Laser leveling devices for building house foundations

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Greendrake

86 posts

Master Geek

#223721 14-Oct-2017 16:22

I am up to building timber pile foundations for a tiny house. This involves the following tasks where some sort of laser leveling device would be very useful I guess:

Level the site. A digger/bulldozer will need to make the site perfectly flat before drilling holes for the piles;
Ensure the piles are perfectly vertical before the concrete hardens;
Ensure the piles' tops are at the same level; this might be difficult to guarantee in the first place so I would be happy to cut the tops where necessary once the concrete is hard.

What sort of laser leveling device type would be best recommended here? Will something like this suffice:?

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8953 posts

Uber Geek

#1883437 14-Oct-2017 16:43

How many piles?

You could just use/make a water level - that should get it within the margin of error of the saw when trimming them to height.

blakamin

4431 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1883439 14-Oct-2017 16:47

Any reason you want to buy and not rent one?

Greendrake

86 posts

Master Geek

#1883441 14-Oct-2017 16:48

It's a 20ft shipping container home. Four piles in the corners and another four in the middle. 8 in total.

josephhinvest

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#1883442 14-Oct-2017 16:48

RunningMan:
How many piles?

You could just use/make a water level - that should get it within the margin of error of the saw when trimming them to height.

Love the idea of a water level. Few 10s of $ of clear tubing and it’s a foolproof method. Nice and simple and cheap.

blackjack17

1705 posts

Uber Geek

#1883443 14-Oct-2017 16:51

You don't need to do 2 at all. Near enough is good enough you will have to trim them to level anyway, just make sure there aren't any too short.

A string line and spirit level is fine for most jobs, however lasers are cool.

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RunningMan

8953 posts

Uber Geek

#1883491 14-Oct-2017 17:43

Wouldn't bother with a fancy laser level for such a small job. Grab a few metres of clear plastic tube from Para Rubber or a hardware shop, a bucket of water, and maybe a stick to tape the end of the tube to. Works around obstructions that a laser won't too!

EDIT: if you're trimming to height, it's often recommended to treat the cut end of the pile - Metal X or something similar.

scuwp

3885 posts

Uber Geek

#1883530 14-Oct-2017 18:40

Just hire one.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

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cadman

1014 posts

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Inactive user

#1883538 14-Oct-2017 18:57

As above - just use a water level.

Greendrake:

Level the site. A digger/bulldozer will need to make the site perfectly flat before drilling holes for the piles

Not sure why you think this is necessary. You really want fall under the dwelling toward the outside for surface drainage.

sparkz25

750 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1883554 14-Oct-2017 19:38

hire a dumpy level and the measuring pole with tripod, that would be the easiest and quickest, or hit up a builder and offer him a box for a quick measure up

Greendrake

86 posts

Master Geek

#1883559 14-Oct-2017 19:54

blakamin:

Any reason you want to buy and not rent one?

scuwp:

Just hire one.

Haha, the question was not whether to buy or hire but what to buy/hire I agree though that hiring is the most sensible thing to do here.

RunningMan:

You could just use/make a water level - that should get it within the margin of error of the saw when trimming them to height.

...

if you're trimming to height, it's often recommended to treat the cut end of the pile - Metal X or something similar.

blackjack17:

A string line and spirit level is fine for most jobs, however lasers are cool.

sparkz25:

hire a dumpy level and the measuring pole with tripod, that would be the easiest and quickest

Brilliant! Thanks guys!

cadman:

You really want fall under the dwelling toward the outside for surface drainage.

Yeah, I'll probably skip step 1.

cadman

1014 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1883562 14-Oct-2017 19:59

sparkz25:

hire a dumpy level and the measuring pole with tripod, that would be the easiest and quickest, or hit up a builder and offer him a box for a quick measure up

Contributing to the delinquency of builders... tut tut...

eracode

Smpl Mnmlst
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#1883695 15-Oct-2017 04:47

RunningMan:
Wouldn't bother with a fancy laser level for such a small job. Grab a few metres of clear plastic tube from Para Rubber or a hardware shop, a bucket of water, and maybe a stick to tape the end of the tube to. Works around obstructions that a laser won't too!

EDIT: if you're trimming to height, it's often recommended to treat the cut end of the pile - Metal X or something similar.

You don’t even need to buy a full length of the polythene tubing. Just buy 1/2 metre of tube that has outside diameter the same as the inside diameter of your garden hose. Take the tap fittings off your hose, cut the poly tubing in half and jam each half into each end of the garden hose. Fill with water and the job’s a good ‘un.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Aredwood

3885 posts

Uber Geek

#1883828 15-Oct-2017 16:54

Don't just use the garden hose with clear end sections. If there are air pockets in the hose, the water levels at each end will be different.

If the entire hose is clear. It is easy to see if there are any air pockets and remove them. Far harder to check and verify when just using a garden hose.

eracode

Smpl Mnmlst
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#1883840 15-Oct-2017 17:09

eracode:
RunningMan:

Wouldn't bother with a fancy laser level for such a small job. Grab a few metres of clear plastic tube from Para Rubber or a hardware shop, a bucket of water, and maybe a stick to tape the end of the tube to. Works around obstructions that a laser won't too!

EDIT: if you're trimming to height, it's often recommended to treat the cut end of the pile - Metal X or something similar.

You don’t even need to buy a full length of the polythene tubing. Just buy 1/2 metre of tube that has outside diameter the same as the inside diameter of your garden hose. Take the tap fittings off your hose, cut the poly tubing in half and jam each half into each end of the garden hose. Fill with water and the job’s a good ‘un.

Yep - when posting this, I did mean to say 'make sure there is no air in the hose'. You can check that all is OK before you start levelling by holding the two ends together side by side and checking that the water levels are the same.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

blackjack17

1705 posts

Uber Geek

#1883844 15-Oct-2017 17:31

I am not quite sure why you would muck around with trying to use a water level when you could just use a spirit level. A tool that you will already have

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