Laser Levels: What Are They Used For?

Laser Levels: What Are They Used For?

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Building a new home, renovating an old one, or engaging in any sort of construction project? One of the things that you will definitely need is a laser level. Of course, there are many different kinds of levels out there, but laser levels are some of the most common and versatile, particularly when it comes to a wide variety of applications.

What we’re here to do today is to talk about these handy measuring tools, particularly what they are and what they’re used for.

What is a Laser Level?

Laser Level A laser level is a special electronic tool designed to determine how plumb or level a specific surface is. As you can probably tell by the name of it, a laser level uses special diodes to shoot a laser beam across very far distances. Now, depending on the application at hand, this laser beam may be red or green, which color you go with depends on what your needs are.

The clear advantage with a laser level is of course that the laser is perfectly straight no matter what. The accuracy that you get from the laser level is unrivaled, particularly when compared to something like a normal spirit or bubble level. Keep in mind that laser levels shoot out lasers both vertically and horizontally. To be specific, some are only horizontal, some only vertical, and some can do both.

The bottom line is that if you need to plumb walls or level floors across either a vertical or horizontal axis, then this is the tool to use. Something else that we need to be aware of is that there are four main kinds of laser levels. The four main types of laser levels include line laser levels, dot laser levels, rotary laser levels, and combination laser levels.

5 Most Common Laser Level Uses

Now that you know exactly what the laser level is and what it is capable of, let’s talk about the various applications that this tool can be used for.

1. Aligning and Plumbing Walls

Perhaps the most common indoor application of laser levels is for the installation, aligning, and plumbing of walls. For those of you who don’t know, plumbing walls simply means checking to see if they are level on the vertical axis. When something is level on the vertical axis, it is known as being plumb.

Of course, having straight walls is extremely important. For one, if you have crooked walls in your home, it’s just not going to look very nice. Second, If you have crooked walls, installing shelves, cabinets, and other fixtures on them is going to be extremely difficult.

There is also the fact that installing ceilings, roots, second floors and anything else is going to be very difficult if the walls are not straight. Finally, crooked walls completed structural integrity issues, which is of course very bad for the longevity of your home.

2. Leveling Floors

Perhaps the second most common application that laser levels are used for is to level floors. Obviously, you want your floors to be level, or else anything with wheels such as office chairs is going to roll all over the place, not to mention the fact that all of your furniture is going to end up looking crooked too.

Yes, of course, having straight and level floors is also extremely important to the structural integrity of your home because you cannot possibly expect the walls to be straight if the floors are not. At the very least, having uneven floors is a massive inconvenience. Everybody who installs and works with flooring needs to have one of these tools.

3. Installing Drop Ceilings

Speaking of renovations and building new homes, another thing that laser levels are often used for is the installation of drop ceilings. If you don’t know what these are, drop ceilings are like secondary ceilings that sit just below the main ceiling. For instance, you could install a drywall drop-in ceiling right under an actual wooden or concrete ceiling.

Obviously, just like with your floors and walls, you want the drop ceiling to be even and flat. No, an uneven drop ceiling won’t necessarily affect the structural integrity of your home, but it certainly won’t look nice either. Every time you look up at the ceiling, it’s going to feel like your house is crooked.

4. Aligning Doors and Windows

Yes, here we are still talking about building houses and apartment buildings. The fact of the matter is that you obviously want your windows to all to be on the same level. If you have one window that is two feet above the ground and another one that is four feet above the ground, it’s going to look super weird.

In fact, a differential of just a couple inches between one window and another can look very odd. As you can see, when it comes to building a house, a laser level has an important role to play in virtually every step along the way. Making sure that doors and windows are aligned also plays an important role in the overall structural integrity of your home.

5. Shelf and Cabinet Installation and Alignment

Yet another application that laser levels are commonly used for is the installation and alignment of dressers, drawers, shelves, cabinets, and other such things. Just like with everything else in your home, obviously, you want your cabinets and shelves to be straight.

If your cabinets and shelves aren’t straight, your dishware isn’t going to sit well inside of them. Moreover, you obviously want all of your cabinets and shelves to be aligned both in terms of vertical and horizontal placement. In other words, your kitchen is going to look super weird if all of your shelves are sitting at different heights.

Other Laser Level Uses

The applications that we have listed above are definitely the most common ones, particularly when it comes to indoor uses, but with that being said, there are many more applications that a laser level can be used for:

  • Grading
  • Installing chair rails
  • Installing wainscotting
  • Aligning fence posts
  • Leveling and aligning fences
  • Leveling decks and patios
  • Land surveying
  • Masonry alignment
  • Site layout
  • Irrigation and drainage
  • Contour farming

Summary

As you can see, laser levels are very versatile tools that can be used for a wide variety of applications. If you’re anybody who builds anything at all, whether indoors or outdoors, chances are that you will require a later level sooner rather than later.

Before getting one, you might also want to consider how they differ from spirit levels.