Replies

1. 
   nathan_w | Aug 27, 2000 06:36am | #2

   *
   less than your eye could ever hope to notice. Even if you looked
   i really
   hard.

2. 
   Guest_ | Aug 27, 2000 07:15am | #3

   *
   Look in your calculus textbook, right there in Chapt 7.

1. 
   Guest_ | Aug 27, 2000 12:49pm | #4

   *I think I can do this but I'll need the flexural modulus of the string, the weight per linear unit, and the tension.

1. 
   Guest_ | Aug 27, 2000 04:11pm | #5

   *nothing that i can measure..if i set up a string and block.. and set a lazer level on the same plane ..i can't discern a sag in the line..so.. for framing and installation purposes, there is no drop in the line..b but hey, whadda i no ?

1. 
   Guest_ | Aug 27, 2000 05:18pm | #6

   *Mike, Would you trust a line level?

1. 
   Guest_ | Aug 27, 2000 09:33pm | #7

   *no. too much line sag.. and the vial isn't accurate enough ..sure have been a lot of foundations built with them though, just not in my tool box....

2. 
   Guest_ | Aug 27, 2000 10:49pm | #8

   *Mike, Thanks, you just renew my faith in you opinions.

3. 
   Guest_ | Aug 28, 2000 01:15am | #9

   *No, it not a riddle but something the super said last week. I want to build a block garage/shop i was going to lay to a line with the addition of a four foot level. But super said I needed a lazer level to keep on line. I alway thought that a spring line pulled tight was pretty close. He said spring lines are only good for vertical layout

4. 
   Guest_ | Aug 28, 2000 01:19am | #10

   *b TVMDCThat's why they call him super. Use a Laser level.

5. 
   Guest_ | Aug 28, 2000 02:33am | #11

   *Bill, In Johnnie defense, a good mason would use a laser to get the footers level, but would set his block to a line to keep his wall straight and use a 4' level to keep his block running true between his leads or corners. The leads may be checked with a laser but I doubt they would set every block with one.

6. 
   Guest_ | Aug 28, 2000 03:33am | #12

   *Johnnie,

   Tell your "super" he needs to find a new profession. . . By that statement it's clear he doesn't know which end of the string line to use. . .

   View Image © 1999-2000"The first step towards vice is to shroud innocent actions in mystery, and whoever likes to conceal something sooner or later has reason to conceal it." Aristotle

7. 
   Guest_ | Aug 28, 2000 03:54am | #13

   *Well gosh... I wonder how anything ever got build correctly in the several thousand years previous to the invention of the laser level?? Seriously though, your super is partially correct. A laser, builders level or transit should be used to check the footers and masonry corners. After that, lay your block/brick to a string line. (What Jake said)Here's a quiz question for ya: If a taught string line is, say 50 miles long, does it follow the curvature of the earth? If not, and the 2 end points are 10' high, how long must the string be before it touches in the center (assuming a smooth topography)?

3. 
   Ted_W | Aug 28, 2000 04:51am | #14

   *
   This is a test.

   This is only a test.

4. 
   Guest_ | Aug 28, 2000 05:15am | #15

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   Johnnie,

   50' is a long way to trust a string. Your superintendent is right on. Use a lazer or a builders auto level, but don't trust a string over that distance. It will take one heck of a pull to keep it straight. I've snapped a few trying to get a string straight over less distance. Set your footers with the lazer or auto level and then use a string and your eyeball after you've set the first few courses.

   Ed. Williams

1. 
   Guest_ | Aug 28, 2000 07:11am | #16

   *Let's see now...how did that laser work when the Empire State Building was built? Oh, yes how about the fine mansions on Sea Island? More mundanely, the first house my Dad did?Come on guys; just because you can do something to the thousandth of an inch doesn't mean you need to: Or that it makes any practical difference.

1. 
   Guest_ | Aug 28, 2000 07:52am | #17

   *Matt,If your hypothetical string has no sag, it kisses the ground in the center when it is 7.78 miles long.Bill

1. 
   Guest_ | Aug 28, 2000 12:53pm | #18

   *The error in the laying of each block has got to be bigger than the error in the string at the middle of 50'.

1. 
   Guest_ | Aug 28, 2000 02:19pm | #19

   *those were all laid out and kept on line by transits, levels and theodolites... remember?back in ancient history... like four years ago.. evry good builder had a level.. and some had transits...some used water levels..string lines are for line.. they aren't for level.. and a hanging string line is a plumb-bob...a good three-directional laser level can give you Square / Plmb / & Level..but it can't give you straight.. string lines give you straight...b but hey, whadda i no ?hi, joe... packin your bags for Caperfest next summer ?

