The laser level has made work much easier for made trades like surveyors, fencers, and carpenters. They don’t need to use messy chalk line or stringline, which is only roughly accurate, to provide their level line anymore. A laser level is quicker, easier, and more accurate. However, they are not maintenance free. Just because you’ve bought a new laser level you still need to calibrate it. Let’s look at why you need to calibrate your laser level and how often you should.
Accuracy
A laser level should be accurate to at least +/-2mm at 20m. this means that at the 20 metre mark the laser line should be within 2mm either way of the absolute level mark. The better the quality of the laser level you buy, the more precise it will be. A big part of a quality laser level brand is the packaging. The better protected and looked after your laser levels are the better your levelling results will be.
Causes
As we touched on above, the way your laser level is treated has a big influence on how often it needs to be calibrated. If it being tossed around the back of the van or dropped, then it’s accuracy is going to be in question every time you use it. So, you would have to calibrate it before you use it each time. If you use it regularly, but take care of each then you may be able to calibrate it once a week. However, if you don’t use it regularly then we recommend you calibrate it before you use it. If you forget to lock the pendulum in place before you moved the laser level, you should calibrate before you use it again. Basically, when in doubt calibrate.
It matters
If your laser level is out, your work will be too and as they say, ‘it’s better to be safe than sorry’. Perhaps, you might look at your laser level line and think, ‘Ah that’s not too bad, there’s only a 500mm length of cupboard to level and the laser line is out about a millimetre; you can’t even notice it by eye”. Maybe you can’t discern the difference by eye with a 500mm length but if you are putting those single cupboards next to each other, by the time you’ve reached a 3 metre length of cupboards, your level will be out by 6mm. By the time you reach 20 metres, you’re out by 40mm. So yes, calibrating your laser level to ensure its accuracy does matter. Again, make sure you start with a quality product. We prefer to get ours from the team at RS.
If your work relies on accurate straight lines and levels then a laser level will make your job easier but it must be maintained. General use, bumps, and accidents can all put the laser level out and by calibrating it you can restore its accuracy. So, don’t forget to maintain your laser level regularly and keep, keeping it straight.