Installing Batter Boards with String Line [Shop Foundation]

I am building a 20x30 shop and its time to break ground. Batter Boards are used to find the corners of a building and to find level. I am using some old deck boards ripped down to make stakes. You can use any board you have laying around or you can buy them specially made for this project. Batter Boards are placed out so that 3 legs are driven into the ground and horizontal boards are connected level from those. Start on the highest location and move down to the lowest spot. A string level can be used or a laser level to make sure all battery boards are at the same height. The spot where the strings cross is the location of the building corner.
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[@KymTube]

Seth, I am a math teacher as well and we watched your video in all five classes. This brings a real life example of the pythagorean theorem! You did a great job!

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Wow I am honored that the video was helpful! I actually use the pythagorean theorem in my ram pump work too. Finding input head pressure and lift height. Thank you for watching.

[@evaristochongo7861]

Very helpful sir

[@salenakabobby-flowermen]

I'm a beginner, and no one showed me teached me how to mark the foundation of a HOUSE, this was a very good lesson for me. THANK YOU, SIR.

[@Andy-pr5be]

You may also want to watch the history of math has a great explanation of Pythagoras

[@pedropereira8924]

Thank you very much, great video!!! I’m going to use this knowledge today im on my way to mark my house foundation

[@franklinarguedas4832]

Batter boards are not replaceable by anything. However, As a builder I would prefer the water level to transfer the heights, it is even better than the laser level.

[@johnlasseigne7676]

Have you had a problem with the water settling? I've had to wait two hours to use it by myself. It settled 9" in 24 hours

[@jonathanravenhilllloyd2070]

I'm glad you said that, cos I cannot afford laser level! What could I use in place of the wooden batter board system? My ground is full of stones and hammering in anything but metal just won't go. If I use rebar, how can I connect something well to it horizontally that won't go off line? (This is my first construction project and I'm doing it single-handed😅)

[@johnlasseigne7676]

@@jonathanravenhilllloyd2070 maybe use sawhorses with some bags of concrete on top. You could tie a brace horizontally at the bottom for the concrete to lay on. How big is the project?

[@invisiblesurfer]

Great video, most clear sting line video on YT! Thanks so much!

[@shanehazelshow]

Really nice work Seth! Foundation layout is completely underrated. Great job keeping it simple & to the point.

[@jeanchery7246]

You are a great teacher and you make me to follow your skills

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Thank you. This process is important for the rest of the build. Start with a solid foundation.

[@kworley100]

Nice job Seth. I needed a refresher on laying out our daughter’s fenced-in vegetable garden posts. Your video did the trick!! Much appreciated!

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Happy to help! These sure are nice for a foundation.

[@markdyballuk]

fabulous explanation Seth, thankyou so much for sharing.

[@MainoLahui]

Seth your explanation is straight forward and very clear with the demonstration..I've learnt alot from this video.. Thank you.

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Great! I am happy to help.

[@mr.kymholley4500]

Thanks Seth, I'm about to start my 16 x 20 Shed and I'm excited. It's my 2nd shed but many years between them. YOU ARE A GREAT HELP!

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Nice! That will be a good size build.

[@jeromegarcia5396]

I'm more impressed to see someone use tires and rammed dirt, you belong to a very few, and put in elbow grease 👍🏼 I would of filled and off set them a tad more but just seeing someone using this mastery of building is impressive and hopeful for more people to understand the superiority of tires...

[@sethcraftworkshop]

That tire wall took a long time to build but it is doing great! The price was amazing as well. free plus time.

[@RabunRabun-i7b]

Thanks very much for the technical information . It's very helpful especially to me as beginner ❤

[@RabunRabun-i7b]

Thanks very much for the technical information . It's very helpful especially to me as beginner

[@Mile8461]

Pure gold! Thx for this.

[@edwardcarter6408]

Very helpful content indeed and thanks for sharing!

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Happy to help. Thanks for watching.

[@smarty0604]

Nice work mate watching from England uk 👍👍

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Thank you. This build is progressing nicely!

[@leomolina9618]

Seth, thanks much for the video!.... great job detailing batter board setup.... been interested in the subject for years!...👍👍

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Thank you for watching. Batter boards really do help to get footers lined up correctly.

[@johnlasseigne7676]

I would keep the distances from intersection to corner 2' that way when you pull the next measurement, just add 2' and hook the batter board, if you're by yourself.

[@stakafakats]

I was looking for that kind of explanation. Very crystal clear. Thanks for the video, looking forward to your upcoming videos. The way form PNG👍

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Nice! Thank you. These batter boards make a big difference in setting up the footers. This series is well underway for building a 20x30 shop.

[@alvarosolano-jb1qq]

Enjoy watching your video learn so much thank u for sharing your skills 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Thank you for watching! Battery boards are very helpful to keep the foundation straight.

