Level line trick I ignored for years finally proved its worth

Honestly, I always thought the water level was old school nonsense. I used a laser level on every job and figured that was enough. Then last Tuesday we had a retaining wall project in Ames where the sun glare made the laser completely useless by noon. I dug out my granddad's old water level from the truck and set it up on two stakes. It took maybe 10 minutes to get the reference marks sorted, but the readings were dead consistent across 40 feet. Not a single bubble off. I finished that wall and checked everything with a string line the next morning, it matched perfectly. Now I carry that water level as backup on every big job. Has anyone else had a laser fail on a bright day and had to fall back on something older and dumber looking?

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1 Comment

the_hugo1mo ago

Ha, that's wild! So the laser was totally useless but the old water level just sat there doing its thing?