*
What kind of stakes do you use, and how are you getting them into the ground?
I have been using 2×4 with pointed bottom and pounding with sledge hammer. Problem is it takes too long to set up, some 2×4 are destroyed by pounding, and the ones that take are too hard to get out when the wall is up.
Need some advice from real builders.
Thank you.
Replies
*
Mark - I don't know what kind of soil you have, but in hard ground it helps to use a steel stake to drive a "pilot" hole for your batter boards. Also, never hit directly on top of the stake you are driving, use a piece of 3/4" plywood resting on top of the stake to take the direct blow from your sledge.
You can also start off with much longer stakes than you'll need, and cut the mushroomed top off with a skill saw.
Here is another tip. If you attatch the horizontal boards perfectly level with each other all the way around your building, you can string lines and measure down off of them to set the heighth of your forms by yourself. Don't forget to cross square your rectangles either. - jb
*I worked for a guy that had some aluminum things that were great. You drove 2 steel stakes, and slid these aluminum brackets down over the stakes. They were held in place with a thumbscrew, so they could be adjusted up and down easily. The stringline attached to an eye bolt that slid back and forth on the aluminum thingy. It was also held in place with a thumb screw, for easy lateral adjustment. Sorry, I don't know who makes them. But I think maybe he got them from tool crib of the north ?