The water level has been around for a long long time. This video will show you how to make a water level and gives a demonstration of how to use it. Like this video? Donate here: hackaweek.com/hacks/?page_id=31
Quick Southeastern Ohio history lesson. In the 1940's, the Soil and Water Conservation Districts started helping farmers set up contour lines in their fields to help mitigate soil erosion in our considerably rolling hills. They used a hose pipe (as my great-grandfather called it), and two glass tubes (remember, clear plastic hose really wasn't a thing in the 1940's) on either end to make their water level to lay out contour plow lines. They used a setup very similar to this one shown here. The beauty of this over using a transit of any sort is that one man alone could lay out the contour lines by himself. With a transit, it always took two people. A soil technician could mark out the lines, generally with white painted tomato stakes, then leave. Afterwards, the farmer could come along, and all he'd have to do is line up the nose of his tractor, or the hames knob of his horse team's harness with the white painted stakes and be off to the races with his new soil conserving contour lines in his fields.
You do not need to bother with the fancy fitting at the bottom. Just stick the tube in the top, tape it and then siphon it out. The level will still be the same as the level in the bucket. Also, I tape the end tubing to the edge of a yardstick with high numbers on the bottom. That way higher numbers will mean a higher elevation. Actual numbers do not matter; only the difference from the reference matters. Use a few drops of dish detergent to kill the surface tension.
Back in 1967, I was an apprentice carpenter, Local 906 Glendale sold us carpenters water levels at a reduced cost. Most of us had one. The water reservoir has space in it to store the hose. The water part sealed up tight so that you didn't loose the water over time, it also allowed the micro air-bubbles to escape. I used that thing hundreds of times, they are more accurate than a transit-level.
Amazingly useful information. I remember watching this video when it first came around and having this idea introduced to me for the first time. Well now 5 years later I needed to set some footings for a deck and needed them to be all the same height and I remembered this video and was able to apply this very concept 5 years later. I just felt the need to come back here leave my thoughts even if it’s very unlikely anyone will ever see this comment.
Pro tip: you can use a cheap 4 ft level that also has ruler measurements on it instead of the white stick. using one will give you an easy way to tell how “off” something is by reading the difference in measurements.
A water level is more accurate than a laser and will still be correct up to a kilometer after that your fighting the curve of the earth plus your spot on with squaring
Great video, great tool. I used a water level to grade the lot for my house and 240 feet of fence, level within within 1/32" . As you note, calibration is important, especially as a long hose warms and expands under the sun. Thank you.
I built a water level similar to this one to level a 24’x 25’ metal building concrete foundation form! Instead of using a white sticks like he used in this video I used a sheet rock T square with the inch marks on it. I was able to set my baseline and then measure up and down an eighth of an inch at a time. Yes it works very well. So well that a friend of mine came out with a laser level and checked my work and it was just as accurate as the laser level. I also used it to level the shelves in my wife’s closet before I installed them.
I agree. Very simple explanation. The reservoir sitting over on the fence is smarter. Ive only seen the fluid in the tube on both ends on other videos. I seen this in use 30 years ago. Thanks to RU-vid i found how to do it again. Great video
Just siphon water instead of ruining bucket does exact same thing but bucket is spared for all the other uses. Great video. Love these things. Simple and dead on. Thanks, great video.
Thanks for that years ago i helped my brother-in-law set up a huge double wide mobile home and he used this method to get it all level but i could not remember how he did it.I am building a new floor for my gazebo and thought about using the water level happy to find you tutorial very easy to understand thanks
Water tube levels are brilliant, I have one, just a long length of polythene tube. A couple of things I would mention. If part of the tube has been lying in the sun the water in that part can heat up a bit and will then have a lower density to the water in the colder part of the tube. This will put the readings out, however it may be possible to allow for this. The other thing is I always check the level before AND after using it by bringing the two ends of the tube next to each other. Then if there are bubbles or different densities it will show. Good video
great video. this is one of the better water level howtos i've seen on youtube. i think i'll try making one with extendable hose lengths for work. i think some people could confuse "square" with "a square" (whice you probably accidentally said in the video). a 10x12 foot shape with equal diagonals is a rectangle. if your outer edges are not equal you will find a discrepency in the diagonals and you will have a parallelogram or quadrilateral - where adjacent sides are not square. the video makes sense to me but i do it all the time for work. great video anyway!
thank you so much for this video, I was puzzling out how to use this across a 10m or 33' garden and using a reservoir as you have with the stick marker makes all the difference. so simple and obvious, I feel a little thick now but, thank you again, this really was helpful. As they say, the simplest solutions are.......
