Tubing Used As Water Level

Tubing Used As Water Level BUILDINGS New Techniques 23-6-35 When building any type of structure that you want to make perfectly level, such as rafter supports, floor joists, etc., you can use a water level. It's easy and requires no expensive equipment. Use 3/4 or 5/8-in. dia. clear plastic tubing of the length necessary for the job - the bigger the building, the longer the tubing you'll need. For example, we recently built a hay shed and needed to make the support poles exactly the same height so we'd have a level structure for the trusses and roof rafters. For this we used 50 ft. of tubing. The principle of a water level is simple - water seeks its own level and is always perfectly flat. To use the tubing as a level, fill it with water - continuous flow, as from a hydrant, so there's no air in it and no air bubbles mixed with the water. Don't fill it completely - leave the water down about 12 or 15 in. from either end of the tubing. Then place your thumb over the end so that no water escapes as you're moving the hose. It takes two people - one on each end of the hose - to check two different points on your structure to make sure they're the same level. For example, when making a hay shed and sawing the tops of the support posts at exactly the same height, one person took his end of the hose to the top of the shortest post (the one we wanted all the other posts to match) and the other person took the other end of the tubing to the top of each of the other posts. When both people are close to the same elevation, the other person takes his thumb off his end of the hose and moves it up or down until the water in the your end comes to the top of your post (the level you want all the posts to be). You're holding your end steady, and just watching the water level in it. When it reaches the exact height of your post, the water level at his end is exactly the same - and that's the place he needs to saw his post to match yours. You can always pinpoint the exact level of another point on the structure by having the water level conform to the height you want everything to match. This type of level is always accurate - more accurate than a string level, or a transit that might get bumped. This simple trick can ensure that you build the structure perfectly level, and requires no expensive equipment. (Heather Smith Thomas, Salmon, Idaho)

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