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Looking for Level/Transit Advice

kivaspan | Posted in Tools for Home Building on April 4, 2006 07:30am

I’m a longtime reader, but this is my first post. We’re getting ready to build a home on unimproved property (180 acres, rolling hills) and I need a transit for LOTS of things: site prep, septic system layout, and the myriad home costruction uses. I’ve been looking at a couple brands, but not sure what to get. My needs are pretty basic, except I need a transit, not a level since our property is not level. I’d like something very rugged, but not interested in bells & whistles, nor anything that has electronics or takes batteries. Is self-leveling a big deal? Is it fragile? My experience involves using a transit many years ago when I worked as a cement finisher, but that’s it. So far I’ve looked two David White instruments, the LT6-900N and AL8-22. I don’t understand why the LT6 is less accurate, manual levelling, but more expensive than the AL8. Any advice on what brand/model would serve my needs would be much appreciated.

Kivaspan

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  1. mike4244 | Apr 04, 2006 08:59pm | #1

    How accurate an instrument do you need? Some transits like the Berger rough angle instrument are good to 15 minutes of a degree. Essentially you can be off as much as a couple of inches in 100'-0" for square. Better instruments are rated for five or less minutes. You can get by with a cheaper instrument if you square up foundations with a tape to check the transit.

    I have a rough angle berger , do not recall the number. Supriseingly this instrument is accurate in leveling( less than 1/8" in 125'-0". I always check for square with a tape, in 50'-0" or so I have found that the instrument is out 1- 1/4".

    Whether your property is level or not you still have to establish level lines for building layout.You do not need self leveling features,you still have to get within reason of level for automatic leveling to work.A good place to start is a surveyor, ask him what instrument he would reccomend. He can point you in the right direction,you may be able to pick up a good used and reconditioned instrument.

    mike

    1. User avater
      Gene_Davis | Apr 04, 2006 11:10pm | #3

      IMHO, unless you need to swing angles and run traverses, the Pacific Laser System PLS5x with detector will get you all the way from sitework to topping out.  Twin 90 degree level dot sights, and a single up-down plumb beam.  My partner just got one, and he will probably retire his David White.

      And once inside, the little PLS2e (without its accessory detector) will do everything you need to get things plumb and level.

      If you gotta have a transit for your sitework, such as laying out a long driveway, cut and fill work, septic system, etc., the previous poster's advice about rentals is seconded by me.

      I got my BSCE in 1968, long after most engineering schools were requiring civil engineering students to learn how to use instruments, but I used them all a lot when working as a field engineer on big industrial projects.  I can remember laying on my belly for days, squinting through a level's eyepiece, working with the millwright crews, setting bedplates for 900-foot long paper machines.  These little self-leveling laser units are the cat's meow, and would have been useful back then.

      1. MikeSmith | Apr 05, 2006 03:18am | #4

        i did some surveying in the army... from aiming circles , T-16.. to T-2's

        when i went into business as a builder in '73, i bought a K&E  builder's transit

        still use it.. but most of the time we use a  laser

        latest one is a simple 5 beam.. Stanley Fat Max

        for layout & grades,  low order survey, & topo,the transit is ideal.. but for most of our work we use the laser

        here's my  K&E, still as dependable as the day i bought it

         Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

  2. TomT226 | Apr 04, 2006 10:13pm | #2

    Surveyed for 30 years, and I've used all types of transits, theatolites, and levels.  Check in your phone book for "surveying supplies," and find a dealer that rents instruments.  It's pretty cheap, usually $30 a week or so for a non-EDM (electronic distance measuring) transit and/or level.  For construction a self-leveling unit is needed as you may be set up on a framed floor with bounce, and it would continually be distrubed by people walking nearby.  Any good level should be accurate to .01' to shots of 100'.  There are different magnification levels.  Try some out.  If you're doing topographic leveling, then you may need higher magnification for longer shots.

    Transits may be used as levels also, depending upon the manufacturer.  This is where the price problem will arise.  More accuracy=more money in horizontal angle capability.  Transits and theos need more maintainance than levels.  You can "peg" a level yourself, but adjusting a theo is more difficult and takes specialized equipment.  Many levels come with a 360 deg horizontal ring marked in one deg & 30' increments.

    I'd say rent your transit, and buy a level.  You should be able to get a good used Nikon with rod and tripod for less than $500.  The places that rent'em usually will sell'em and adjust'em.

     

  3. maverick | Apr 05, 2006 04:24am | #5

    I've got a David White with stadia for calculating distance, a nice little upgrade over a builders level.

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