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An old guy at the lumber yard showed me his trick for finding floor joists
He just tapped the subfloor with a quarter and listened for the pitch change. Said he's done it that way for forty years and it's faster than a stud finder. Anyone have other old-school tricks like that?
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morgan.rose6mo ago
That quarter trick works because the sound gets solid over the joist.
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corablack6mo ago
It's funny how the best tools are often just paying close attention to what's already there. What's a trick you learned by just watching someone?
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the_elliot6mo ago
My dad always swore by his fancy electronic stud finder. I used to roll my eyes at that quarter trick until I tried it in my own attic last week. It's way faster and you never have to worry about dead batteries. @corablack is totally right, the best tools are just learning to see, or hear, what's already in front of you. That old guy at the lumber yard knows his stuff.
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jakejones4mo ago
And the best part about that quarter trick is it works even better when you tape the quarter to a string. Then you can swing it along the wall and hear exactly where the sound changes. I learned that from an old electrician who was rewiring his entire basement. He said the string lets you cover way more ground without having to stop and pick up the quarter every two seconds. Plus if you drop it between floors you just pull the string and you're good. Little tricks like that are pure gold because they cost nothing and never break.
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