Why Details and Accuracy Matter

Even if you aren't in the construction industry, you've probably heard the old saying, "measure twice, cut once".

The terms square, plumb and true are words that a good carpenter lives by. And I can tell you that no matter the size or scope of a project were building, the most nerve-wracking part of the entire process is "coming out of the ground" - meaning, the most important stage of any build is the very first step.

This is why we plan months beforehand. Because accuracy at the very first stage means accuracy a year down the road.

If you've ever seen concrete being formed and poured, you may think that it probably doesn't take a rocket scientist to get it right.

And you couldn't be more wrong.

Foundation work is the most important stage of the home construction process, and that's because it sets the tone for the rest of the build. Everything after that point sets the stage for how smooth the project goes.

Good concrete workers go unnoticed, but the bad ones get cussed by every single trade that comes after them.

As the home comes out of the ground, the tolerances get smaller and smaller.

And this is the heart of accuracy, and why details matter.

I once framed with a guy who would pull all the little staples left behind from the plastic coverings out of each stud as he laid them out to frame walls. And I remember thinking to myself, "what a waste of time".

He did it on every. single. stud. It finally started to bug me so I asked him why he wasted his time with the staples. He told me it was because the little errors add up into one big cluster ****.

It starts with caring about the small details.

When we let a 1/16th of an inch go here, or an eighth there, or we nail a stud on the wrong side of the layout mark, those errors compound. Accuracy suffers and somewhere down the line our job gets harder - we have to take the time to fix something that could have been easy to fix at the time.

When the finishing stages of a project start, and our tolerances are 1/32nd or 1/64th of an inch, that 1/8th on an inch 8 months ago starts to come back to haunt us.

It all starts with giving a s***.

When you fight the urge to rush through the rough work to get to the cool parts - when you take the time to do it right, the first time - the end result is higher quality.

So, yes, accuracy matters.