What’s a spirit level and its purpose?
The most common spirit level is a straight rectangular tubing or plastic frame called a straight edge, with multiple cylindrical bubble levels in it. A level is used to see if something is horizontal(level) with the Earth’s gravitational pull, squared(vertical/plumb), or any other angle to it. Digital levels can tell you exactly at what angle it is at.
How do you use a spirit level?
- Make sure your level is clean with no debris on it or sticking to it
- Lay flat on an object or hold it against the object if you are looking for an angle
- Hold still till bubble stops moving
- If the bubble is between the two lines then you know it is level
- Otherwise, adjust the object or level till the bubble is between the lines
Phone vs a spirit level
Your phone has a gyroscope that is used by your phone to notice when you turn your phone so it can go into landscape mode. The gyroscope in turn can be used for a level with the right app.
I don’t recommend using your phone as a level because of all the buttons and the camera sticking out. This creates an uneven surface that can’t be relied on to get a true level. Rather just use a flat-surfaced level that won’t distort your results.
How to draw a perfectly vertical or horizontal line on a wall?
When mounting up anything you will most likely need to get a level line on your wall. It is very easy with your average level to get a neat and level line.
Simply hold your level against the wall with your bubble in between the two lines. This indicates that you are squared with the Earth’s gravitational pull.
How to know if your level is level?
Checking to see if your level is level there are a few ways to do so, but the best way is to check with another level. Place the levels on the same surface and if they display the same results then it’s safe to assume that they are level.
If there’s a difference I recommend getting a third level to check again to see which one might be off.
This is the safest way to check how the accuracy of your level because it eliminates any margin for error with different methods
Another method is to hold the level against the wall and draw a line with a pencil. Then rotate it around and hold it flush to the line. If the bubble isn’t centered then your level is off, but there can be a margin of error where you might not be holding it perfectly.
The last way is similar to the line method. Just find a flat level surface with your level and then rotate it to see if the bubble is centered.
