Advice on buying laser level

[frediaz]

There are so many types, prices and the specs really confuse me as I have never used one before.

This is what I want it for:
- I am building a 4 bed 2 storey house
- Internal use mostly or only
-To level floors, ceiling and patio/drive if bright enough
-To guide verticality of stud walls
-Any other fancy things it does without pushing up price
-Max reach 10 metres
-Price: not a B&Q cheapo level or professional needing a mortgage to repay
-I already have one that measures distances so I do not need that

The ones that rotate the beam look interesting

People who are using levels, I will appreciate advice on brands and models

 

[mother]

where do I start.

There are two types of laser;

Rotary- come as self level or auto level.
Box - come in various forms- self level, balance level, line & dot.

Most important thing with all is accuracy, not just when you buy it but 6 months after, and when it is out how easily can you have it calibrated.

Over 10m you have not got too much to worry about cos even if it is +/- 1mm oner 1m you will stilll only be 1cm out, which as I am told by my bricky is 'cock-on'!

with rotary, generally you need a detector, you can get away without them inside, but makes life a lot easier. They are really designed for larger areas inside or out. Get a good one of these with a plumb dot as well and you will be surprised all the jobs you will use it for, all the stuff inside that you are thionking of, plus all the stuff ouside-decking - fencing - patio - walls etc. But beware, you get what you pay for, have a couple of mates who went cheap and they are now in the skip.

Cheapest option is box laser. Go for a good self leveling (these work on a pendulum balance sytem). and they will accurately cover 10m easy. Choice between dot (go for 3 dot up) which will give you square & plumb for setting out & studd, or line (go for cross line) which will give you level line horizontal + verticle for everything from kitchen to sockets to studd & tile. Try and avoid the really cheap option of level with single dot on tripod seen in most DIY stores, good for not a lot.

A lot of the levels out there are sourced from other companies as it is quite a specialist thing to make, so a lot of even the pro brands all come from the same factory.

Let me know exactly what jobs you think you need it for and I will try to narrow it down even more, also give me a budget.

 

[^woody^]

If you are building a house, then avoid the cheap Chinese branded units sub £100 - they are not accurate enough.
A spirit level with laser built in are not that accurate either

Get a rotary with detector and staff to do the levelling. And I would suggest a self-levelling one will be easier for you. Look to pay about £200 - 400 for a set up. It is nothing in the cost of the house build, and you can sell it for at least 50% of the price when you are done

Use a long level for plumbing studs - trying to use a laser square or plumb for this is a waste of time and a bit gimmicky for a one off house.

For a rotary laser, your max reach is not 10m - I assume that it the length of one of your walls. You want to measure accuracy over a 20 or 30 radius so that you can set out from one point

Google for " survey supplies / equipment " or " rotary laser " for the brands

 

[frediaz]

Thanks for the feed-back. Here is more detailed info of what I want to do:

Inside: the floor joists, concrete walls and roof trusses are bare, so I need to check that, when I put the plasterboard, floor chipboard and other coverings they are not going to end up with bumps or not level.

Still inside, I need guides to erect vertical and straight stud walls, and again ensure that the plasterboard on them is going to be nice and flat.

I do not know if it will help when installing the windows, getting them dead parallel to the wall.

Outside: laying the drive with block paving. I need to maintain a flat surface but at an angle. Then there is a local change of angle to make it level with the front door (wheel chair access)
Rear patio: laying a circle and paving around it

How do the rotary ones work, do they project the beam around like a lighthouse?

 

[Thermo]

you wont need one for the patio or block paving, just a decent 6ft level

 

[^woody^]

You should save your money

You don't check joists and trusses with a laser level for bumps - use either a straight edge or a spirit level. In any case the plasterer gets the bumps out or puts them in.

Spirit level and line (or chalk line) for your partitions

Windows should fit in their openings, you would not need a laser of any description.

For driveways and patios, use a line to get your fall from the high to the low points. You will be faffing around with a laser and rise and fall tables/calculations.

 

[mother]

Or of course buy a laser with a +/-5 degree setting.

No getting around the fact most jobs are a mixture of old & new, I would not be without my old fashioned levels, but I swear by a rotary laser level & no matter what anyone says it makes most jobs quicker, but it does come down to how much and what you do as to whether it will pay for itself.

With a multi dot laser there is no quicker way of setting square (ill beat anyone with their 3, 4 5's) and fixing top & bottom batton.

With a rotary laser there is no quicker way of checking ground level over any sort of area bigger than 10 foot square

But if you are only doing a job once, it will be an expensive paper weight afterwards!!!

 

[mointainwalker]

Hey Tommy.

Spamming becomes particularly obvious when you drag up four differents posts which are up to four years old in order to push your gear.

 

[merlin50]

Hey Tommy, we do not like you go away.