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Is My Retaining Wall Level
Actually that was part of the original question, "how close is close enough over an 80' length?" All-in-all, It took about an hour to adjust the first row, which is now dead-on. I could have lived with 1/2in, but an inch seemed like too much at the time. I guess I have to realize that I’m not building the Great Pyramid of Egypt (although it seems like it sometimes, when you’re lugging 115-lb blocks around). Now, only 13 more rows to go.
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Is My Retaining Wall Level
The question 'Why?' is a good one. I understand that there's a satisfaction in doing it because you can. I also understand that it's a luxury us amateurs can indulge in.
I suspect that if GPS systems get much better we can throw away all of our levels--at least for most practical purposes.
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Is My Retaining Wall Level
I build automated machinery for a living, not masonary walls. The question about how good is good enough always comes up when you are doing home repairs. Personally, I like to get things as close as possible, but I pay a price as it takes longer to do things with high accuracy.
The absolute best level that I own for leveling machine tools will read 0.0005" out of level over a 12" span. That is as good as a bubble level can get as far as I know. So even that grade of level is only going to be able to measure level to about 0.040 over 80 ft. You can do about as well with the water level that I discussed in my first post.
For times that I really want a level line and where I want to use a laser for quick checks, I put my precision level on a steel plate and level it out and then put the calibrated laser level on that plate and ignore the bubble level in the laser level. I use an offset block that is the height of the laser beam above the surface that I am leveling. For simple jobs I put a pencil mark on a piece of 2X4 and make sure the pencil mark bisects the laser beam when placed on the surface. If I want something more accurate, I drill a hole in a piece of metal and this allows me to more precisely level a surface even though the laser beam gets larger at a distance.
I have known guys that have torn out masonary walls because they were not level. These were new walls that they did not do the prep work to start with a level base. In this case, a problem that might have bothered you was caught with the first row of blocks. It should be smooth sailing from here on. Good Luck.
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09-18-2003, 07:37 
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