How to Establish a Level-Grade Line for Landscaping | This Old House

[@mikewaller3342]

I’ve been in the landscape industry for 50 years as a contractor and architect. One of the best tools I ever came across was the water level. An aqua level can set grades around corners as well as at specific points. Easy to use and available on line

[@Brandon-no3vc]

Isn’t it expensive tho

[@patsyalbertengel3066]

:ulunbhybvgttvggggtgtbttg

[@modsquad8u]

@@Brandon-no3vc It can literally just be some clear hose with any diameter. I just looked on HomeDepot and you can get 20' of 1/4" ID hose for less than $9. You could even use fittings to join if you can't find a long enough single run of hose, you'd just need to finesse the fittings so they aren't at your level point. As long as the hose doesn't leak, you are good.

[@danielforman1363]

I can't help but smile when I hear Roger's accent. "Barn." :)

[@babykuchiki7229]

" I don't trust anything " ..made my trust in him . . Go up 100 %

[@kevinstuart5105]

sometimes the simplest information is the hardest to find. Thanks for ending my search!

[@FarmerDell2.0]

Currently building a shed foundation. I've been saving for years to finally get one. It arrived just 10 days ago. My first go-to for anything is always TOH. I'd never thought a [new] shed could carry sentimental value. This particular project will be a nod to Roger Cook's legacy. RIP

[@Life_is_Awesome_Civil]

What a amazing techniques you had used old with new each and every techniques you had use its very much helpful for me thanks for the vedio

[@Engineersupply]

This video is great because it shows how various types of levels work and the premise of leveling and establishing level, which is difficult for beginners to understand the correlation and meaning of how each tool works on the same premise.

[@zakman9244]

I have and use all 3 . There are advantages to the oldest of the 3 different levels . The water level can be use around obstacles that a string line and laser level can not do !! A water level is fantastic for leveling a house on pier & beam or any structure on piers to set your beams nice and level . I use a reddish orange RV antifreeze in my water level , thus it will never freeze as it sits over the winter .

[@Brandon-no3vc]

Isn’t tubing expensive? How do you seal it?

[@zakman9244]

@@Brandon-no3vc Clear 3/8" or maybe 1/4" plastic tubing is relatively cheap per foot . I put a fitting near the bottom on the side of a heavy clear plastic container with a 4" opening with a screw on lid . Connect the tube to the fitting on the container and on the other end of the clear tubing , I use 100 feet , connected to a fitting that screws onto a valve ! Done & Built !! The Perfect Water Level !!

[@Brandon-no3vc]

@@zakman9244 send vid of what you mean

[@Brandon-no3vc]

?

[@zakman9244]

@@Brandon-no3vc Hey man , I gave a fairly good description of a properly built water level in my comment . I don't have the time to build one for you . Much less to make a video to put on KZbin for you . Just go buy a cheaply made water level you can buy . I guarantee it won't be as good or even as long as mine that I built myself to do everything and anything I choose to get involved with . I've been doing all kinds of stuff for several decades and have chosen to stop trying to explain things which turn out to be like a school teacher having to hold their hand to accomplish something very simple . Sorry bud , but you need to learn from others information and think . Because no one is going to do it for you or hold your hand to get it built .

[@hossv1147]

"It's your cousin, 'From Boston.'"

[@robetheridge6999]

What a terrible accent.

[@Gh0stdawg70]

Yo that o’Brian’s belt, you can see the buckle

[@twongee3123]

Lmaooooooo

[@MegaRiffraff]

👍🏻

[@vzwodb17]

That’s Bahstin.

[@porkchop6402]

I love it when I get to learn something new everyday

[@candidmoe8741]

Water level was used for the pyramids. They didn't have hoses, but a small channel around the perimeter serves the same function.

[@alexanderzerka8477]

Neat stuff!

[@reifukaiyukikaze]

The best video I've ever seen.....goes straight to the point

[@totalannihilation9065]

I'm amazed by the water leveling. Amazing.

