How to Layout Parallel lines Perfectly

Here is how to establish the first two parallel lines when you are laying out a building!
Spencer Tape here: • Best Tape for Layout
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[@garylatture8948]

The use string like a pro was one most valuable and informative videos I have seen

[@heman5954]

7:28 I'm so glad you finally mentioned establishing a level line. I've built houses on foundations that were laid out with the assumption that grade was close enough to level and squared the foundations with this assumption. To square up the floor system, I had to adjust the back of the house with one end of the box band hanging over the block an inch and the other in an inch on the block. Luckily it was brick with a roll lock so the esthetic looks ended up fine but if it was a stucco foundation 😢. This is acceptable for a fence or chicken coop but if it's a house, please use batter boards and invest in a good transit level.

[@cjschmitt4882]

Absolutely the best!!! Would have loved to be an apprentice along side of you! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

[@larion3296]

If you have a 360 degree 3 line laser that gives you 90 degree corners, and a laser measure distance meter you can save a lot of time. I think that I saved 75% worktime by being able to do this myself without strings and measuring tape. And it usually gives you as good or better result. Measuring tapes are often slightly flexible and not so reliable over longer distances, like 90 ft, or longer.

[@okanagan.outdoors]

Amazing instructor. Making anything interesting.

[@williamsforge6263]

I'm about to start on a 24x32 for my blacksmith shop. This is amazing information thank you.

[@jacobrogers2214]

I learned this in my drafting class using a compass. Making your tape/stake into a compass is clever. Similar principles can be used for perpendicular lines, midpoints, 45° etc.

[@chrishynes6091]

Dad was a homebuilder in the 60's - 70's. These vids show me what he would have been doing back then.

[@mrshoeguy2477]

When you measure for the closest distance on the second line you are finding the point where your line is square to the second line. You can draw it on paper and see.

[@williammrdeza9445]

Excellent content as usual, Scott. Thank you.

[@essentialjudge2279]

full scale layout was so fun. I modified a rebar cap to connect my tape to the center of the steak. we only used round steaks. all the same. even a round ones have an infinite amount of right angles at the top for cutting string

[@psidvicious]

Yes, those stake tops cut sharp as they mushroom out. Round stakes were always most readily available and the binder hitch shown here works just as well.

[@ohwowthatsgood]

I like my steaks medium rare.

[@kiwigrunt330]

@@ohwowthatsgood That would be a missteak. Medium to well done for me.

[@jocrpnter]

Always good to see different methods.

[@jonahfinademz8646]

Best video on KZbin

[@kracin]

Nice work! When I laid out layouts for overhead crane structure I would triangulate everything using one end of the runway for the start. we know how far away the end needs to be from the wall, then layout that line at the end, and then the line along the wall (perpendicular line) or other landmark just had to be X distance away for the length of it, but we had two rough distances. the layout for the remainder we just used the Pythagorean theorem and chalk/Arcs to find exact points of the third point. you have your A leg (bottom of the triangle) already. so just make another leg the length of A on the 90* side from it and hold the steel stape on the floor at one side, then hold a welders soap stone (sharpened) at the end of the tape to swing an Arc along the floor. do the same for the C leg, where the arcs converge is where your Third point is, perfectly square. You can then walk down the runway and repeat for any number of pillars that are being put in. Typically I would make sure the measurements are all made from a corner of the base plate, so when we snap chalk on the marks, we have perfectly square layouts to line everything up, even the base plates line up on the floor and have no twist in the end.

[@Pneuma777]

Did the same building decks to make sure everything was square. I was sure bored with pythagoran theory in school but found it so fun in the field!

[@jakeboast5953]

3:50 sure beats cranking doesnt it... Itll make a hero out of you 😂😂😂

[@bpdp379]

No context Wadsworth could be its own YT channel! 😂

[@chocol8milkman750]

Really needed this video. I'm about to stake out a garden-office. thank you!

[@dustindemoe2643]

Excellent video. You would be surprised how much Pythagorean theorem is used in Electrical Theory also.

[@jackjetpilot]

Such an amazing video!

[@donaldharrison7821]

Thank you

[@nealesmith1873]

Great video! Thanks for showing us how to do this part.

[@ShelbySolomons]

love your channel

[@plamenpetrov304]

Very useful video as usual. Thank you very much!

[@countrysaiyan1756]

Thank you! I searched for previous videos and couldn't find one

[@johnleishman7302]

Thanks for another play video. It was great meeting you in vegas, at the concrete sure

[@joeydirckx2682]

Can you do a video on how to get get a parallel line around a circle? For example: electricians have to layout lights around a giant round column 5ft off the walls(the circle) and 8ft apart from light to light. How do you measure that to get everything evenly spaced and symmetrical? Thanks for the great content!

[@shutton]

it would be neat/helpful if you guys started adding a visual overlay on some of these videos where you are talking about some layout concept. Like an animated top-down view of a building plan, in 2 dimensions. The building plan. The drawings. And then after a little segment of the video you could put the drawing up and point to which step he had just gone over.

