Just realized my laser level was off by a quarter inch on a 40-foot run

I was setting up some interior walls for a basement remodel in an old building downtown and couldn't figure out why nothing was lining up. Took me about 45 minutes of rechecking measurements before I noticed the laser was slightly out of calibration from getting bumped off a ladder last week. Has anyone else had a tool go wonky on them like that and how did you catch it?

2 comments

2 Comments

phoenix_adams603d ago

...and that quarter inch on a 40 foot run is a killer if you don't catch it early enough. I've had a Bosch laser get knocked off a truck tailgate and it threw everything off by almost half an inch over 30 feet. Took me longer than I want to admit before I thought to check it against a known reference, like a level line I'd snapped on a different wall. What I do now is before any big layout I'll set the laser up and track it across the longest wall two or three times, comparing it to a plumb bob or a 4 foot level I know is still square. That 45 minutes you spent rechecking? I've been there more than once, and it's a good reminder to just grab a basic manual level and verify the laser line every couple of hours, especially if you've been moving ladders and tool bags around.

rosep873d ago

Have you tried just sticking a cheap torpedo level right on the laser body to double check it before you start? I started doing that after my old line laser fell off a sawhorse and now I just spend 30 seconds verifying before anything big.