2. 
   Guest_ | Aug 28, 2000 03:53pm | #20

   *From much string pulling and siding work, 50' is sag length unless the tension is way way up...I find carps not realizing how much tension often...that's why there are different colors of chalk...And if snapping that far, we always hold the middle if possible and snap the halves...crank the tension up!...near the stream,aj

3. 
   Guest_ | Aug 28, 2000 09:51pm | #21

   *.... trap it... and snap it....

4. 
   Guest_ | Aug 30, 2000 09:50pm | #22

   *Why not just check the string line against a water level at the middle and then you'll know exactly how much it sags?

5. 
   Guest_ | Aug 31, 2000 04:14am | #23

   *That is a good idea but is a water level a perfectflat level?

6. 
   Guest_ | Aug 31, 2000 04:23am | #24

   *yes, a water level is a perfect level for all practical purposes..not as handy as teh new lasers.. but it's been around for a couple thou years.. speculation is the egyptians used water to check the level of their foundations..the way you would use a water level .... or a transit, or a laser.. is to set a reference line all the way around the building.. use this to check your courses.. and your soffits , window casing headers , door trim..so you can get good accurate siding layout and plan ahead....

7. 
   Guest_ | Aug 31, 2000 04:38am | #25

   *Johnnie:Mike's post is right on as usual-the guy should consider writing a book! I think there is a discussion in the archives about making a reservoir type water level or just do a web search.You can try Spiderwire brand fishing line but it is rather hard to see. Very strong and lightweight though.

5. 
   Ted_W | Aug 31, 2000 05:22am | #26

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   That's only if both ends of the line is eaxactly 3.61625 ft. above sea level on Neptune.

1. 
   Ted_W | Aug 31, 2000 05:24am | #27

   *Or the Tower of Piza

6. 
   Guest_ | Sep 02, 2000 04:33pm | #28

   *
   We were taught to use dentil floss in carpenter school. That was the line of choice before the popularity of lasers for large suspended ceiling systems. I think I tried it once and it worked well.

   blue

1. 
   Guest_ | Sep 02, 2000 11:32pm | #29

   *Dentil floss--we usually just brush them and call it good.Corbels get an anti-plaque rinse, however.

7. 
   Joel_Greer | Sep 04, 2000 06:51am | #30

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   Zircon makes a water level that works over 50'. They are pretty cheap and easy to use. Check your favorite toy store. Or Tool Crib.

1. 
   Kevin_Dolan | Sep 05, 2000 12:37am | #31

   *the dental floss idea is wonderful for those days when the wife packs leftover ribs in the lunch box. other than that im skeptikal. i have used jet line for years and it never fails for building long walls or soffits.

8. 
   Guest_ | Sep 05, 2000 01:40am | #32

   *
   What's jet line?

1. 
   Guest_ | Sep 26, 2000 04:40am | #33

   *I used a water level from the ground up. It is the most accurate, water can't lie. It's a little slow and it definitely helps to have a friend (make sure you are both reading from the top or the bottom of the meniscus. One of the great things is that you don't need a line of sight. I made mine from 100 feet of 1/2 clear plastic tube, water and a little food coloring for visibility. I found a couple of plastic caps to keep the water in when not using. The whole deal was 15 bucks. I verified the accuracy of my batter boards with a rented builders transit. I was not able to duplicate points as accurately with the transit as the water level.So, here's a funny story, I hired this brick mason, nay, brick bat to brick up a skirt around my foundation. I arrived to find one end of the back wall 1-1/2 lower than the other end. Visible from sea level on Neptune. The brick bat told me "your house was out of level". When I asked how he determined this he told me he started on the front corner of the house with a 4 foot level transferring marks 4 feet at a time till he got all the way around! Oh, brother. After he fixed his unlevel wall, I threw him out and finished myself.

9. 
   Guest_ | Oct 05, 2000 08:13am | #34

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   How much fall does a tighten string line, in fifty feet

1. 
   Guest_ | Aug 27, 2000 06:18am | #1

   *I don't know Johnnie,How much?Ed. Williams

10. 
    mosseater_ | Oct 05, 2000 08:13am | #35

    *
    Water may not lie but it can make you talk to yourself plenty. Kinks, bubbles, dirt, bubbles, mildew, bubbles. It was taking longer to get the damn thing ready to use than to actually use. Works good in shorter lengths and with good tubing but I just couldn`t handle dragging around 100' of it any more. I bought a Sprectra Physics with auto level and you'll need a gun to get it away from me. I'm just looking for reasons to use it all the time... 'course, at that price you should be using it all the time (and I`m not). But hey, I cut may swearing by at least 90% and am home for dinner on time. By the way, braided deep sea line, about 90 lb test, and root on it till your fingers bleed. Works good in the chalk box too if you can`t go the 45$ for the ink line.