Found a neat trick for aligning pipe runs with a laser level

Last week on a job in Tacoma, I was struggling to get a straight run of copper pipe across a ceiling for a new sprinkler system. I ended up mounting my laser level on a magnetic base clamped to a joist and used the line to mark all my hangers. Has anyone else found a way to make laser levels work better on tricky ceiling layouts?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jake6d ago

Oh man, I gotta disagree with you on that one. I think you're overcomplicating a simple job. A laser level clamped to a joist is fine for marking hangers, but you're still trusting the level to be perfectly square to the rest of the layout. I've seen too many guys end up with a crooked line because the floor joist was slightly tilted or the magnetic base wasn't 100% true. For copper pipe runs, I'd rather pull a chalk line across the ceiling. It's fast, cheap, and you can see the whole run at once without fiddling with batteries or dodging the laser beam when you step under it. Lasers are great for walls and floors, but in a ceiling with joists and obstructions, I think a simple string or chalk line is still the better tool.

kelly.dylan6d ago

Nah, a chalk line is just asking for sag and dust problems!