Switched from a speed square to a story pole for window openings

Used to measure each window opening with a tape and square, then cut bricks one by one. Took me forever and I'd always be off by a half inch somewhere. Last year I started making a story pole with marks for every course above the sill. Now I lay the whole opening in half the time and my windows sit level without shims. Anyone else use a story pole for openings or do you stick with measuring?

2 comments

2 Comments

xena_murphy2d ago

Actually a story pole works way better if you mark the actual brick heights, not just the course lines. The mortar joints compress differently than you think they will, so your openings might still be a little off if you're just marking every 2 and 5/8 inches or whatever. What you want to do is lay out a few bricks on the ground with mortar, measure what they really come out to, then transfer that to your pole. I see a lot of guys skip that step and then wonder why their windows still need shims. You get the hang of it after a couple jobs though, right?

sean1192d ago

Nah, skip all that and just blame the framers.