Saw a young guy using a laser level on a sidewalk pour and it hit me

I was on a small commercial job last week in Wichita, helping a buddy with a concrete parking stop pour. This kid, maybe 22, shows up with a rotary laser level and sets it up like it's nothing. Tbh, I learned how to do grade on my knees with a water level and a string line, took me 3 years to get consistent. He had that thing dialed in 5 minutes, and the finish came out dead flat. Ngl, it made me think about how much time I wasted early on fighting with bubble levels and wet strings. But then I watched him try to troubleshoot a low spot by eye and he was lost, couldn't read the surface at all. I guess every generation has tools that make things easier, but you still gotta know the basics behind them. Has anyone else noticed young guys leaning too hard on lasers and not learning how to read a straightedge?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim_martin1h agoTop Commenter

Gotta push back a bit here @patp79, the kid knowing how to set up a laser in 5 minutes saves time and money on every pour, and you can learn to read a straightedge on a lunch break if you have to. The old way of doing things taught patience, sure, but it also wasted a lot of guys' backs and eyeballs on string line that sagged or got kicked. If a battery dies, he'll figure it out fast enough, but acting like lasers are a crutch ignores that they let young guys focus on the finish instead of fighting the setup.

patp794h ago

...that reminds me of when my uncle tried to teach me to set grade with a garden hose full of water back in the 90s, we spent two hours getting it level only to step on the hose and lose it all... that kid with a laser probably never had to swear at a wet string in the wind. but you're right, when the battery dies on that thing he's gonna be staring at the slab like it's a puzzle he never learned to solve. I saw a guy once try to use a laser to check a sidewalk for birdbaths and he just couldn't figure out why it wasn't showing him the low spots.