How to Snap a Chalk Line

Need a straight line to hang wallpaper, lay wood floors or put in ceramic tiles? You'll need a chalk line - a small, eye-shaped case filled with blue or orange chalk and string. It has a metal tab on one end for pulling chalk-coated string out, and a reel on the side for winding the string back in.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Measuring Tapes
• Chalks
• Carpenter's Pencils
• Chalk Line
• Chalk Line Reel
• Common Nails
• Hammers

1. Measure and mark both ends of where you want the line.

2. 

   Pull the string out of the chalk line by the metal tab.

3. 

   Hold the string tight at both ends - one end on each mark. If you're working by yourself, tap a nail at an angle away from you into the work surface at one end and hook the tab over it.

4. 

   Snap the line once by pulling it up about 5 or 6 inches and letting go. The line should hit the work surface and leave a chalk line.

5. Make sure that the marks and the line meet.

Tips & Warnings

• The best results come from snapping the line in the center, but this isn't always possible.

• The key to an accurate chalk line is getting the line pulled tight for snapping and being precisely on the marks.