How to Use a Water Level
When working on a large project such as a deck or building a house, it's important to ensure that everything remains level. Surveyors use several pieces of equipment to determine an area's elevation differences, but you can do something similar with a water level. The water level is an ancient tool that uses basic physics to measure gradient differences between two points. Water levels allow you to level objects that are around corners, down hallways or in a field using only a few inexpensive items. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Two buckets
- Water
- Food coloring
- 5/16-inch or 3/8-inch vinyl tubing
- Permanent marker
Instructions
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Preparing the Level
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1
Fill the 5-gallon bucket about halfway with water. Add enough food coloring to give the water an easily visible color. Place the bucket on a table.
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2
Insert one end of the vinyl tubing into the bucket. It will help if you have an assistant to hold the end of the tube so it stays in the water. The other end of the tube needs to be lower than the bucket.
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3
Begin a siphon by sucking on the dry end of the tube until the water begins to flow. During this, always keep the dry end and as much of the tubing as possible below the level of the bucket and the other end submerged in the water.
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4
Allow some of the water to flow into the second bucket to clear out any air bubbles. Place your thumbs over each end of the tubes as you lift the tube out of the bucket.
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5
Drain a few inches of water from the tube and then hold the ends of the tubing side by side. With the ends evenly together, the water at each end should be at the same height. If not, you have a bubble and will need to refill the tubing.
Using the Level
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6
Decide the height of the benchmark point. This will be the reference point for the other end of the level. For example, if you are building a deck that is level with the bottom of a door of a house, the bottom of that door will be the benchmark point.
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7
Remove the clamps and hold both ends of the tube vertically against the first point so the level of the water is at the benchmark height. Use the permanent marker to mark the water level on both ends of the tubing.
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8
Hold one end of the tubing in place at the benchmark point while your assistant goes to the second point. This person holds his end of the tubing vertically against the second surface and moves it up or down until the water level is at the line marked on the tubing. Your assistant then marks this level point on the second surface.
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1
Tips & Warnings
The water level will not work if you have any air bubbles. Always check for bubbles before you start your measurement.
Food coloring can stain. If you're doing this project indoors, protect any cloth surfaces near the water level.
References
- Photo Credit Ryan McVay/Photodisc/Getty Images
