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TIL some guys are still using a 4-foot level for long brick runs
I was helping a buddy finish a garden wall in his yard last week, and I saw him pull out his trusty 4-footer to check a 20-foot stretch. I had to stop him, man. He was lining up each section perfectly, but when we stepped back, the whole thing had a slight wave, like a gentle roller coaster. It took us an hour to fix it with a proper 8-foot level. The short one just can't catch that long, slow curve over a big distance. You get each little bit flat, but the whole line drifts. Now I keep a beat-up old 8-footer in my truck just for loaning out. Anyone else run into this and have a good way to explain it to new guys without sounding like a know-it-all?
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the_leo7mo ago
You mentioned the whole line drifts. That's the key thing right there. How do you get someone to see that drift before they've laid a whole row? Like, do you make them sight down the bricks from the end first, or is there a better trick?
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roberts.diana7mo ago
Is it really that big of a deal though? A four foot level gets most jobs done fine. I've seen guys build plenty of straight walls with one. Maybe your buddy just had a bad eye that day. The_leo talks about drift, but if you check every few feet and mark a chalk line, you can keep things pretty straight. It sounds like extra work to haul around an eight footer for every little garden wall.
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fiona_lewis376mo ago
Yeah, that drift thing the_leo mentioned is exactly it. I read a forum post once that called it "inch perfect, mile off" and it stuck with me. You can nail every little section and still end up with a wavy mess.
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