Loading…
6
I hit 100 fence posts set in a single day and it made me question our whole speed culture
On a big commercial job in Phoenix last week, my crew and I set 100 posts in 8 hours. Everyone on site was cheering, but it just felt wrong. I checked five of them the next morning and two were already a quarter inch out of plumb from the concrete curing too fast in the heat. We used a fast-set mix to keep pace, but I think we traded long-term stability for a number that looks good on paper. Has anyone else pushed for speed on a big job and later regretted it?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
webb.victor5mo ago
Sounds like you built a monument to cutting corners.
4
jakef665mo ago
Actually, calling it a monument to cutting corners is a bit off. It's more like a monument to a bad system. The crew wanted to do it right, but the schedule and the heat forced a bad choice. The real problem is when the boss sees 100 posts and just sees a number, not the two that are already leaning. That fast-set mix was the only way to hit the goal they gave us.
1
irishenderson3mo ago
Nobody's mentioned the real kicker yet @jakef66. That fast-set mix locked in the mistakes before anyone could catch them. Regular concrete takes time to settle, gives you a window to see the post is leaning and fix it before it's permanent. Fast-set means by the time you walk away and come back, that post is set in stone at a 5 degree tilt. It's not just cutting corners, it's building failure into the process from the start.
5