 5/8 inch firecode sheets for a job in Tacoma last Tuesday, and the guy in front of me was talking to the cashier. He said, 'I don't hire guys who can just hang board fast. I hire guys who know how to fix the framing first.' It made me stop and think. I've been in this trade for eight years, and I know I've rushed to hang on walls that were a little out of whack, just to save time on the front end. But then you pay for it later with more mud and more sanding, or worse, a callback. That quick chat made me slow down on my current project and spend an extra hour with my levels and shims before I even picked up a screw gun. It felt like better work. Do you guys always check and correct the studs, or is that seen as the framer's problem?
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3 Comments
rodriguez.felix
Remember that remodel on 12th where the wall looked like a rollercoaster? My buddy, a drywall guy, got talked into just hanging over it. He spent three days just on mud trying to float it out, and the paint still showed every wave. The GC made him tear it all down and fix the studs anyway. He lost a week on that job.
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richard226
richard22620d ago
That story about the wall on 12th is exactly why you fix the bones first. Three days of mud on a bad wall is just throwing time and money into a hole. Some framers act like their job ends when the last nail is in, but a good drywall finish starts with them. It's wild to me that any pro would try to float out a rollercoaster instead of just pulling a few studs straight.
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juliashah
juliashah19d agoMost Upvoted
Saw a video where a contractor showed the laser level reading on a bad wall. The studs were off by over half an inch in some spots. He said trying to fix that with drywall compound is like trying to fill a ditch with whipped cream. Just makes a huge mess and never really works right.
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