
Laser levels are an incredibly handy piece of kit for your toolbox if you need to regularly build or erect structures or surfaces which need to be straight. While heavily used in construction and survey work, they’re also becoming increasingly popular for DIY home renovations.
From putting up shelves, picture frames and kitchen cabinets to building concrete bases, drainage areas, and deck posts, ensuring a straight and solid surface means a stable, safe structure.
But to guarantee the resulting line is straight, you need to be using your laser level correctly. And, you need to be using the correct type of laser level for the job.
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What is a laser level?
A laser level emits a laser, or beam of light, which acts as a fixed line or dot along a horizontal and/or vertical axes. This line can be followed to ensure straight or even construction of structures.
Indoor tasks for a laser level include hanging pictures, fitting shelving, installing cabinets or other wall structures, fitting dado or picture rails, fitting panelling, or aligning tiles on walls or floors.
Outdoor, they can help to lay foundations such as shed bases or concrete supports. They can also help with ensuring surfaces are flat, installing and aligning fences along boundary walls, or checking drainage (such as guttering or drainage holes) are at the right angle.
Types of laser level
- Rotary: spins the laser for a 360 degree horizontal or vertical plane. Good for large scale outdoor projects.
- Cross line: projects a laser 180 degrees vertically, horizontally, or both. Good for indoor projects such as hanging shelving and installing cabinets.
- Self-levelling: automatically finds and maintains a level. The range can be specified. High accuracy and great for plumbing tasks.
How to use a laser level
Laser levels are a simple piece of kit to use, but to ensure their accuracy, they need to be used correctly.
1. Mount on a tripod
Laser levels can be placed on any flat surface, but a tripod will ensure stability as it contains a built-in levelling bubble. The height of the legs and position will be adjustable, so this is perfect for uneven surfaces such as old flooring.
2. Calibrate
Turn the laser level on. Ensure the batteries are charged. There will be bubble vials on the laser level, so for manual laser levels, adjust the thumbscrews to level it so the bubble is in the centre. Self-levelling lasers will just need to sit for a while to calibrate, so leave them be until ready.
3. Project the beam
Identify your chosen surface. This may be a wall, floor, or complete room area. Project the beam, which may be a dotted or solid line. Others offer a combination of lines if you need to differentiate between areas.
FAQs
Do I need a red or green laser line?
Green or red lasers – what is the difference, and which is best?
The main difference is their uses. Red lights are the norm and the original option. They’re pretty universal, and the colour is great for indoor or low light areas.
They’re not great in light, however, such as bright outdoors. This makes them difficult to use on ground work in the summer months, for example. So, green is often the choice for this kind of work.
But there are other things to consider, too. Red is more widely available and available at different price brackets, so it is often more budget-friendly. They also consume less power.
Green lasers are up to 50 times brighter than red, making them ideal for bright environments or large outdoor area work. This does require more power, shortening the battery life. They tend to be more expensive too, but this is relative to their power.
If cost is an issue, laser levels are available to hire from Speedy Hire on a job-by-job basis.
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Hiring the tools you need means getting quality equipment at a low cost. Open a Speedy account online or on the app for all your tool hire needs.
Speedy has more than 200 local service centres nationwide and 4-hour delivery to a site of your choice.
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