[@herculesrockefeller4584]

That water level technique is legit.

[@JohnGuest45]

water levels are great, easy to diy and made light work of laying out the shuttering for a perfectly level concrete ring foundation on ground that sloped in two directions

[@degenwow]

WoW, the water technique is amazing !

[@TheFloridaPappy]

The water level is pretty slick.

[@kman-mi7su]

it dates back to ancient Egypt.

[@dhtsoaedsdhtnadi9575]

that clear vinyl tubing ain't cheap. i use a garden hose or three to get length, and add 2 short pieces of tubing to the water hose with barb fittings.

[@JOhnDoe-pi9jj]

@0:16 Wan the waddah waff N awade from dah baan. ROTF... I love Roger.

[@its_me_dave]

It would help if Kevin took his thumb of the end 5:00

[@doubledragon2074]

I love Roger he's my favorite! By the way I am from SC and the accent doesn't even effect me even though I am southern I still love good ole Rog.

[@pollywong9008]

This is very helpful for beginners, thank a lot for the information.

[@drmariopepper4354]

That barn and property are majestic

[@951BReiss]

Thats a cool old school tip with the water level

[@Kevin-ib4gv]

Did anyone else notice poor Kevin holding his thumb over the water line tube when the measurements were taken? He was told to hold his thumb over the end of the tube when MOVING the tube from post to post, obviously to avoid the water spilling out of the end of the tube. Problem is he didn't remove his thumb from the end of the tube when the measurements were taken. The trapped air had nowhere to go, causing pressure to build up inside the tube, and forcing the water level mark to be BELOW what an unrestricted tube would have shown. Water levels work great if you know how to use them properly. Leave the tube ends OPEN when taking your measurements for accurate results.

[@julianlangdon3456]

Thanks muchly, clearly a man who knows his Trade. My little pathway job just got a lot easier

[@I.P.Phreely]

Wow, you always find a video to help with your project!

[@gambit1001]

The first two are simple and cheap, but require 2 people unless you want to walk back and forth and check/make adjustments. The last method is very quick and easy for a lone person to do, but the equipment is very expensive for the average for anyone below a Small-Builder. This video is 9 years old, but the laser equipment with receiver and wand is 1000-2500 bucks depending on the make/model etc. Wish it was more affordable! Thanks for the great video!

[@This.Handle.Is.Taken.Already]

I wonder if you could rent one.

[@gambit1001]

@This.Handle.Is.Taken.Already im sure you could but i havent had luck yet. The big box store only rent the simple lazer level and land surveying scope. Maybe that can be use but i dont k ow how@ (yet?)

[@Power_Glove]

It's $200 on amazon

[@gambit1001]

@Power_Glove really? Drop a link! When i looked any complete lazer level and receiving stick was way more than that even on amazon!

[@teenflon]

Kevin still had his thumb over the pipe when they were trying to find the level :)

[@Brandon-no3vc]

Is the water level the most accurate? How close is the string line level to being accurate?

[@SeanFisher]

Is it squayah? Set up the string line on the coinah.

[@expediter99]

For accuracy with a line level, the level must be placed EXACTLY equidistant from the stakes. Dead middle. Regardless of string type or tension, the string sags; more so over a greater distance. The string rises the same amount from the level to the stake. The string must also be thin enough to be free in the level's hooks. DOING IT WRONG:The closer you put the line level to a stake, the higher the level is in the sag(upside down arc)and the stake end of the level is higher than the other end. You then lower the string to centre the bubble, and that end of the string is lower than the other end. You can prove this opportunity for error by setting up beside a long brick or block wall and then eyeball the line against the mortar joints. Remember, a surveyor shooting elevations always puts his instrument dead middle between his points. Shoots one way, then 180 degrees from that. Any error from level on his instrument is cancelled out.

[@ResinBudsTV]

I don’t get it fully, would I be able to pm you to talk about it more?

