One-Person Precision
The LA 180L long-range laser level makes it efficient and easy to square a foundation or mudsill.
Squaring a foundation or mudsill can be a two- to three-person job. Even with help, it’s time-consuming and has compounding consequences if you don’t get it right. Stabila’s LA 180L Layout Station helps you efficiently and effectively square a mudsill to the foundation with just one person. It’s accurate to within 3⁄32 in. over 100 ft. And the automatic long-range laser can shoot a line up to 150 ft. in each direction when squaring a corner.
Here’s how it works: First, snap your initial reference wall line. You then teach the LA 180L where that line is by placing the laser at one end and setting the receiver on the line at the other end. The laser will scan back and forth until it finds the receiver, thus establishing that first wall line.
To establish the second wall line, and your first 90° corner, walk the receiver to the end of the wall adjacent to the laser’s location and move the receiver back and forth until it finds the 90° line projected by the laser. Then mark that second corner or snap that second line.
Repeat these steps to establish your subsequent wall lines. In simpler terms: You move the laser, teach it where it is in relation to the line you just established, and then establish the next line. Continue this process around the foundation, keeping everything square all the way back to your starting point.
Beyond laying out foundations and mudsills, the LA 180L, with both a vertical and a horizontal axis, is useful for other applications, including laying out interior walls, installing plumbing, and aligning ceiling joists. Even though the LA 180L Layout Station retails for $2000, it could serve as your traditional rotary laser—and the time saved on layouts and money not wasted on subsequent repairs if you get one wrong might make it a bargain at that price.
— Josh Risberg; carpenter in Rosemount, Minn.
RELATED STORIES
- Floor Framing Starts with the Mudsills
- Mudsills: Where the Framing Meets the Foundation
- Make Mudsills Square and Level
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