Laser Level V Spirit Level

[JedMc]

Hello all,

Had an interesting problem occur today, I'm sure some of you will have experienced it already.

I was struggling last week with lay out lines in the bathroom, I was using my Stanley 1200mm level which I've had for a few years, and granted it's been knocked a few times.
Now as a rule, I turn it end for end after marking ( it apparently offsets any deviation in the bubble? ) but no matter what I did, I couldn't get it to line up?

Yesterday, I bouight a good quality Laser Level ( Topcon LC2 ) I watched it being calibrated, so I know it's accurate, Today, I marked a line accross the wall 1700mm long with the spirit level, when I lined up the laser over it, I was gradually running out to about 3mm on the far right, with the Laser level at a distance of less than 2 metres

I then checked the bath level, and I'm a good 10mm low on the right, and so all my first row of tiles were wrong, and I've spent most of the afternoon trying to put it right, I've ended up having to cut the first row in, and had to re-calculate my lay out lines.
Looking at it again, the bubble is narrower than the vial lines, and not getting this spot on is where I went wrong, although, after testing a few mates, they said it was spot on level until I proved otherwise with the laser.

This is only my 3rd bathroom, I'm not a tiler ( Clearly ) and it's knocked me a bit, got really fed up with it, but I'm glad I had the laser, to show me my unforseen error.

Moral being..............Check your level, or get a laser

p.s I bought a nice new Stanley 1200mm spirit level for £19 at Costco this evening!

Cheers

Jed

[Dave]

Is your laser level a pendulum type..( self levelling)..?

[doug boardley]

I use both, having only recently got a laser level (6 months ago) I tend to do a double check with one or the other.

[JedMc]

Yes Dave, it's self levelling, had to many bad experiences with manual ones,

[Dave]

That's ok then....

[Sir Ramic]

Laser for setting out in the bigger rooms but level for marking lines on the walls

[whitebeam]

Laser level and still us standard stabila levels

[TilerJames]

Im laser level all the way. Always use it for putting battons round the room, makes life so much easier for when your fixing them onto the wall. Once fixed, i do just double check with the spirit level just to be sure, and it only takes a minute. It can even be handy for checking if the window is running off when your marking your first window cut.



Maybe the room you were in was to bright, when ever i put battons on, if the room was too bright it would slightly blur the beam a bit, but once the room is dim, the beam is nice and crisp on the batton.

[Scott]

I always check the level by turning it round the oppostie way. If its out then so is the level.

I use my laser on a plasterboard prop and set it up to each course of tiles as i go. Its much quicker at making sure its spot on and not running off. The vertical line is especially good for making sure the brickbond is inline on the vertical joints too

[Colour Republic]

I always check the level by turning it round the oppostie way. If its out then so is the level.

I use my laser on a plasterboard prop and set it up to each course of tiles as i go. Its much quicker at making sure its spot on and not running off. The vertical line is especially good for making sure the brickbond is inline on the vertical joints too

I agree

[Scott]

Thats the kiddy

Makes it so much easier

[nybor62]

laser level are a god send well worth the money

[JedMc]

If anyone's interested, I was down to the Dewalt DW087k and the PLS 180, after extensive internet searching, I started looking at Surveyors equiptment, instead of "Laser Level" and I got more hits, I tried "Yell" for local ones, and there was 1 local to me, I phoned them and asked for either of the above, which he didn't stock, as they only supply profesional survey equiptment.
He did however have multi line lasers by Topcon ( I had heard that PLS are made by them ? ) it's a Topcon LC2, and it's £104 they bought the remaining stock from Topcon hence the price.

When I got there I was greeted by a young guy named Luke, he knows his stuff, and talked me through all the functions, and then did a proper calibration check for me. In the end he did it for £100

In use it's fantastic, so easy to use

It has self leveling Vertical / Horizontal ( as you would expect ) it also has a plumb line facility, via a top and bottom laser dot, a double lock facility, one locks the laser line, so you can set it at your own angle ( floor tiling ? ) and an "Off Position" lock to prevent pendulum damage during transit, and an out of level "Beep" 3 laser modes Interior, exterior, and Pulse for use with a detector ( that's extra )
You get a carry case, a magnetic mount that swivels left to right ( but wont stick to a plasterers prop, as the magnets are horizontal, and can't get enough purchase, on the pole, I'm looking at that problem soon LOL ) and a swivel mount ( not sure what that does? ) a 90 degree angle ( no idea ) and finally your first set of batteries.

I can't comment on the Dewalt, or PLS, but I'm a bit of a "Tool Tart" and I like to get the best I can afford, and with more features than both the others, I was really pleased to get a product that's made direct by the manufacturer, and not re-badged by the big building names, and even better at half the price of the PLS which was my first choice.

I have no connections with the company, just a happy customer.

http://www.sealandsurveycentre.co.uk/

The actual product is on Ebay

TOPCON LC-2 CROSS LINE SELF LEVELLING LASER LEVEL KIT on eBay (end time 25-Feb-11 2141 GMT)