Old foreman told me to never trust a blueprint until you walk the site. Ignored him once, cost me $5,000 in rebar we had to rip out on a job in Raleigh.

My foreman Frank back in '08 always said that. I was young and thought I knew better, so I ordered the rebar layout straight off the plans for a slab pour. Didn't check the actual grade and setback markers on site, and the whole foundation was off by 2 feet. Had to cut and re-tie everything, wasted a whole week. Anyone else learned a hard lesson from ignoring a simple piece of advice from an old timer?

2 comments

2 Comments

brown.susan1h ago

Cost me $5,000 in rebar we had to rip out" - man, that line hit close to home. My dad always told me the same thing, measure twice and walk the site before you trust the drawings. I learned the hard way too. Had a job where the plans showed a perfect 90 degree corner for a retaining wall, but when we got to the lot, there was a massive tree root system that pushed everything off by almost 3 feet. We had already poured the footings based on those plans. Ended up having to bring in a mini excavator and break out a whole section of concrete, then repour it with the wall shifted over. What did your foreman say when he saw you had to redo all that rebar?

terry_mitchell1h ago

That foreman just looked at me and said "well, that's a lesson you won't forget." Didn't even yell. Honestly that was worse. Kind of a "I told you so" without the words. Did you guys end up getting extra time on the schedule or did you have to eat all those labor hours too?