One way to get it pseudo square before you measured diagonally each direction is to measure down One direction 3-foot the ninety-degree angle measure down 4 ft and then in between the two measurements it should be 5 ft. It's called the three, four, five rule. That way you won't have to do a lot of adjusting once you start measuring diagonally. It's a helper
So I am building garden boxes, a green house, gazebo and a chicken coop. This morning I inventoried my materials and then stood with my saws, and work tables all set up wondering how in the heck I could get everything level. I can build furniture on a flat floor, no problem. Tried leveling the first tier of the garden box that is 25 feet long with my 3 foot level. The headache and frustration for trying to connect each short level to the last short leveled section! The garden box is not so critical, but the other fixtures need to be square and level. I knew there had to be a better way! Researching on RU-vid I found laser level instructions. $300? Ok amazon has some for less...$60. Now I start reviewing how well they work and how long they last. How long will it take to have one delivered, etc. Then I found your video! What a money time saver! I’ll have everything laid out in just a couple of hours and be confident to start my projects! I cannot thank you enough!
Excellent video thank for making it so easy to understand I seen some that over explained it . Thank you for taking your time to help others. Have a old mobile home that was cut in to a small work/ storage 45 foot long 12 foot wide going on to try and save it cheaper to fix than replace thanks again
Just made one of these to check for view blocking and base level for the HUGE shed I am about to have built. Using hose pipe, the hozelock cone shaped sprayer works as a valve and I have it poked in the 3/4 inch internal diameter clear hose I am using for seeing through, attached to 20 metres of garden hose with a jubilee clip. Fixed join at the other end is the nozzle from a caulking gun, cut down and pressed by hand into the hose pipe to give a rigid core. Then built up with electricians tape, then shoved in the 3/4 inch clear tube and secured with a jubilee clip. I should be able to close the sprayer nozzle, those yellow long cone things, to move around, then open it slowly to get to let water move to get level. In case I judge wrong I don't want to be over topping out the tube all the time. Measuring over 100 meters in stages with 20 meters of garden hose. Should be fun...
Use four hoses that way it shows all four elevations at the same time. Water always seeks its own level. No matter how many lines are coming out of the source bucket.
I have a trailer for a cabin, and I am going to be doing a couple upgrades this spring/summer, and I was going to ensure the trailer is level before I do any work, and am thinking about trying this method. Any tips? Thanks for the video.
True "the environment changing'' from day to day will effect the calibration. AKA temperature and barometric pressure. The key to circumventing this natural occurrence, Is why a "station point'' was designated. Station point is the height you wish to maintain of the finished product. If the reservoir is placed at the same station point every day, and allowed to acclimate to the environment, then it will self calibrate. If the station point is higher than the finished product height, you would measure down from the water level to determine how far your finish product height is below your water level height. Using boards with yards sticks and tubing attached to, makes this process much easier. Using wind shield washer fluid, allows this system to be used below freezing temperatures, because it will not freeze
Have first create a perfect 90 on two sides before the x corner to corner measurement works because trapazoids will measure out the same but not in an exact square, love your channel, thank you
If you use a 3/8 tubing,you get an accurate reading on your level..note:if you look at the video you'll notice the water fluctuating a lot.By using a 3/8 tubing will keep that fluctuating to a bare minimum,therefore giving you a fast and accurate reading
Great video. Instead of putting a mark on the white stick, you can attach a measuring tape to it and read the measurements and the differences in the water level.
very concise video! thank you. if you mark the water level when you calibrate, then lose some as you said happened to you, couldn't you just refill to the mark?
That was some great info. Will check out your other hacks see if they are just as good. This type of knowledge and simple steps has been lost on many. So many hacks learned over time and passed down need to be logged for the next gen.
this was really helpful, i found another video speaking of a water level and was like wow, thats brilliant for longer spans. I know its instructional but i would take avg of each area you want bricks and then find which ones id have the least amount of digging to do, however would i tamp the ground everywhere first before doing this? Very, cool, thanks again!
Awesome, one question please, once everything is set and readycan I move the water container around after I get my first measurement?? Or will it mess the accuracy and I have to recalibrate??
A water level is no joke and what this guy showed you is no joke. I used this method once on putting in drain tile. I wanted to be sure the drain tile was going at a certain slope away from house. A water level made it a million times easier. A farmer showed me this. Farmers are generally really smart and know this stuff
Hi, this is a very nice video. thanks for sharing. I have a question, do we need to choose the lowest point of the of the land to mark as "0" point or the highest point ?
its Amazing, thank you sir. But i am curious about one thing that, is there any specific height to put the water bucket on or may we put it on any level or ground ?
A guy I worked with once talked about a "water level" clear hose set up and we all laughed at him. He knew better than all of us. He did get me interested in it though.
Hi, can you please tell me what brand of clear hose do you use for the water level? I have used water levels almost my entire life and have found that the clear hose becomes foggy to the point of making it very hard to se the water miniscus to mark levels. It would be much appreciated if you happen to know a good quality hose that does not suffer from that problem. Good videos, Regards, Franklin
I used cheap clear vinyl tubing. Yes, over time it does get cloudy and stiff. You might try clear silicone tubing: coldandcolder.com/products/silicone?variant=31585760641121