[@313keiko1]

Love the water level fantastic Thanks for that

[@bigviking0001]

Hey Steve, take your thumb off the end of the tube when using the water level. Any pressure or vacuum will skew the results. Otherwise, a great tutorial.

[@Brandon-no3vc]

So you can’t seal both ends so it doesn’t leak?

[@fourfortyroadrunner6701]

Something you left out is a transit. Around here you can buy used basic transits for anywhere from 80 bucks up. Easy to use and easy to check for accuracy. You don't even need two guys if you have a good long rule. Stand the rule up against the stake, read the dimension through the transit at the crosshairs, then mark the stake at that dimension Set the transit up in one spot that sweeps all your stakes and away you go. Works like your laser without the batteries

[@milanrawat]

Great and simple video. I have 2 questions. I am going to grade my 60 feet by 30 feet backyard. If I grade the yard from the back of my house wall till the end of the backyard wall, will the foundation of my backyard wall not become weak? My second question is.. doesn't grading make you feel as if you are going to tumble?

[@MrRukiddin]

Wondering what part of Texas you're from...........diggin' that accent. Very instructive video.

[@companyman6208]

Thats a Boston accent.

[@MrRukiddin]

@@companyman6208 I was being facetious.

[@geeveeb]

3:04 "That's the first...You promised me 3." Kevin steps up to Roger, demands 2 more methods lol.

[@ezequielbarraza9878]

That wata mak is awesome will use it in the future instead of buying fancy tool.

[@HitsandHeadlines]

Why did nobody tell me how easy water level is??? Brilliant and simple

[@FK-GOOGLE]

Water level doesn’t lie. Laser level could become uncalibrated. In reality, the Water level actually checked the laser.

[@waltermolina3420]

Muy de acuerdo con ud....saludos

[@jmoore8761]

Bingo

[@richardbell9939]

Laser is ok ,on longer distances the laser beam could bend. I like the water leveler. Dumpy Leveler could be tryed.

[@AndrewJJ-0114]

Spot the technophobe. Laser levels are routinely used on all major construction projects.

[@tal264]

חי@@richardbell9939 ך 9מ חחממממממאיננלן י7םיחתטן

[@sreenivasanm4303]

Very good demonstration.

[@waleed.alhumaikani]

Well! I don't trust anything! Well said :) Thanks for the methods

[@sam111880]

I like the water level, its similar to how they find low spots in concrete floors by spraying it with water and seeing where water pools. Any case its cool water level/line levels but the more modern laser level i get now is the best. It only takes one person or a few to actually get everything level automatically with no mistakes because the laser goes in 360 direction evenly.

[@zyxnix]

I love his accent "Bawrn"

[@mykidsaresupercute]

Me too!

[@MetalAsFork]

pahk da cah at hahvahd yahd

[@CuddleStories]

Water level is pretty cool

[@xuskaxaaji9026]

Amazing video

[@lsubooth]

Flows away from the bawn so i mocked out a patio here.

[@drmariopepper4354]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@mikejustice1196]

lsubooth 😂

[@buildtalibanbackbetter5923]

😂

[@christorres6142]

You mean a patio heyah

[@maxb4724]

Lol

[@paulvelte]

So we have to measure down from the line to decide to move earth there, or not?

[@makshade6846]

🙏🏻 awesome job

[@awperonline6576]

Did the patio have to be a certain height to prevent rushing water from the top of the hill from flooding it in a big rainstorm or was that not calculated?

[@DoughNationBox]

Great video. Thanks for sharing, fellow New Englander.

[@ShoppingForDollars]

Finally... A good demonstration.

[@rhymereason3449]

Used a water level when I put shakes on the house... I could get 1/16" inch accuracy even around corners. Try that with a laser level or string line....

[@jasonwhitbeck6494]

Great tips guys thanks u ...

[@cosakti]

i am a fan of the old house, especially tom silva, he looks a very pro in his job. btw i have a question about laser level for indoor unit if we want to install drywall on ceiling or wall partition, any link video?