[@Imsurewellmeetoneday]

Great teacher! Bless you

[@Lowkie619]

that is very brief and detail great video☺

[@matticus6339]

Thank you so much for this video. I am about to build a building and this helped a ton showing me what I need to do.

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Nice! Happy to help. Be sure to check my 20x30 shop build Playlist. Each step is layed out.

[@adamrobertson5456]

Thank you for the video im building the same size building and couldn't find any thing that explains like you did Soooo what are we building next.

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Nice! It's a great size building. I hope the series gives you some ideas for your work. Short break as it's very cold here. But a carport should be next.

[@АндрейРоманов-н6у]

you could use a two ruler and use it at the same time with Pifogorean theorem. very quick method

[@jonathanlamarche6349]

Thank you. Very helpful.

[@mravocado1283]

nice video and explanation

[@aliyarhamza9149]

Good information. Thank you very much.

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Happy to help! Thanks for watching.

[@HaistTamae-cm6cd]

Tremendous job well done.. Interested to work with you

[@HaneoErinuHanenama]

Really helpful information in details

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Thank you. Happy to help.

[@psidvicious]

The diagonal is actually 36’- 11/16”. I wouldn’t be so dismissive of nearly 3/4” in a structure that small. As you referenced later on in the video, you want to be as accurate as possible in the foundation stage. Mistakes and rounding errors now will follow you all the way up the building.

[@rmoreland3583]

psidvivious, you obviously have no idea how to set a foundation and the math involved. His 36' at the early stage is only a point at which to get started. After all 4 corners are marked then a measurement is pulled diagonally from opposite corners. Adjustments are made depending on how much out of square the diagonals are. Temporary markers are placed to adjust for corrections and diagonals are pulled again and adjustments are made, then diagonals are pulled again and again until the diagonals are exactly the same thereby achieving Pythagorans triangle. The way this guy achieved his project, although there are better and simpler ways, is correct because the actual exact number does not have be know at the starting point, only the finish point.

[@psidvicious]

@@rmoreland3583 Lol, You’re the kind of guy I know I would be letting go within about 2 hours. How many times are you going to go back and forth, walking from corner to corner measuring diagonals? If you are doing the Pythagorean calculation, you already know what the diagonal measurement is supposed to be. Why are you measuring over and over wasting all that time. Twice is all you need. Once to set it and twice to double check. But then again you’re probably the same guy that doesn’t actually do the math but instead thinks like diagonals equals square. Surprise, they don’t. You can have like diagonals without having a single square corner (isosceles trapezoid). Thanks for coming! I think the supermarket down the street is hiring!

[@Ne1177hb]

Or u could use nonretard units - centimetres

[@rez5305]

thx i had to do this today helped alot thx u sir thx for helping me get my grades

[@hayderalsalman7984]

Nice and very good job ...where's laser level i really wait and hope to see how it measuring with it.

[@sethcraftworkshop]

I brought that laser out and used it but the footage was so dark I left it out. All good! The skids on the footers are all level across the full 20x30.

[@StilljustHelen]

Thanks for this video! It was informative without giving to much info all at once and you did a great job of showing each step. I'm having so much trouble as a first-timer trying to get my foundation square. My soil is stable but full of river rock. So every time I put something in the ground the sticks get wonky and don't go in the ground where I want. Hopefully, the batter boards will be the solution I need! Do you have any pro tips for dense river rock soil?

[@ferousromongi3086]

Very helpful

[@darrrenmays9512]

Great content!!!

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Thank you. These string lines make all the difference in keeping the footers straight.

[@anthonymarafi8160]

Thank you very much. Just the information im looking for. Apprecieted it.. 😀👊. Line level tool..

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Nice! Happy to help. This method worked well for me. Got 35 footers set in a line.

[@ennisking6764]

Long Live Princess Diana. She's the world's queen!

[@docnez8562]

Always measure layouts with steel measuring tapes.

[@geraldobiang6525]

Very Good Vidéo Thanks a lot !!

[@brianmyers466]

Excellent video. Thank you

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Thank you for watching.

[@halorail]

Thanks

[@dankopland-dp3vx]

Excellent

[@PaulBanga-m4u]

when digging the foundation, do we dig it inside of the string or the outer of the string

[@sethcraftworkshop]

A little on both sides to allow for extra space when installing the blocking and skids.

[@luqumanayubu5773]

What about checking corner for right angles using theodolite in complex building setting out

[@sethcraftworkshop]

In a future video I use the Pythagorean theorem to check for square on the foundation frame build.

[@luqumanayubu5773]

​@@sethcraftworkshopFor the means of providing education to everyone , I prefer looking your video which explain multistorey building setting out.

[@luqumanayubu5773]

​@@sethcraftworkshop❤

[@jorgestephenso3528]

Just a question i would like to know why the batter boards have to be level all around?