[@kevinajjenkins]

cool

[@finison1]

May be a dumb question but where do you get the square stakes with holes in them ? I do not believe I’ve ever seen them in stores

[@psidvicious]

They’re around but the round ones are definitely more common. Once you get used to round, there’s very little difference.

[@MattsAwesomeStuff]

I forget now, but I think Scott said in the past there's only one place left still selling them, and they're not cheap. But there are holy wars fought over which is better. There's definitely advantages to each.

[@michaelmar9802]

Oh sir, ALWAYS braided string lines if there is ever a choice. My reason for this is a braided line will keep itself together whereas the twisted line can loosen up and become a mess. Both will twist upon itself without proper rewind methods as discussed in a previous video.

[@Centercreek]

Looks right into the camera and states, “It’ll make a hero out of ya”. All we need to know.

[@clarkt9925]

I might be missing something, but I’m curious how you know those lines are truly parallel? The lines’ angle relative to one another was never changed after you made your initial arbitrary measure. They would be very close to parallel, but you eyeballed square. Then you check for parallel by finding the shortest distance, it is true that the shortest distance would be square between the parallel lines. But if they are not parallel, the shortest distance would not be square. Right? I would have expected the 2nd string line meant to be parallel to be adjusted. It seems like a catch-22. I want to understand this technique, especially if it’s efficient! Thanks!

[@psidvicious]

If you do have the luxury of 2 people doing this, one of them can eyeball square, the tape relative to the string line fairly accurately and just call out “left/right” direction to the person holding the business end of the tape.

[@indianacornbread6407]

Didn't shoot grade? Ahhh....what's 4"-5" in a world this size, huh?😂 Brother, seriously though, I love watching your channel! It takes me back to when I was just an apprentice brick mason. My uncle taught me all this stuff. I loved the banter twixt all the guys. It was an awesome time in my life and I didn't even know it. You're awesome EC...keep going!💯🙏💪👍

[@carguy1312]

Anyone have a link for those square stakes? I google it and find a few options that are crazy expensive relative to round ones…

[@mackfisher4487]

Use a square concrete stake. Has been a running theme from your early videos my leg feels a bit stretched well.

[@trevermccall6762]

👍

[@toddavis8603]

No electronic gadgets here; JUST ALL-AMERICAN ingenuity from Scott Wadsworth, with his hammer.😅

[@normandfontaine5508]

Great video but can you make a short vidéo with a pièce of paper to explain how the second Line comes parallle. I did not catch the theorie. Tank’s

[@deepblue8442]

don't forget the bbq stakes

[@psidvicious]

*Steaks 😛

[@jean-marcdumas-perrin5324]

👍⭐️⭐️⭐️👏

[@terryholmes5820]

Must be nice to drive multiple stakes in the ground without hitting any rocks.

[@easyspeak101]

Thankyou for sharing your wisdom down the years, much appreciated.👍

[@rjcontra]

He's explained this strategy twice now...still don't get it...and I'm a home builder. :)

[@jaydmatacarita]

You didn't measure corner to corner which means it can be a parallelogram

[@GUknights75]

He pulled parallel and then measured to the shortest point to roughly establish square. He has another video that explains the next steps to square it. You don't have to pull corner to corner if you 3, 4, 5.

[@psidvicious]

Showed on the last video. This was just showing setting up the initial parallel lines.

[@MattsAwesomeStuff]

3, 4, 5 is a poor man's Pythagoras. That's what the sister video is about. It's all of 10 seconds on a calculator to lay out the base of an entire building, just do the actual math and get it perfect instead of extrapolating a line off of the nearest 3, 4, 5 you can muster.

[@huckwild1]

3/4/5-4/5 is all ya need to know

[@kiwigrunt330]

All you need to know if you're happy to waste time. The whole point of these two videos is to get you away from using 3-4-5.

[@larrybulthouse455]

Paralell lines ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

[@jaydmatacarita]

You need animations. And a drone

[@napkinslol7906]

First!

[@fcalin21]

Just buy a used a theodolite ! It will be faster and will measure perfect.

[@hisbothy]

String is cheaper 😅

[@fcalin21]

@@hisbothy 100 euros is not much for what get.

[@psidvicious]

It’s only money 💰 If you’ve got money for a theodolite, just hire a surveyor.

[@fcalin21]

@ You can resell it . A theodolite is good for leveling and and other stuff. You will end up cheaper than to pay a surveyor.

[@kiwigrunt330]

Even better, buy a 3/360 laser.

[@imout671]

you did say something about establishing parallel lines first

[@deepblue8442]

After you finger out what end of the tape measure to hold , find a stud and drive it in perpendicular.. If possible circumscribe an arc on tongue and groove pressboard to aid your drive intensity, then proceed with the installation of baby batter boards Whatever you do, don't blow your layout by prematurely marking the overall length. and remember that error is cumulative ,so always wear gloves.

[@Pyth110]

Why do you type like that?

[@ian5780]

If yoy have experience with this skip the first 3rd of the video. Unless you want square stake string tricks.