It's been decided that I should lay flooring chipboard over floorboards to level the floor in a room about 7m x 3.5m. I've a 6 foot spirit level and have used water levels outdoors in the past but am hoping a cheap laser level would make the job quicker/easier - and by cheap I mean something like the £50 Bosch Quigo. Any recommendations please? (I've read the Wiki's rather negative comment but am hoping things may have moved on to save my knees a bit.)
I have a Staley self levelling for 90 quid from ebay - I have used it for everything:
1) Surveying floors as you are, using a scaled probe stick (homemade) - you can measure to just about +/-1mm with care (the laser line is quite thick but to do get used to juging the centre). 2) Tiling walls - nice as you just work to the line every 2-3 rows avoiding cumulative error 3) Setting out sockets and lightswitches4) Handy straight line for laying lights out on ceiling
5) Setting door frames6) Framework for stud wall.
All of these could be done without, but when you have one to hand, it is amazing how much easier it makes lots of jobs.
Presumably the rotating type? Can you lock the self leveling and retain the rotation? The real world is rarerly truely level so you want things to look right rather than be "right".
I have a cheap level on a tripod with laser stuffed in one end and yes it is very handy. Verticals for wall paper on walls that bow out/in several inches top to bottom making the use of a plumb bob tricky. "Horizontal" around a room for a border that must match against a (non-level) window cill.
Hi David,
Not rotating - pendulum levelling.
But you do have a "non level" mode where you can take it past the pendulum's ability (on a small bean bag is quite good) and it does not flash the laser as a warning.
Bought a cheap rotating one with tripod some years ago. Doesn't come out often, but *very* useful when it does. Even used it out of doors over about 10 metres, but only towards dusk.
Used it once when I needed to board over a very "wavy" wall with a load-bearing 18 mm ply fitted as close to the wall as possible. Scribed and cut horizontal battens and fitted on the wall, then temporarily screwed little oversize cantilevered "shelves" of 18 mm ply on top, and used a vertical laser scan to mark up the cutting line on these. That defined an accurate vertical plane, square to the back wall. Then screwed and glued the vertical board to these (with suitable battens.
Self leveling on the Quigo looks good, but I wonder how accurate it is. I don't think I would want one without a tripod, but it looks as though you can put it on a camera tripod.
Thanks to all who commented. I cadged a look at a DeWalt DW088K being used by kitchen fitters nearby but could not justify the cost so ended up buying a used Bosch PCL 20 from eBay which is nowhere near as bright/flexible but will do me for the foreseeable. I have to say after only half a day's use I'm sold, and can't understand why the Wiki is so negative about them.
£50 will get you disappointment .... if you are expecting a bright line.
When I set out all the floors in my house for screeding ..I set the top of upstand of perimter insulation with a rotating level ... hired one for 1/2 day £25
It got me a Professional quality level ... well worth it.
Now my son works for Civil Engineering company so I can get him to bring home calibrated rotating levels (professional units) ... with detectors .... these are great, but over £1000
If you have only one room to do ... a 6' level and a straight edge is the way to go.
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