[@whith5184]

Thanks for the video. But I think you skipped wayy too fast over the diagonal part when you're checking square! @11:20

[@peterrose5373]

You don't need to know anything about the diagonals other than that they are the same.

[@daedge304]

So helpful! I love KZbin

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Nice! Happy to hear the video was helpful.

[@samuelowusu9703]

Thank you very much

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Happy to help. These make a big difference in building the foundation.

[@jllaine]

this lets you remove the strings and get them out of your way for digging, and then put the strings back up to check what you did.

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Yes very good point.I put mine close enough to the ground that I could just scoot them out of the way a little bit while digging the footers.

[@silveriusshadap4464]

Thanks you

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Happy to help. Batter boards are very nice to keep straight lines.

[@walterbhurah9948]

Thanks bro❤

[@johnmoyer5515]

A lot guys think they don't need batter boards but then the mason yells I'm off the footer over here, you're to far out of square.

[@RonaldGundrum]

Maybe cover up the tire wall with dirt

[@alvarosolano-jb1qq]

That is pretty cool how you stack the tires how did u learn that 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

[@sethcraftworkshop]

I used to live in New Mexico and this was something that used to be done for homes. They would build the wall into a hill with tires. For a retaining wall it has worked well!

[@MorahEbuka-vm5gp]

What is the name of that small plumb attached to the line

[@Tas-r6y]

A line level 😊

[@wfvqrvta]

yr next video, should be making off a low side, how to bring it up to level with high side,

[@GodswayKofr]

Thanks sir

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Thank you for watching.

[@AllasanIssah]

4:54 ❤ Hi

[@lefthandedarcher2126]

Nice

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Thank you. These batter boards are a must when doing foundation work.

[@lefthandedarcher2126]

@@sethcraftworkshop got an upcoming pole barn/shop project coming up this winter had to refresh my memory on a few things it’s been about ten years since I’ve taken on a big project

[@SemjhapetSemjhapetdobriaalviar]

Measurement!

[@yutube1980]

Are this strings, squared 😮 already?....

[@sethcraftworkshop]

The boards are placed far out enough to allow you to square the strings. All 8 string attachment points can be moved left or right until square.

[@576Kaian]

That's what I want

[@enrique1374]

How do you get the 6 inches

[@beantown_billy2405]

I don't see any reason to use batter boards, when you could just use 4 stakes, 2 tape measures, and the Pythagorean theorem. So much extra work and fuss with batter boards.

[@zachklaphaak441]

The people i've worked with who thought 4 stakes are sufficient didn't know what the pythagorean theorem is. Or, for that matter, how to check for square with a tape measure.

[@psycomutt]

It's so you can slide the string around if you need to move it side to side. Having the string there for the whole foundation lets you keep everything square and level especially in the height axis.

[@JuanGonzalez-wq9hy]

I wouldn't let you build a dog house.

[@gregtipton5347]

Because you use the strings typically more than one or two times dude,the time spent is way better than you and your buddy trying to hit the same spot three times lmfao

[@gregtipton5347]

​@psycomutt you very seldom use the strings as an elevation tool,don't matter how tight you pull it,it WILL sag to an extent,strings are to get it square,, repeatedly

[@stanleyshults6427]

Building ,,code,,,20ft,apart between structures!!!!

[@sethcraftworkshop]

These will be connected together. They will become one.

[@333movie]

know-how good like like

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Thank you. These batter boards help a lot to level and square the foundation.

[@jhannnapaulla4431]

How to layout sphiriçal

[@stanleyshults6427]

Why so close with B,board ground is so hard ,,if digg,n with mini-x,,grand will break,out,,destroy b,boards

[@sethcraftworkshop]

All digging was by hand.

[@stanleyshults6427]

Did u check ,ur diagonal, to be square,,start at lower grade dig,n,that way water go,s to lower foster 4 drain,n it,who did test on site 4 compaction,with,in footer lines????!!!!

[@joeadams6333]

Like 👍

[@SemjhapetSemjhapetdobriaalviar]

Batter board

[@dwaynewhyte6092]

💯%

[@FrankSuHuang]

👍👍🌹🌹

[@stanleyshults6427]

Ground,,,,correction

[@carlwells4989]

What was your benchmark for your elevation? You lost me, when you resorted to the line level.

[@spacemonkey2915]

Why haven't you made a video? We would love to see your expertise. 😂😂😂

[@omarpalmer4084]

U need a next person to help u

[@sethcraftworkshop]

Working with two people does make the job go faster.

[@jjstickmanwar]

Grade 9 students

[@luqumanayubu5773]

Help me please and please

[@addirattan8051]

He did it wrong .his math is bad 😅

[@toddalberes9249]

No no and no

[@sethcraftworkshop]

These served the purpose. The building was constructed.

[@AresoRose]

Thanks

[@fathalwolf724]

Nice