Do I need to buy a laser...
Discussion
...measuring device?
Chaps - after a year of house renovation works, its time to turn my mind to my front garden/driveway. I am planning on doing this myself. I have laid patios and paths before so I am satisfied that whilst I will be slow, it will get done to a decent standard.
Plan is a combination of granite setts and gravel for the drive, and landscape the rest of the garden. Front of the house is on a bit of a slope so I will use sleepers to build up the levels for the non parking bit. Setts will be a couple of areas in front of the house and at the top of the drive totalling about 25 sq metres.
When I laid the patio at my old house, I levelled it (factoring in a slope for rain run off) using wooden stakes and a spirt level. It worked well but took ages. Is there some kind of cheap and cheerful measuring device that will speed things up using a measuring device? I will have other jobs over the next couple of years, patio, some decking, a couple of paths etc, fencing so it will get some use.
It obviously does not need to be accurate to .00001 of a mm, just something to help get the sub base and then the finishing level to a pretty decent degree of accuracy.
Front garden is around 12m x 10m so not massive. I have a starting level, being the level of the garage entrance, to measure from.
Am I barking up the wrong tree? Will this make my life easier with stuff like making sure I have dug out the area for the drive to the right depth for an equal layer of sub base etc?
Something like this?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amazon-Basics-Horizontal-...
Chaps - after a year of house renovation works, its time to turn my mind to my front garden/driveway. I am planning on doing this myself. I have laid patios and paths before so I am satisfied that whilst I will be slow, it will get done to a decent standard.
Plan is a combination of granite setts and gravel for the drive, and landscape the rest of the garden. Front of the house is on a bit of a slope so I will use sleepers to build up the levels for the non parking bit. Setts will be a couple of areas in front of the house and at the top of the drive totalling about 25 sq metres.
When I laid the patio at my old house, I levelled it (factoring in a slope for rain run off) using wooden stakes and a spirt level. It worked well but took ages. Is there some kind of cheap and cheerful measuring device that will speed things up using a measuring device? I will have other jobs over the next couple of years, patio, some decking, a couple of paths etc, fencing so it will get some use.
It obviously does not need to be accurate to .00001 of a mm, just something to help get the sub base and then the finishing level to a pretty decent degree of accuracy.
Front garden is around 12m x 10m so not massive. I have a starting level, being the level of the garage entrance, to measure from.
Am I barking up the wrong tree? Will this make my life easier with stuff like making sure I have dug out the area for the drive to the right depth for an equal layer of sub base etc?
Something like this?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Amazon-Basics-Horizontal-...
In short, yes. I used one of these to set out a 40m x 10m driveway and it was very accurate. Go for something like this. It has been very handy over the years. A few current project it is helping with and if you take the time to set it up well you can be within a few mm over 20m or so.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225371812979?mkcid=16&a...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/225371812979?mkcid=16&a...
soprano said:
I tried using something similar to that, both with and without a detector, and they’re really hard to use at any distance in daylight. You might get away with it over 10m though. They’re great for indoor work, especially if you get one with a plumb line built in. Better for outdoor is a rotary laser with staff and detector (along the lines of https://amzn.eu/d/2T6QoUX , various cheaper clones available!). You set the rotary laser up at a point and the staff/detector combination makes it easy to take measurements relative to your reference point. 100+m is dead easy with one of those.
No.
What you need is a plan, a coherent scheme for getting it right, which is mostly in your head, not buying some toys.
the toys can help you to do it quicker, or maybe more accurately, but the basic 'get it right' is about planning and knowing what you are doing.
A hosepipe full of water will check relative levels, a long spirit level is good for short range levelling.
I've got lasers, I use them, but they are just a tool in the box.
Check, cross check, understand 'errors' in your measurements.
Understand how errors accumulate or cancel.
Whatever tool you use, whether it's a laser or a water level or a theodolite, understand what it is telling you.
What you need is a plan, a coherent scheme for getting it right, which is mostly in your head, not buying some toys.
the toys can help you to do it quicker, or maybe more accurately, but the basic 'get it right' is about planning and knowing what you are doing.
A hosepipe full of water will check relative levels, a long spirit level is good for short range levelling.
I've got lasers, I use them, but they are just a tool in the box.
Check, cross check, understand 'errors' in your measurements.
Understand how errors accumulate or cancel.
Whatever tool you use, whether it's a laser or a water level or a theodolite, understand what it is telling you.
LooneyTunes said:
I tried using something similar to that, both with and without a detector, and they’re really hard to use at any distance in daylight. You might get away with it over 10m though. They’re great for indoor work, especially if you get one with a plumb line built in.
