My foreman told me to 'just eyeball it' on a retaining wall and I learned my lesson

Last summer in Austin, my foreman Bob said not to bother with a string line for a 40-foot retaining wall. He said 'just eyeball it, you'll save time.' Three hours into laying blocks, the wall had a 6-inch bow in the middle. We had to tear down 15 feet and start over with a level line. Total wasted time was about two hours and cost the company $400 in extra labor. Has anyone else had a boss give bad advice that seemed good at first?

3 comments

3 Comments

kaigibson19d ago

Man, that's rough. Bob definitely set you up for a frustrating day (and a wasted afternoon).

ray_williams19d ago

See it different, @kaigibson. Bob gave us a chance to figure it out together.

the_piper17d ago

@ray_williams Bob's method taught you how to fix mistakes faster, which is a weird kind of wisdom.