Hello,
I have little trick I learned about a year ago that I would like to pass along.
I always used the burn an inch technique when laying out timbers, as I don't like to use the hook of the tape measure. Because of this I would regularly forget to burn the inch when I got to the other end of the tape. My helper would come in to check my layout and find these mistakes all over the place. Not so good.
Now what I do, is to make a mark 1" from my layout line, line up the 1" mark on the tape with the 1" mark, go to the other end of the tape and make my final marking. So say I am looking at making a mark at 116 1/2". I don't have to try to remember to actually mark it at 117 1/2"; I just mark it at what the plans say! Essentially this trick just zero's out the tape without using the hook.
Such a simple trick, but wow, has this saved me hours and hours of re-laying out!
Cheers,
Tim
