I bought a low-cost lazer level. The thing swivels and allows you to mark a line accross the room. Works very well. I don’t mind renting things but I have used that level more than once over the last two years: once for installing my drop-down ceiling, once for the benchwork, and once for installing the background. Renting the thing three times would have been much more expensive. And chances are I will use it (or lend it) again in the future…
Simon
We had a 4’ level donated to my (now ex) club. It was in good shape when we got it. A few weeks later we discovered that it was bent, noticably so. I can’t imagine how anyone could abuse a level so badly that they managed to bend it!
Dave
My dad, who was in construction, told me that some guys tap on their levels with a hammer to get whatever they are levelling straight. Yup, he told me never to do that on his levels!
Simon
I work on old houses for a living, and a quick review suggests I have installed at least 1,000 kitchen cabinets just in the last decade or so.
First thing you always do, find the high spot in the floor…
Second thing, create a level base line around the walls based on that high spot.
Years ago we managed with 8’ levels, today we hang a lazer level on the wall and leave it there until the cabinets are up, so I would rather own one, as suggested, reasonably good ones can be had at reasonable prices.
As carpenters we try to get things plumb and level, it is more important for some things, less for others. But wood and concrete both have a mind of their own after we leave the job…
Foundations settle, wood shrinks, things change, making small errors into big ones over time.
Building a layout attached to a wall is no different than hanging kitchen cabinets, you need a level base line on the wall, forget about the floor or ceiling.
And plan on adjustable feet.
Little understood fact about kitchen cabinets and similar built ins - your kitchen base cabinets are not sitting on the floor, just like your wall cabinets, they are hanging on the wall, then we shim the fronts to meet the floor, to stop them from sagging over time.
And if the wall is not plumb, we shim the cabinets to get the front edge plumb as it hangs there, before we shim the space between the front edge and the floor.
Sheldon
I bought a laser level several years ago and being without it would be like being without a tape measure. It did not cost much from what I remember.
I fully agree with having adjustability built into the legs. When I built my new layout in my old apartment, I built in furniture grade levelers. They are 3/8" diameter as the floor in the bedroom was badly out of level. When it was still in the apartment, I also included a section from my old layout and also included those same revelers. The leverers allowed me to compensate for the out of level.
When I recently bought my house with a garage, those same levelers again allowed me to get that same layout level on the concrete floor which wasn’t exactly level. I also built a new section and added yet another piece from the old layout again with those levelers.