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Picked a laser level over my old bubble stick for a 40 ft retaining wall and I feel weird about it
So I do small hardscape jobs around Tucson and for years I've set every wall with a plain 4 ft bubble level and a string line. Last month I had a 40 ft retaining wall behind a house in Oro Valley with a pretty good slope, and the homeowner kept asking if it would be dead straight. I went back and forth on it for a couple days, then dropped $320 on a rotary laser and receiver. First day it felt like cheating, I just walked the trench and the receiver told me where to dig. Second day I noticed I was faster, like done by lunch instead of 4pm. But here's the thing, the string line taught me to feel the grade in my hands, and the laser just beeps at me. Two courses up I caught a low spot the laser missed because the receiver was set too coarse. Has anyone else had this where the tool does most of the thinking and you start losing the feel for it? Curious if you keep both on the truck or just trust the laser now.
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wyatt_lee13d ago
The laser only tells you what you already told it, so if you set the receiver coarse or hold the rod crooked it will cheerfully lie to you all day. That low spot you caught is proof your hands still knew the grade better than the machine did, which means the skill didn't go anywhere, it just went quiet. Keep the bubble stick on the truck for the last two courses and the laser for the dirt, they're solving different problems.
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