Could someone please explain to me the expression 'running wild'? I've heard it come up a few times in conversation and have meant to ask what it actually means.

Thanks,
Ben

sounds like my hair when it ran off with my hearing

It means installing something that is deliberately too long and then cutting it off later.

The best example is in building a deck. If you want to get a perfectly straight line along the edge of the deck then whenever you come to the end of each run of planks you let the plank hang over the side. This is running it wild. After all the decking is installed you can snap a line off the edge of the deck and cut off all the excess in a perfectly straight line.

Running wild not only gives you the means to make a perfectly straight edge but it's faster to install. Sometimes you need to make a rough-cut to just make sure that each plank doesn't hang off too far.

Thanks, Jaybee!