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I finally tried marking post spots with a soapstone pencil instead of spray paint
Had a 180 foot run of 6 foot privacy fence to lay out last Tuesday on a job in Bend, and my usual orange spray paint kept washing out in the sun before I got holes dug. I got tired of squinting at faded dots and re-measuring, so I grabbed a soapstone pencil from my pouch on a whim. The mark stays dark and sharp right up until you dig, and it wipes off the concrete with your thumb when you're done, no overspray on the sidewalk for the homeowner to complain about. My spacing has been dead on 8 feet center to center since I switched, no more guessing if that dot is 4 inches off. One stick lasted the whole run, which beats burning through a $9 can every couple jobs. Only catch is it fades on wet ground, so I keep it for dry days. Anybody else given up paint for something else, or am I late to this one?
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charlieh741d ago
It's funny how often the cheap simple fix beats the fancy one. Same thing happened to me with chalk lines for tile layout, everyone swore by lasers but a plain chalk line never lies to me. There's a pattern in that, the tools that need batteries or cans or refills are the ones that let you down at the worst time, while the dumb little stick in your pouch just works. The wet ground thing makes sense too, soapstone is basically soft rock and water will float it right off. Good call keeping it for dry days instead of tossing it aside completely.
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