Better for outdoor is a rotary laser with staff and detector (along the lines of https://amzn.eu/d/2T6QoUX , various cheaper clones available!). You set the rotary laser up at a point and the staff/detector combination makes it easy to take measurements relative to your reference point. 100+m is dead easy with one of those.
The one I posted above is a red dot laser, easily visible at distances. I use a spirit level as a staff for it, much cheaper solution to the rotaries but not a better solution.Better for outdoor is a rotary laser with staff and detector (along the lines of https://amzn.eu/d/2T6QoUX , various cheaper clones available!). You set the rotary laser up at a point and the staff/detector combination makes it easy to take measurements relative to your reference point. 100+m is dead easy with one of those.
Thebaggers said:
The one I posted above is a red dot laser, easily visible at distances. I use a spirit level as a staff for it, much cheaper solution to the rotaries but not a better solution.
For some jobs I could see that being fine, but the advantage of a rotary is that it generates a plane of laser light, instead of a line, so you don’t need to sight it in and can take readings over an area. Add in a detector and it becomes really quick to use. All depends on how much the OP wants to spend, as OITS is right that a long spirt level etc is fine for some jobs/and or the one the OP linked to might work, especially if he sets out/checks at dawn/dusk to improve visibility of the line.
LooneyTunes said:
Thebaggers said:
The one I posted above is a red dot laser, easily visible at distances. I use a spirit level as a staff for it, much cheaper solution to the rotaries but not a better solution.
For some jobs I could see that being fine, but the advantage of a rotary is that it generates a plane of laser light, instead of a line, so you don’t need to sight it in and can take readings over an area. Add in a detector and it becomes really quick to use. All depends on how much the OP wants to spend, as OITS is right that a long spirt level etc is fine for some jobs/and or the one the OP linked to might work, especially if he sets out/checks at dawn/dusk to improve visibility of the line.
Another tool to consider especially if scratching chin and budgeting is a laser measure with inbuilt digital level as it's umpteen tools in one.
I have a budget laser level which projects various grids - it's very useful. I have a detector which lets you use it in bright sunlight, but the last time I used it outside for setting out, I just waited to do the setting out until dusk. I also have a laser measure which is fantastically useful, but does a different job.
Baldchap said:
Ask yourself this: If 10 year old you were to answer the question 'Do I need to buy a laser', what would the answer be?
It's the same answer today, just with some nonsense mixed in.
Absolutely this. Can I also introduce you to this thread, and suggest you consider remortgaging before you start on page 1 https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=17...It's the same answer today, just with some nonsense mixed in.
Thanks for all the help and advice chaps - I hate it when these threads go cold, so as an update, I bought a 16 line laser level from DECTEAM, on Amazon.
Turned up yesterday, and chuffed with it - exactly what I was looking for for my current job and bound to get loads of use in the future as well.
Turned up yesterday, and chuffed with it - exactly what I was looking for for my current job and bound to get loads of use in the future as well.
Pit Pony said:
Baldchap said:
Ask yourself this: If 10 year old you were to answer the question 'Do I need to buy a laser', what would the answer be?
It's the same answer today, just with some nonsense mixed in.
So no. It's the same answer today, just with some nonsense mixed in.
Unless of course ten year old you ALREADY had a laser?!!
Obviously everyone needs a laser. Silly question really.
But for finding a level in a garden, use a hose. Unlike lasers, you can use a hose to establish a level either side of a big hump or around the corner of a building because hoses are bendy. They're also useful for laying out curves on the ground.
But for finding a level in a garden, use a hose. Unlike lasers, you can use a hose to establish a level either side of a big hump or around the corner of a building because hoses are bendy. They're also useful for laying out curves on the ground.
Baldchap said:
Ask yourself this: If 10 year old you were to answer the question 'Do I need to buy a laser', what would the answer be?
It's the same answer today, just with some nonsense mixed in.
It's the same answer today, just with some nonsense mixed in.
Yeah that's about the gist of it.
Who's got the most lasers to his name? I've got 4, a 360 leicia, a 3x360 green, a lazer measure and a 120M laser measure.
Laser pens don't count.
ATG said:
Obviously everyone needs a laser. Silly question really.
But for finding a level in a garden, use a hose. Unlike lasers, you can use a hose to establish a level either side of a big hump or around the corner of a building because hoses are bendy. They're also useful for laying out curves on the ground.
A clear hose. A.K.A. a water level.But for finding a level in a garden, use a hose. Unlike lasers, you can use a hose to establish a level either side of a big hump or around the corner of a building because hoses are bendy. They're also useful for laying out curves on the ground.
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