valc91•1mo ago

Update: I've been cutting my own shims from scrap for 15 years and a new guy on my crew just showed me a $12 plastic shim pack from the hardware store that's way faster.

I was watching him set a door in a Reno job last week and he had the jamb perfectly plumb in half the time it usually takes me... so what's the best time-saving trick you've picked up from someone else on site?

3 comments

3 Comments

sage_moore371mo ago

Honestly, it's always the simple stuff that gets you. I spent years carefully cutting little wedges from cedar shakes, feeling like a pioneer. Then some kid fresh out of trade school whips out a bright blue plastic shim and makes my whole process look like something from the dark ages. The worst part is he didn't even say anything, just gave me that quiet, patient smile while his door frame went up perfectly straight. I had to go buy a pack that afternoon, and I'm still a little mad about how well they work.

emeryj661mo ago

I read somewhere that the plastic shim industry is worth like 80 million a year now, so you're not alone in that slow burn.

jamie_webb671mo agoTop Commenter

My buddy Mike spent a decade hand-sanding cabinet doors. His new apprentice showed up with a random orbital sander last month. Mike said the finish was flawless in half the time. He just stood there holding his block of sandpaper feeling like a ghost.