Thinking about putting it back up again this Winter :)
I've got rid of my 30' greenhouse to make way ... I have kept the 12-footer as a Propagation house. had planned to have it inside the bigger one, but decided it was too difficult to construction and glaze "over the top", so it will now abut
photos are a bit distorted, its 20M (away from camera) by 14M wide
I had planned to cover the whole veg plot with Glass, but I'm not sure I want to do that any more. This orientation will give me a long "back wall" (left of bottom photo) which faces South (to right of photo) along which I would like to have some fruit trees, and then a flood-and-drain bench for easy watering of all my pots (where row of plants and water tank stand now) ... and then the original raised beds to the right.
I'm wondering if I need a decent rotating laser level. I've used lasers outdoors before and been disappointment, but builders we have had on site have got concrete foundations to within a mm using them, so i reckon the ones I used a) were too cheap / not powerful enough and b) I wasn't using a "receiver" to find the Laser at the far end.
I reckon I'd be looking at £200-£300 for one that does the job, but getting the frame wrong is going to mean the glass won't fit and then dismantle-fettle-reglaze, which would be worth avoiding.
I'm wondering if I need a decent rotating laser level. I've used lasers outdoors before and been disappointment, but builders we have had on site have got concrete foundations to within a mm using them, so i reckon the ones I used a) were too cheap / not powerful enough and b) I wasn't using a "receiver" to find the Laser at the far end.
I reckon I'd be looking at £200-£300 for one that does the job, but getting the frame wrong is going to mean the glass won't fit and then dismantle-fettle-reglaze, which would be worth avoiding.
You could copy this cheapskate who used a long length of clear plastic tubing containing water and food dye and used like a long flexible spirit level, you fix one point then go around making everything the same, I always use it for ponds (nothing looks worse than wonky pond levels. But I can tell you are itching to buy another gadget!
Yes, you are right Charlie. I've used the long-hose and 2x clear plastic tube method, but what I've never figured out is how to "put it down" - all the water flows out :( and if you have caps on the end the air pressure prevents the ends levels equalising. Am i missing something? Really long clear tubes, to compensate for significant differences in height, when moving one ens somewhere else, might be the answer?
I've used that for fall-on-a-ditch and the like, but for a structure where I want to frequently check the level I think it would be cumbersome. I'm thinking that when I'm up a ladder with the other-end of a cross beam / gutter etc, it will be an advantage to be able to just hold up my shiny new :) Laser Detector, and when it goes BeeeeeeeeeeeeeP I know it the cross-beam is level
That said, a clear plastic pipe with a graduated scale that was ZERO at the water-level point, would make it easier to manage a consistent fall (e.g. for gutters) by just checking either the +ve / -ve offset amount. With a Grade Rod (Ruler-thingie) with a Laser strapped to it all it tells you is the height, but you then have to work out the offset from "base". I suppose I could mount the laser so is was exactly on some, random, height that was whole-units on the Grade Rod ... and then the amount Up / Down would be easy to figure out. Pretty sure the builders posh-kit has just given them that figure on the LCD readout, but they spent more money on their kit than I'm going to.
I haven't seen a laser-level, yet, that can do an angle - only dead-level. Whereas with a spirit-level and a long scaffolding plank I can easily do "1/4 bubble fall" ...
I used the long hose/clear pipe method too. I cable tied around 60cm of clear pipe to a length of steel rod and used to bash that into the ground until the levels were right then took whatever measurement down from the line I needed.
It worked a treat but the problem I have here is my clay moves all the time. When I finished my pond - a big circle - it was absolutely spot on level. Now one side is around 20cm higher, which must leave the casual observer to believe I am a clutz and laying blocks! My house, which we built (not me personally) is on 15m piles and still moves.
