Showerthought: Heard an old timer say 'a level is just a suggestion on a foundation wall'

I was on a crew last week in Queens and this guy with 40 years in said that while we were checking a wall that was off by a quarter inch over 12 feet. Made me realize I was too rigid about following the bubble on older houses where nothing is perfect. Anybody else loosen up their standards when you know the structure won't ever be true?

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juliaa2517h ago

and the same thing happens everywhere man. i was trying to hang a shelf in my 1920s apartment and the level said it was off but the crooked old floor made it look straight. my buddy whos a carpenter told me he learned to trust his eye more than the level on old houses because the frame settled decades ago. its like how my grandma always said perfect is the enemy of done and she was talking about baking but it applies to renovating too. once you accept that the whole house settled into its own shape you stop fighting it and start working with it.