Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | May 23, 1999 05:18am | #1

   *
   Joe, I thought I was the only one who wasn't to sure what that guy was doing. But I want to know where to get one. Just showing it to customers has got to raise the price of a job by two maybe three grand easy.Vince

1. 
   Guest_ | May 23, 1999 05:29am | #2

   *Vince,

   How are you? Sorry I missed you. . . maybe next time. I have two and never thought about "THIS" use for them ;-}. Soon we'll have laser guided nail guns. . .to get that nail "just" right, LOL.

   Joseph FuscoView Image

1. 
   Guest_ | May 23, 1999 05:54am | #3

   *Joe, I'm good, how about you? I'm having trouble with buttons tonight though. Think I deleted the start of this post.When the laser guided guns come out you'll have to let me borrow your's.Maybe since you have two dial indicators we could talk about becoming bounce indicator test specialists.It's got to be easyer then what we do now.LoL Vince

1. 
   Guest_ | May 25, 1999 06:47am | #4

   *Come on now. . .

   None of you guys think this is a little "excessive." I'd like to hear from some of the fellow tile layers out there and see if you have ever used a dial indicator to check floors!

   Joseph FuscoView Image

1. 
   Guest_ | May 25, 1999 07:06am | #5

   *Well I figure if you can't lay tile to hold up then this must come in handy when all them back charges come in.........Yes I'm laughting my A** off about that picturebut to each is own.Bet ya Blue has one he uses to set his framing with

2. 
   Guest_ | May 29, 1999 07:22pm | #6

   *I'm not sure you guys are out of touch with reality but you might be being a little premature in your judgement of this picture... Took a look at that and read a couple of lines of the article. The author made the comment that he USED to do this when he first started although does not anymore. If you had to do this on every job you'd be running short on money in short order; on the other hand, how are you supposed to get a "feel" for what is acceptable deflection and what isn't? Especially if you're new to the game? I'm not ready to get out the DI everytime a wall needs to be framed but wouldn't hesitate if not knowing the amount of deflection in a floor might mean having to rework everything a month later..... S.

3. 
   Guest_ | May 30, 1999 02:38am | #7

   *Otay, Joe, I'll bite. I have not seen the pic yet and SamD does have a point... Let's just assume--did I say that?--that he is checking for deflection. So, is he then gonna' run the calcs to figure loads too? While I don't just throw it down, this does seem a bit excessive.I have not even thought of using this method, but I have run a taut line across the span and then eyeballed, er, measured deflection with foot or rolling traffic. I'm the installer. While there is a level of responsibility and liability attendent to this, no one could hold me liable for excessive deflection, even if I proceeded with my work. Running a DI would only serve as another method to enable me to measure the floor as built. Certainly, I would not be expected to beef up or otherwise modify the subfloor. The DI check, therefore, is needless and pedestrian to the job.That, sir, is reality.

4. 
   Guest_ | May 30, 1999 03:22am | #8

   *Rich,

   "I'll bite". . . I know I've heard that before ;-} I kinda do it the old fashion way, I just jump, usually tells me all I need to know. . .

   Joseph FuscoView Image

5. 
   Guest_ | May 30, 1999 04:20am | #9

   *Rich, Your point about it not being liable for the deflection is well taken- I'd have a hard time arguing this- at the same time, I doubt anyone really wants to have the prospect of an irate home owner looming over their heads. While YOU might be well aware that the cause of cracked or otherwise damaged tiles had nothing to do with your installation but rather, an inadequate joist/subfloor system, the owner may not; futhermore, it may be difficult to convince the homeowner of this. So, maybe from the standpoint of CYA and telling the person up front: "this simply ain't gonna' cut it" careful checking is in order. Of course, as Joe mentioned, with experience, DI's and such probably aren't needed. In the start of one's career though, this may be just the ticket for "gettin' comfortable". Just a thought....S.

6. 
   Guest_ | May 30, 1999 07:55am | #10

   *Sam,RE: CYA I have told crews to rip out a brand new subfloor before. In fact, I have no qualms about doing so. I don't care who it is, if I tell 'em it's not good enough, they better be listening. Of course, it's only when I adamantly refuse to continue do they finally sit up and take notice. That is when I become the bad guy--I don't mean bad ass, mind you--because several embarrassed guys have to rip up their work to please the primadonna. Tough s***, I say with a smile.As for the DI check: how "comfortable" does one need to be? New or not, I still think this would be excessive. It's tantamount to plumbing a wall with a 100' level. In fact, having established this level of tolerance, one would have the fits trying to get anything into spec. BTW: does one measure a 2nd story floor the same as the ground floor? Further, does one calibrate for ambient temp., humidity, wind loading? How about plant batch discrepancies in floor sheeting. Or, different mfg. methods/materials.