[@thereasonableatheist281]

Check out topcons RL-VH4DR or Check out the line of PLS (Pacific Laser Systems) laser pointers and lines.

[@tonyp6631]

What's the 'cona of the bon'??

[@czar89031]

i like the idea "A one Man operation", because you know why, i have to learn it properly, the system of leveling because i would be working all by myself constructing a house oversea's. Relying all by myself without using the neighbors who doesn't have a clue in construction,. thanks for sharing "MY OLD HOUSE",..

[@jayherde0]

If you mark the water level on both ends the tubing, it becomes a one-man level.

[@peter9477]

I make a water level with a tube attached to a reservoir tank. Stick that in the centre of the work area, then walk around to different points with the other end of the tube and mark the same level everywhere (or measure a fixed distance up or down from it as required). One man operation, and accurate to a millimeter or so.

[@nicebezar2027]

great demo..thnk guys...

[@mikealthomas1]

Very Informative Video, thanks.

[@Lecruque]

very usefull info, no bullshit. Good job!

[@verndetta8315]

Thank you very much.

[@antonomaseapophasis5142]

Roger, what’s with those knots? Also, nylon is used for boat anchor rodes because it stretches.

[@peter9477]

I think he meant cotton stretches but doesn't return. Nylon stretches too of course, but it's an elastic stretch so it stays under tension the whole time, which is what you want for the string level.

[@Brandon-no3vc]

I don’t think the string line stretches...

[@2001pontiacta]

If you had to build one side of your land up 4-5 feet. What's the best way to keep the landscape from washing out or sinking away? Could your use those big concrete Lego blocks? Thanks

[@mrdavidurquhart]

Great video thanks guys

[@AlBeebe]

just amazing

[@bfiveseymour2057]

this video is very interesting thanks.

[@jharris947]

Just what they need, a patio that's half a mile from the house. :-)

[@____________________________.x]

Maybe the butler brings out the drinks in a golf cart

[@Reub3]

His accent reminds me of this guy kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3S9gmqnr6yVi7s

[@maxkonig559]

The owner maybe related to the Kennedy family, spoiled and have no common sense.

[@ryanroberts1104]

So who's house is that out in front of the TOH barn? I don't think I've ever seen a shot of it other than from the front of the barn...thought it would be more out by itself for filming...

[@tigertrucker3971]

very nice as always

[@sam111880]

I get why now modern surveyors don't have to do the math so much and still get exact results with this electronic laser equipment sure a small patio or floor can be done easily with older methods but as you get bigger i can see that this laser makes it easy to get mostly any area you want dead level.

[@juanr7229]

Laser level is pretty awesome BUT the sun 🌞 can affect it while using it outside .... the BEAUTY OF walter level is that no matter inside outside rains thunders etc... you can use it and always get a level. I been using it for years and never fails. I do masonry work. Ohh and the best part $$$ 5 dollars for tube line. 😆

[@peter9477]

@keith cunningham Given how 2020 is turning out, gravity is no longer certain! ;-)

[@MrDucehands]

When excavating the dirt and adding the base, you excavate the same amount of dirt (say 8inches) and fill with base the material difference between the low versus high grade. 4 inches of base material on the high side, 10 inches of base material on the low side? Is that right?

[@LucidDreamer54321]

What is a "bahhn".

[@vernacular1483]

A bahhn is a bahhn, were ya born in a bahhn??!

[@LucidDreamer54321]

@vernacular1483 Down by the hahbah.

[@devilwithin9514]

How do you use a water level without a stringline? Wasnt the water level meant to be an independent way of leveling out?

[@yoy331]

They could have used any marked point on the stake, the stringline was just the one they used.

[@Ronald221]

Thanks you so much , now I understand how to use a laser 👍

[@keithmyers1454]

The bon 😃😃😃😃😃

[@mrs.torataylor1569]

Whats the name of the level u attached to the nylon?

[@BourbonEnthusiast]

A line level. www.homedepot.com/p/Empire-5-5-8-in-Line-Levels-Set-2-Pack-83038/100169030

[@Ficotronic]

And where is part 2? excellent video

[@taragragg400]

Claaas this is levaling.

