How to tie down materials for the drive home from the store

Here’s a quick trade trick I use to avoid one of the common DIY fails I see when others are trying to tie-down materials in a home center parking lot, and they end up mangling materials while trying to transport drywall and other bulky items between home center and home.

I won’t lie. I have to devote actual energy to biting my tongue in the home center parking lot while doing my work. It’s a petri dish of ‘WTF’ sometimes.

One of my most blood boiling DIY fails—homeowners parking their cars under the 17 giant CONTRACTOR PARKING signs to run in and buy light bulbs, dude…Anyway…The other thing is watching people, pro and DIY alike, destroy their stuff before they get home.

So next time you’ve got a load of drywall ready to wrap up—or MDF or a screen door or something else your rope or ratchet straps might crush or deform—think of this trade trick.

What’s the tie down trade trick?

A little cardboard goes a long way. So do these knots you’d be better off knowing. The spider web of twine might work once or twice, but it, in itself is about 10 DIY fails in one.

Track down a box or some packing material. Cut or rip a few strips and fold it in half. Fold the strips down the middle (6 inches wide works) and use them as bumpers for the corners of the load—the place where the rope is most likely to cut into the softer material. Then use a trucker’s hitch and bowline knots to tie the materials to the vehicle with a rope.

Here are the most useful and popular knots for DIYers.

Is this hack perfect? No. Without the cardboard, however, the line I used would have sliced right through this drywall. Flipping the top piece upside down protects the show side.

Conversely, pay for cumbersome material delivery when you can. It’s well worth it. It doesn’t always work out that way, but think ahead and think delivery.

What’s your trick to tie down DIY materials or transport drywall and other bulky materials from the home improvement store to your home? Share in the comments below.

Mark

A licensed contractor, tool expert, wood and outdoor enthusiast, and elite Spartan Race competitor, he writes about home improvement and tools for national magazines and websites, and teaches hands-on clinics for other remodeling professionals. Check out his book, The Carpenter's Notebook.

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