Was dead set against using a string line for curves until I saw a guy nail a circular patio in Tulsa last month.

He laid out this perfect curving wall just by eyeballing the string placement and adjusting as he went, made me realize I was overcomplicating things by trying to measure every single brick angle, has anyone else found a trick for making string lines work on tight radiuses without it looking lumpy?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_dylan15d ago

Hard disagree on this one. String lines for tight curves always end up looking like a drunk snake no matter how much you fiddle with them, you're just trading one set of problems for another. If you really want a clean radius, nothing beats a good trammel setup or a pre-made template to keep that curve consistent every couple feet.

piper91215d ago

Last time I tried a string line for a tight curve I ended up with something that looked less like a radius and more like a toddler's scribble honestly. I swear I spent an hour adjusting it and it still had this weird wobble every three feet like it was drunk. My buddy walked by and asked if I was trying to lay out a roller coaster track. So yeah you're absolutely right that a trammel or a template is way more reliable for clean work. I learned that the hard way and now I just cut a template out of 1/4 plywood to keep my curves consistent.

josephl6715d ago

Hold on, I gotta push back a little here. The trick isn't in the string itself, it's in how you anchor it. In my experience, most people just stake it at the start and end and hope for the best. What worked for me was setting temporary stakes every couple feet along the intended curve, then running the string against those. You can eyeball and adjust each stake until the string looks smooth from a few angles. Your mileage may vary, but I got a perfect 4-foot radius for a fire pit ring that way. The wobble people complain about usually comes from having too much slack or not enough anchor points.