That cheap tape measure I bought at the hardware store cost me a full day of work

Last Tuesday I was framing a wall in a house over on Maple Street and my $8 tape measure snapped at the 16 foot mark. The hook bent and the whole thing got wrecked, so I had to stop everything and drive 20 minutes to grab another one. By the time I got back I lost my rhythm and ended up cutting three studs wrong because I rushed the layout. Has anyone else had a cheap tool fail at the worst possible time and mess up your whole day?

2 comments

2 Comments

morgan_jenkins904d ago

One of my buddies had the hook break off his cheap tape measure while he was measuring out rafters and it threw off every cut after that. He ended up having to buy all new lumber because the pitch was off by half an inch on one side.

brown.susan4d ago

Dollar store tools are fine until they aren't. I used to buy the cheapest tape measure I could find because I figured they all measure the same length. Then mine snapped right at the 25 foot mark while I was laying out a fence line. The tape curled up and the hook broke off completely. Had to guess on the last two posts because I didn't want to drive all the way back to town. They ended up crooked and I had to redo them the next day. So now I spend a little more on a name brand one and it's saved me so much hassle.