non pro building sight level????

[CurlyDave]

Hello,
... Only being out 1/8" in 50 feet is to me the same as 3".......I want it to be right on the money. I'm also talking about construction, not grading work !!!!!

MFWD

I don't know what you are building, but 1/8" in 50' is very level.

What do you currently use to achieve better than that? What is the primary standard you use to measure it?

My laser detector is only repeatable to about +/- 1/4" based on field observation (not the published spec, but what I actually see during use), and a little bit of temperature difference in the arms of a water level will produce errors.

 

[jenkinsph]

Hello,
I had thought about buying a laser level at one time, but ones that were real accurate were very expensive. Most of the ones that didn't cost an arm and a leg gave you accuracy of something like +/- 1/4" at 100 feet. Well at 50 feet that is still not very accurate. Only being out 1/8" in 50 feet is to me the same as 3".......I want it to be right on the money. I'm also talking about construction, not grading work !!!!!

MFWD

Level is easy and cheap to get with a water hose in construction. Plumb is a little more difficult to obtain, years ago I used a transit for this but while good enough for me I am curious what you use? A lot of accuracy can be lost in the transfer and measurements from pencil to the finished product.

My Topcon laser is a slope laser that I would not find necessary for construction/building work, I would use a less costly unit for that. My grade work is checked by the feds and in real life by the water flowing across a field, the higher the accuracy I can obtain is important. Now meeting the fed spec's is easy enough but watching the water flow across the field is the true test, it quickly becomes evident whether you are close or no cigar. I need more improvement for sure but I am working on it.

 

[newbury]

A minor variation on the garden hose tubing I've used for the last 50 or so years is aquarium air line tubing, a gallon jug of water and food dye .
You can get 500 feet of tubing at Amazon for $40 and 10 "Y"'s for $5.

To me the advantage of airline tubing over garden hose is that the air line tubing is real easy to roll up and carry, tape to a stick, and with the food dye easy to see the level. I've only personally used it for 60 or so foot runs but it works on gravity.

The main disadvantage is that it does not work below freezing. You have to add alcohol to the water.

 

[paulharvey]

Unless we are building a rocket or computer chip, the thickness of a sharpie mark is "within tolerance". I know a lot of people hate the term good enough/close enough, but in the end, even high dollar surveys have several 0.01 ft error (roughly 1/8"). Nothing built by man is perfect, and "best is often the enemy of good".

 

[jenkinsph]

Unless we are building a rocket or computer chip, the thickness of a sharpie mark is "within tolerance". I know a lot of people hate the term good enough/close enough, but in the end, even high dollar surveys have several 0.01 ft error (roughly 1/8"). Nothing built by man is perfect, and "best is often the enemy of good".

While I agree with you on most things that roughly 1/8" is good enough I don't want you doing any cabinetry work for me.:laughing:

 

[paulharvey]

While I agree with you on most things that roughly 1/8" is good enough I don't want you doing any cabinetry work for me.:laughing:

Not a problem, you can keep it; but there is a reason the ends that butt to the walls have a rip strip to cut to match the wall. There is also a reason you shim the top level; to over come any imperfections in the cabinets. I'm not defending sloppy work, just stating most things are less perfect then you might care to admit.

Asphalt paving has some of the tightest tolerances off anything; 3/16" knot or low is OK; 1/4" knot or low area and your spending a couple thousand dollars fixing it. Many many miles of road has grade stakes every 50 ft along both sides, the pull a string and measure down (3 man job). Seems more and more technology involved everyday, but lots of roads still being finished this way.

 

[Baby Grand]

A minor variation on the garden hose tubing I've used for the last 50 or so years is aquarium air line tubing, a gallon jug of water and food dye .
You can get 500 feet of tubing at Amazon for $40 and 10 "Y"'s for $5.

To me the advantage of airline tubing over garden hose is that the air line tubing is real easy to roll up and carry, tape to a stick, and with the food dye easy to see the level. I've only personally used it for 60 or so foot runs but it works on gravity.

The main disadvantage is that it does not work below freezing. You have to add alcohol to the water.

Thanks for that tip - I have an upcoming drainage project and I think this would be much easier to use than the transit, especially with multiple tees. That way, I can have multiple gages reading at different locations at the same time. I'm going to get some 3/16" clear rigid tubing and a bundle of yardsticks to flesh out the gage set.

I was going to use garden hose, but as I added up the pieces it was starting to get expensive. The air tubing & fittings really brings the cost down to a level that's easy for me to justify.

 

[mikefromnh]

Water Level WL25 Electronic Water Level by Zircon

Accurate to within 1/16" at 100' for ~$30-50. One man operation and works around corners, in bright sun and out of line of site.

Every carpenter should have one.

 

[CalG]

Don't forget the dish soap!

A drop or two in the water breaks the surface tension and helps " level" the meniscus.

Also, Don't actually use the water level "actively". That is, lowering the hose adds volume, and both ends have the water level go down. Just string the water level to posts, and then measure from the observed water line. Chasing the tail is a fools mission. ;-)

 

[Baby Grand]

Water Level WL25 Electronic Water Level by Zircon

Accurate to within 1/16" at 100' for ~$30-50. One man operation and works around corners, in bright sun and out of line of site.

Every carpenter should have one.

View attachment 421230

Son of a gun! I have an ancient Zircon stud finder - must be from the late 70s or early 80s.
That thing saved my bacon more times than I care to admit.
More than paid for itself in one day of putting up book shelves in a plaster-lath walled tenement I rented in Bridgeport.
Figures they would make a water level - thanks for mentioning that!