Realized I was cutting transitions wrong for 5 years straight

I was at a job in Denver last month installing some luxury vinyl plank. The homeowner handed me a piece of scrap transition and asked why my cuts had a tiny gap on one side. I looked at it and realized I had been measuring from the wrong edge of the T-molding this whole time. I always held the tape from the top flange instead of the bottom track. Now that I flip it around the gaps are gone. Has anyone else had a dumb measuring habit that took way too long to catch?

3 comments

3 Comments

noranguyen1d ago

Yeah I had the same issue with T-molding for about four years. @lunab97 is right about getting in a rhythm and not noticing. What finally fixed it for me was marking the bottom track with a sharpie line so I'd know where to put the tape hook every time. The gap was always on the same side but I figured it was just the subfloor being uneven. Once I flipped the tape around it was night and day. Now I always double check which flange I'm referencing before I make any cut on transitions. Saves a lot of cussing and scrap pieces.

seanjohnson1d ago

Wait, did you read that article from Fine Homebuilding a few months back about measuring tricks? They had a whole section on the tape hook thing and how different brands have different flanges that throw off your measurements. I swear it's one of those things that seems like it shouldn't matter but it absolutely does. My old tape measure had so much play in the hook I was always off by like a sixteenth and would blame the wood or the humidity. Finally got one of those self-locking ones with a tighter hook and it fixed half my problems overnight. Still have to remember to mark my reference points though, that sharpie line trick is gold.

lunab971d ago

Measuring from the wrong reference point is such an easy trap. Did the same thing with baseboard shoe molding for like two years. Always cut it a hair short thinking I was accounting for the wall being out of square. Turns out I was just measuring from the back of the shoe instead of the front lip. Flipped my tape measure around and suddenly everything fit tight. Feels stupid but it happens when you're in a rhythm.