Just realized my helper knew more about leveling than I did

I was showing a new kid from the local union how to set a door frame in a busy office tower in Chicago. He stopped me and said, 'Why not just use a laser level instead of the old string method?' I brushed it off at first but after thinking about it, it actually saves a lot of time on these tight installations. Has anyone else picked up a simpler trick from a younger mechanic?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_shane1d ago

Three jobs in a row I had brand new apprentices try to sell me on laser levels for door frames. The laser is great for a wide open hall or marking a finish floor height, but it falls apart when you got steel studs and overhead grid in the way blocking the beam every five feet. String and a line level still gets you dead nuts on every single hinge point without having to move the tripod twenty times. The kid might save ten minutes setting up the laser, but he loses that time chasing shadows and adjusting for the beam shifting off a shiny door frame. Speed on a rough install is worthless if you're coming back to fix a binding door six months later.

ryan_sanchez22h ago

...and that's exactly why I still keep a line level in my bag even though I'm mostly digital now. The laser is great for certain things but I've had too many jobs where the beam hits a shiny surface or a stud throws it off by a hair. I learned the hard way on a set of custom cabinets that the laser was perfect for the first row but the shadows made me second guess every cut after that. The string method feels slower but it's consistent, and I'd rather take an extra few minutes upfront than come back to fix something that should have been right the first time.