That one neighbor who yelled at me for using a level

I was out front last summer trying to level some patio stones for a walkway, and this older guy walks over from three houses down. He starts going off about how real tradesmen just eyeball it and levels are for amateurs. I was like, dude, I do this for a living and I promise you my laser level is more accurate than your gut feeling. He stood there watching me for like ten minutes just waiting for me to screw up. Has anyone else had some random person come at them for using basic tools?

2 comments

2 Comments

foster.wade1mo ago

Last summer I had a guy yell at me from across the street for using a chalk line on a fence I was building. He said real carpenters just hold a board up and make a pencil mark by eye. I told him I was a contractor and my chalk line was way faster and more accurate than his guesswork. He stood there for twenty minutes shaking his head and muttering about how "kids these days" can't do anything without a tool. I finally finished the fence and it came out perfectly straight, and he just walked away without saying anything. Some people just can't handle seeing someone do a job better than they ever could.

schmidt.grant1mo ago

Thirty years using levels and I never had a client complain about something being straight.