Heard a guy at the supply yard say he never uses a line level anymore.

He was telling his buddy that a 4-foot level and a sharp eye is faster and just as true. Tried it on a garden wall in Springfield last week. Honestly, it cut my setup time down by about 15 minutes. Anyone else skip the string line for smaller jobs?

3 comments

3 Comments

fiona_lewis371mo ago

Yeah, that works fine for garden walls and short runs. The trick is checking for plumb in both directions with the 4-footer, not just level. Got caught once where a course was level but leaning out a bit, had to tear it back.

elizabeth_chen1mo agoProlific Poster

Man, does that ever bring back a bad memory. My buddy was helping his dad build a short retaining wall last summer, and they got like three courses up before they noticed it had a serious lean. They were so focused on getting each stone level side-to-side that they forgot to check if the whole face was straight up and down. I mean, they had to take almost the whole thing apart. It was a huge mess and they lost a whole Saturday. That plumb check is no joke.

kelly311mo ago

Tear back a whole course? That's brutal. I'd be so mad at myself. Just thinking about all that wasted mortar makes me cringe. Good catch on the plumb check though, that's an easy mistake to make when you're focused on level.