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Lasers for Dummies

zhkent

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2007
Messages
294
Location
Kansas
Occupation
Earthmoving
I would suggest a good dial in grade laser and a machine receiver to mount on a piece of pipe that you attach to a moldboard.
I think to cut the floors I would set the laser in the center of the floor and align it square with a side with the grade dialed in flowing towards the laser.
Now put a blue top or stake on dirt grade on that 1/4 of the floor. Set the cutting edge on the blue top. Now attach the receiver, turn it on, and adjust it up or down until it reads grade. Grade out that side. Rotate the level 180* to do the opposite side or rotate it 90* to do an end, setting a new blue top each time to run off of. When cutting each side and end I would mark the line for the toe of the 3:1 accurately so when done the bottom toe would be right on line and grade and the slope roughed in just a bit fat.
Next move the laser to the top, set a stake finish berm height, set cutting edge at grade, set receiver to grade, cut the top of the berm leaving it a touch high, paint or mark somehow the top line of slope, blade up slope, trim top of berm to finish.
Lasers are excellent for grades that are NOT convexed, concaved, or wavy.

Percent of slope to dial in equals: distance divided into fall
Example terraces I do. 3/10 ths fall per hundred feet. 100 divided into .3 = .003 This equals .3 percent. 1 percent is 1 ft per hundred. 9 percent is 9 ft fall per hundred. (sorry, not metric)
The plans might even tell the slope percentage.

Ok, looked at the original post again. The floor is flowing to the center - check - thats covered. The floor is sloping to the gutter may not be covered.
If the gutter is an end your life will be a lot easier if you get a dual slope level.
Same procedure, set up a side, dial in that slope (side to side). The added step is that now you dial in the end to end slope also in your dual slope level.

For clarification (or confusion?): a dual slope laser is still a single beam. It is just much easier to set up when there is fall 2 ways (side to center, end to end).
 
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