[@alvilla701]

I have used everyone and the laser is very good but is very expensive (about 800 dollars) and doesn't go through things (walls, threes....) and has a margin of error of 1/8, the good thing is that you can do everything faster without any help, I like a lot the water level cause is less than 10 dollars and I think is more accurate but you'll need a friend

[@jayherde0]

Why do you need a friend? Once you've filled your tubing, hold the two ends together and mark the levels ON both ends of the tubing. Secure one mark where your friend would hold it. Then, take your end around where ever you need it. When the water on your end is at your mark, the other end should also be on the mark. You might want to let the filled tubing acclimate for expansion before marking the levels on the tubing. That way, your friend can be getting you a cold beer :-)

[@franklinarguedas4832]

Amigo, do you know of any transparent house that can withstand UV Light? The problem with water lavels is that the house go opaque very quickly, if you use it continuously exposed to UV Lightñ any ideas, please Señor!

[@sheepdogsherlock1311]

What type of grass is that

[@percbellsund9136]

Great explanations

[@emilyreynolds4185]

What is the next step? How do you fill correctly after establishing the level line?

[@aliajmi3431]

Very helpful ^^ thanx alot

[@bradfordpalmer2298]

Quick n perfect

[@atharv11]

I want that spirit level.... Will I get a link to buy?

[@ciarandevaney385]

Atharv Arekar no chance

[@scarroll625]

You can get them anywhere. Home Depot has them.

[@etell221]

Pretty cool 😎. Thank you mate !

[@duhwalt4596]

Love the Accent. Sounds like Peter Griffin, NEHNEHNEHNEHNEHNEH

[@gabrielM1111]

Can i use serloin steaks?

[@ehsanalibhatti1388]

great video

[@thereasonableatheist281]

Great video. In my experience though, attaching the line level at the end of the string instead of the middle gives you more accuracy due to less sag. No matter how tight you get that string, there will still be some amount of sag. Having the line level at the end of the string greatly reduces any potential margin of error.

[@dangerdavefreestyle]

It goes smack dab in the middle

[@tacamo]

While I do agree, I was taught when drawing a string line, pull it so tight you can "play a tune on the string" (tight .... like a guitar string). I usually use the middle of the string line unless its more than 50 feet, then I use a couple of points closer to the ends.

[@____________________________.x]

That's simply amplifying the error due to sag, in the middle the line will be level no matter how much it sags. Think about it, the line slopes down, levels off then slopes back up.

[@____________________________.x]

Jesse, a string under gravity forms a catenary curve, the one place it is horizontal with respect to the Earth is right in the middle. Guys who put it at the end are doing so because they feel like it, not because it makes any kind of mathematical sense.

[@jayherde0]

Try it your way sometime. Attach the 'leveled' line on both ends. Then, move your line level to the other end and check the level there. The longer the line, the farther out of level you will be.

[@LesDeuxS]

Thx from Denmark

[@kman-mi7su]

Ancient Egyptian builders first used the water level in building monuments and pyramids.

[@saddad6601]

“It runs tha wadda owf away fram tha baaaaan”

[@mattnorton4111]

did he show to bench that rod in?

[@rocknta]

What's a Bon?

[@bassfishingwiththeantichri2921]

That accent is kinda cool! "Waddah use up to using all dat waddah up dare?" "Whyiaddah murders use!"

[@Psychlist1972]

"down a hair" Has to drive the stake 4 inches further into the ground.

[@JesseKlaus]

Guess he meant hair length and not width?

[@Erix7810]

Lol

[@metallitech]

It was an angular hair.

[@chefgiovanni]

I once knew a girl with really long leg hair .......

[@muhsen61]

what do you mean? i dont understand .. why 4 inches?

[@Patryc]

his accent is comforting lmao

[@davidsingleton473]

This is great

[@bricelewis7869]

5:36 rip those wearing headphones