If you’re looking to construct a house, shop, or complex, your first mission is to grade the land. One of the necessary tools needed to grade land is a laser level. But what exactly is Grading, and why is grading required before building on land? This article will provide the answer and take a comprehensive look at how to use a laser level for grading.
What Is a Grading?
Grading has to do with the sculpting and grading of the landscape. The reason for grading land is to know its level and flatness before it is altered. When you require an outdoor space to build a particular structure, such as a patio, stairs, buildings, and sheds, you’ll need to grade the space before mounting any structure. When building a house, you must remember that about 10 percent of the initial 4ft beside every area of the wall should be made a slope. This is to ensure that the drainage is done adequately.
At What Point Should a Laser Level Be Used To Shoot Grade?
Establishing grades for structures, buildings, and landscapes can only be done with the help of a laser level. When it comes to shooting grades, it is an essential task that should be taken seriously because a lot depends on it. When it comes to every construction project, such as excavation, foundation laying, grading, and piping, they all rely on the shooting of the grade for accurate results.
Once the result of the shoot grading is not done properly, it becomes faulty and can cause a significant problem for the foundation or the construction project. A laser level is compulsory to ensure accuracy in the shoot grading. To ensure higher accuracy, a rotary laser level is highly recommended for grade shooting. Also, the rotary laser level excels better in construction and outdoor projects.
The Necessary Requirements Needed For Grade Shooting
Shooting grades, leveling, and slopping in various construction projects is vital and must be emphasized from time to time. We already know that using a laser level is a must in every project that has to do with grading, but that’s not all you’ll need. You’ll also need other items to ensure an overall flawless result. Here are a few of the requirements for grade shooting:
- Tripod
- Rotary laser level
- Laser detector
- Grade rot
How To Grade Using A Laser Level
With the requirements listed above, you already know that the rotary laser level is an essential item for grading. But how does one make use of a laser level for grading? We will look at a detailed step-by-step guide on how to use a laser level for grading. However, before using your laser level to grade, ensure that you have the other listed items under the “necessary requirements needed for grade shooting.” Now, let’s quickly take a look at the steps involved:
1. Begin the Laser Level Setup
For this setup to be achieved, you’ll have to get your tripod stand and set it on the ground. Ensure that the ground your tripod stand is standing on is dry and leveled ground. When spreading out the legs of the tripod stand, ensure that the distance between the legs is equally apart. It ensures that the tripod can sustain its stability on the ground because the accuracy of the result relies on the stability of the tripod. Ensure that the tripod pin is pinned properly into the ground.
2. Switch on the Laser Level
The next step is switching on the laser level. If you’re using a manual laser level, you will have to utilize the adjustment screw to level the bubbles in the laser level to become positioned at the center. If leveling the bubbles with an adjustment screw is challenging for you, research how you can do this. The calibration of the bubbles has a vital role to play in the accuracy of your results. So it would be most recommended to use a laser level that can level itself. It will ensure that you don’t have to undergo any manual procedure of leveling the bubbles with an adjustment screw. Self-leveling lasers only take a few minutes to get the job done.
3. Choose the Original Height for Your Grade
In this step, you will require assistance from someone to help you make the grade rod from the bottom point and position it at the original height you have chosen for your grade. Ensure that the grade is positioned to the land you’re grading. What this means is that the grade rod should be positioned at one end while the rotary laser level at the other end. Always make sure you have the original height of the grade in mind so that you can refer to it in other aspects of the work.
4. Detect the Beam Emitted From the Rotary Laser Level
This process is simple. All you have to do to detect the laser beam is by shooting a laser beam at the laser detector on the grade rod with the help of the rotary laser level. Ensure the initial laser beam is connected to the laser detector’s position. Once the connection is active, proceed to move the laser detector about till it begins to make a frequent sound. If there is a case where the detector is too high or too low, it will cause the beep sound to experience interruption along the way. Once the connection between the laser beam and the laser detector is stabilized, the sound it will give out will be constant.
Now, you have clarity on what it means to grade a land from the laser to the detector. From here on, it’s easy to know if the landscape underneath the laser level is of a lower or higher level than that underneath the detector.
Rotary Laser Level Alternatives
Although various laser levels are excellent for grading lands, other alternatives exist. In this section, we’ll look at two of the top alternatives to the rotary laser level. When making considerations on which tool would be most appropriate for your business, you might want to consider the following alternatives:
String Line and Level
This alternative for measuring a slope is affordable for those looking for a tool that is not too expensive for their budget. However, the string line and level consume a lot of time and, if not used properly, would lead to less accuracy.
Consider a four-pointed patio with stakes driven into each point and strings wrapped around each of the four-pointed patios. It will produce a square base for your patio. A string level needs to be placed on your lines. This should be done on a leveled line from one point to another. For instance, points A and C. Wrap a string line around both points. Once done, position your string level at the center of the points A and C and ensure it is the same level as the two points.
This line will enable you to take the measurement of the minimum slope. The line can also be called your top patio. The measurement from point C downwards to the stake is called the minimum slope. With the downwards measurement along with the stake, the string line located on point C can be moved downwards along the stake, and in the process, the string line level situated at point A remains there.
The same procedure can be repeated for points B to D. The challenge faced by this procedure is that your string line might be obstructed. In a situation like this, the viable solution is to raise the string line higher than the original height of the patio. This method is easy and suitable for businesses that can’t afford a rotary laser level.
Zip Level
The zip level is a suitable alternative to measuring your slope. It is a good recommendation because it is easy to use and hardly produces any errors. You use the rod to take height measurements. It comes with high precision that can even be used to measure a paper’s thickness. To use the zip level to measure the slope of your patio, put it on, position the rod at a point that will serve as your foundation zero then measure from that point to every other point.
Final Thoughts
You need to make worthy investments in your business to improve your business efficiency and productivity. Investing in a Rotary Laser Level is a great way to help with the slope measurements and grading of your construction projects! This step-by-step tutorial on using a laser level for grading will guide you in every project you undertake. However, it could be challenging at a point. But with constant practice, it’ll get easier, and eventually, you’ll become a professional at it.
