When it comes to do-it-yourself home improvement projects, having a laser level can make things much easier for you and save you a lot of time and headaches.. There’s nothing more frustrating than spending a bunch of time, money and effort on a project only to find out things aren’t plumb or square. Along with the old adage of “measure twice, cut once” something should be included regarding making sure things are properly leveled. Fortunately, today the laser level makes this process much easier than in days past. Not only are modern laser levels accurate and easy-to-use, but they are also relatively inexpensive. Actually, quite inexpensive as compared to a botched project. While there are a whole range of Laser levels available, ranging from the at-home do-it-yourself project variety to the very high-end professional dumpy levels, for most projects around the house you can do just fine without going overboard on the technology and expense of your laser level. If you think about the different uses where a laser level might come in handy, might start to be surprised at how many different uses there are for it. For example imagine installing a fence; You don’t want your support braces to be zigzagging all over the place between your fence posts do you? Or how about hanging a picture frame that requires more than a single, central support hook; you want to make sure those corners are set level at the same height, right? Same thing if you’re hanging multiple pictures in a row on your wall. You don’t want to be eyeballing it, pinning small holes, backing up, thinking it looks good only to find your pictures look more like they’re doing a wave than lining up cleanly.

And so far we’ve mostly just thought about cosmetic uses. Imagine the problems you could encounter by not properly framing a doorway. Good luck hanging that door and having it close cleanly.

Compared to the old-fashioned vial levels as where you had a glass tube filled with liquid into the small air bubbles that floated to either side of the center when you were off level, these new digital laser level systems are a total breeze to use. In fact, is almost nothing to learning how to use a laser level, especially in these smaller, simpler versions meant for do-it-yourselfers.

You see, most of these basic laser levels have hanging pins that allow you to have hands-free use of them. Simply hang them on the wall and let the beam of light self level and track across your surface. Some even have magnetic bases allowing for quick and easy attachment to any metal surface. Another option that’s available on some of the slightly higher-end models include the ability to project lines that particular angles relative to the level plain. This can be ideal for short distance surveying projects.

One thing to keep in mind when looking for laser levels is the strength of the beam of light in a project. You definitely want to have something that projects a solid, strong laser beam. Otherwise, if you work outside or in very well lit room you might have trouble distinguishing where the line is (or may not be able to see it at all). Also, some of the lower end models can have the line interrupted by small bumps on the surface, while the higher quality models will send out a beam strong enough that it will track over most reasonably flat surfaces.

Finally, one other option that’s very handy to have built-in to these tools is a combination laser level stud finder. Considering these tools are usually about the same size and weight, and are often used together on the same project, why not combine them into a single unit? It just makes sense.

Some of the better-known brands you might want to look at include the Stanley laser level as well as the Black & Decker laser level. Clearly both of these brands are well established and well respected within both professional construction as well as home improvement/DIY circles. In fact, some of the better features discussed above such as incorporating an auto leveling laser with stud Sensor, or the ability to project various angles can be found in the Black & Decker BullsEye models. Stanley on the other hand is known for their FatMax Laser Level. You really can’t go wrong with either one of these options. A few other, lesser-known, less costly options still worth investigating include the Ryobi airgrip laser level and the Ultronic laser level.