Laser level recommendation?

I have marked locations of recessed lights on the floor, and I would like to be able to mount the housing on the ceiling (sheetrock is down) at the same location. I have a laser level that does a line on the wall or floor, but no way to project a precise point from the floor to the ceiling.

Is there a laser gadget that would do that? I am about to hang over 40 housings and this would come in very handle. It would be even better if there is a way to do this without putting this right on the floor spot and project up, as I suspect some times the ladder or my body will be in the way.

Thanks,

MC

Reply to
MiamiCuse
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"MiamiCuse" wrote in news:m8SdnQw6zvLEqlHUnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@dsli.com:

Cheapo plumb-bob?

Once you have the ceiling spot, mark it and remove the plumb-bob.

Reply to
Red Green

I can't use plumb bob, sheetrock is down, the spot I will want to mark is hollow. Plus I used plumb bob before it's a bit of wait for it to stop swinging from side to side. With the amount of light I need to do I don't mind to buy something that would lessen the headache.

Reply to
MiamiCuse

You can normally mount the laser level on it's side to get a vertical plane instead of a horizontal one. A cheap Johnson branded level I got at Lowe's for like $50 does both the horizontal plane and a vertical spot at the same time.

Reply to
Pete C.

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$60-$80 retail.

Reply to
Mike Paulsen

A plumb bob works for me, cheap and no batteries needed.

Reply to
Phisherman

Gee, I wonder what construction workers did 30 years ago? Lightly touch the tip of the plumb bob ($5) on the floor to stop the swinging. Sure you can buy a $5,000 laser or a $50 one, but either does the job well.

Reply to
Phisherman

Some people are mathematically challenged.

Reply to
SteveB

Don't buy a Ryobi. I got one, and I can't get it to throw light on a horizontal plane, only vertical.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

*Do a search for a laser plumb bob. Here's one:
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Reply to
John Grabowski

Damn. Had the Egyptians known that trick, the Pyramids could have gone up much more quickly!

Reply to
HeyBub

ladder or my body will be in the

For your application, why not get a cheap laser pointer and make a mount, such as a block of wood with a hole drilled in it? Strap a post- level to it and you're good to go.

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re: "It would be even better if there is a way to do this without putting this right on the floor spot and project up"

Not sure how else you would mark your spot. Doesn't it have to point straight up from from the desired lighting point? I guess you could figure out some angular calculation...

Why not put the laser pointer on the floor, mark the spot on the underside of the exposed "floor" above the void and hang a short plumb- bob like device from that spot, just long enough to help you center the housing under it.

Maybe you make another laser pointer mount that could hang from the spot and point downward. Then you could center the fixture using the downward beam.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

My biggest complaint about many laser levels - especially Stanley - is the quality of the built in bubble-level.

Many of the ones I have seen have a bubble that is considerably shorter than the length between the lines. You have to eyeball/ guesstimate when the bubble in centered, which can have a major impact on how level the laser line is. For long distances - the supposed advantage of laser levels - any error is multiplied.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

borrow a prism

Reply to
beecrofter

I bought a Laser Systems PLS-5 on eBay and it has been a fabulous tool for setting studs, getting square corners, levelling headers,etc. They have a new model out now, that projects lines, but I think the PLS-5 is handier with the point beam up down and sideways. The company has top notch customer service if you have a disaster (60' onto concrete, for example) and need repair/replace in a hurry. Might be just what you need, but eBay sellers don't exactly give them away.

Joe

Reply to
Joe

There is NO CEILING as ceiling sheet rock is removed. All it is is a hollowed sloped attic. There is nothing to mark onto unless I start doing masking tapes across studs for the housings I need to put up which then I have to tear off. The laser is not for precision, the laser is for marking while I hang. And if it's only a couple of housings then it's no not a big deal but I have 42 housings to install that's why I am looking for an easier way. If I can save 5 minutes a housing that's 200 minutes that time alone is worth a couple of hundred dollars to me.

Reply to
MiamiCuse

Oh fer cryin' out loud. Get a frigging tape measure and lay the positions out on the ceiling too -- there's NO NEED to "project a precise point from the floor to the ceiling". You'll be lucky to get the cans installed with a precision of +/- 1/4", and you sure as heck don't need a laser for that.

Reply to
Doug Miller

I don't mean to be picky, but you did say:

"I have a laser level that does a line on the wall or floor, but no way to project a precise point from the floor < to the ceiling.>" so please excuse us if we don&#39;t picture your project perfectly. Yes, you said the drywall was off, but nothing about a hollowed sloped attic until now.

re: There is nothing to mark onto unless I start doing masking tapes across studs for the housings I need to put up which then I have to tear off.

I&#39;m sure you know they&#39;re not "studs"...

Anyway, in the grander scheme of everything else you are doing, is taking off a few pieces of masking tape really that much of a big deal? It&#39;s not like it&#39;s gonna stick to bottom of the joists very well anyway. Get a tall stick that you can rest on the marked floor and make sure it&#39;s plumb. Tape from joist to joist right above the stick and put an X on the tape.

Another option is a piece of 1 x 4 long enough to span several joists. If the light pattern is an evenly spaced grid (or even if it&#39;s not) you could use one board to span several joists and mark several locations on the board using either a laser pointer or the long vertical stick mentioned in the preceding paragraph. The board would even serve as a place to rest the housing and keep them flush with the bottoms of the joists, or extended below by using some spacers.

What&#39;s it going to take - a couple or three drywall screws to hold the board onto the studs while you mount the lights?

Reply to
DerbyDad03

If there&#39;s no ceiling, what do you propose to project your laser dot onto???

You&#39;re not going to save 5 seconds per housing, let alone 5 minutes.

If you&#39;re going to try to use a laser for this, you need to make sure it&#39;s

*absolutely* *dead* *level* -- and you need to readjust at every light, because you can&#39;t be sure that your floor is level, or out of level to the same extent in the same direction, at every point. Aligning the laser is going to take FAR more time than just laying this out with a tape measure and a pencil.

Why on earth do you think you need that degree of precision, anyway? You&#39;re installing ceiling lights, for heaven&#39;s sake, you&#39;re not making a watch.

Reply to
Doug Miller

I have this one.

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was quite a bit cheaper than the Spectra Physics. It only shoots a spot, not a line. Most good lasers are self leveling within some limit and turn off or make an audible sound if out of level.

Reply to
DanG

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