Inexperienced Self grading / contemplating buying a transit

[GE7EA]

I am wondering if anyone has used a transit to help with elevation differences on their property? I am thinking of buying one. I have about 10 acres with mostly uneven terrain. I am trying to do some grading on the property as well as redirect some runoff areas. Also I would like to level out a workshop area in my barn. Further down the road I壇 like to eventually build our home here and be able to verify it痴 being done correctly. I致e grown weary of taking people痴 word 土eah it痴 right? Trying to decide between a Bosch 26x Optical Level Kit with Tripod and Rod GOL26CK or a David White LT6-900 Meridian 22X Optical Level-Transit. Leaning more towards the Bosch due to coming with a tripod. Any experience or thoughts ?

 

[3Ts]

An optical transit is going to require 2 people - one at the transit and one at the grade rod. I suggest a laser level. Only one person needed, quick to set up and self leveling. I also think it's more accurate than trying to level a transit based on a bubble. What kind of range are you going to need? I have a TopCon RL-H5A which will do grades in one direction. I really like it, but don't use the grade feature very much. If I dig a ditch and lay a pipe, I'll use the grade feature so I can check the slope anywhere along the pipe without checking distance also. You will need a grade rod and they come in different units of measure, I suggest the tenths of an inch - they're easier to use. (I have one marked in 8ths and find it difficult to use)

 

[4570Man]

An optical transit works but a self leveling one is way faster. Personally I’m not at all a fan of the 10 inch foot scale ones. For most of the work I do I don’t need to measure anything and only need a reference. The one job I do need to measure is setting the steps in a footer. How many 1/10s of a foot are you going to set a 8 inch block on?

 

[Jim Nelson]

For an 8" curb it's .66' . Engineers use 1/10ths and once you learn how to think with it it's plenty close enough and most of our country has been built with this system.

 

[4570Man]

For an 8" curb it's .66' . Engineers use 1/10ths and once you learn how to think with it it's plenty close enough and most of our country has been built with this system.

That’s easy enough if you’re starting at 0 but difficult to keep up with when you need to work up and down 8” at least block in both directions. I’ll be the first to agree that the imperial measurement system is incredibly stupid and a 12 inch foot is stupid but a half way measure 10 inch foot is no solution. When you’ve got 10 inch foot measuring equipment but everything you have to build to fit is in regular inches it just makes more problem.

 

[rangerfredbob]

I have a transit, well it's my brothers... that I used to set up the pad for my shop, got it pretty close... I went all high tech on the grade pole and used a yard stick duct taped to the handle of a landscape rake... set up a grid on a piece of paper referencing things on the shop pad and numbered them and wrote down the measurements on the yard stick...

 

[TMGT]

I bought a laser transit when I was doing the excavation for my shop. I had a hill to dig out and was a one man show for pretty much all the dirt work so the laser made my life a lot easier.

Even the concrete guys commented on how flat my site was.

The transit also came in handy when I did the siding on the shop and house to keep the starter nice and level.

This is the one I bought.

Johnson Level & Tool 99-6K Self Leveling Rotary Laser System Kit, Soft Shell Carrying Case, Alkaline Battery, Tripod, Mounting Bracket, 13ft Grade Rod, Magnetic Target, Protective Glasses - - Amazon.com

 

[GE7EA]

I appreciate the input. I understand the challenges of using tenths and with it being a two person operation. I thought of getting a self leveling laser but I don’t think I can justify the cost difference. I would use the tool a lot for awhile but then not much at all. The grade feature that 3Ts mentioned with the TopCon is interesting and I’ll have to check that out. My land varies a great deal and wondered if one that can adjust vertically to read degrees would be good. My experience using a transit has been setting machinery so the elevation variances have not been much. I can see benefits to each of the variations but still just want to be sure before making a purchase.

 

[JimRB]

I used an Stanley electronic water level when I graded for my 36x72 horse barn. I moved about 3 feet of dirt out of one end. When I did the barn poles I got a simple dumpy level, from Sears I believe. When setting up things in the barn I would place the staff/measuring stick on a post with a bungie cord and read the staff. Walk back to the staff and make a witness mark/reference mark on all 38 posts. Not that big of a deal to use a dumpy level and it can be a slightly inconvenient one man show. I later got a laser level from a pawn shop. Not all that impressive or significantly easier. OK maybe easier but I trusted the crosshairs more than a fuzzy laser line or the electronic sensor. Old school me. The self leveling of the laser is kind of nice though not reading bubble. Yes the sensor kit is good as the laser is not easy to see in daylight. The guys out installing the replacement field lines used a laser level and the electronic sensor. They work it pretty quick. https://civiltoday.com/surveying/12-dumpy-level

By the way when it was time to build my house I told the builder I wanted a daylight basement here after I had used the old school optical dumpy level and measuring staff. He said he did not see a daylight basement there. The grading service dug out the basement and it worked well exactly where I wanted it. Dry basement mostly underground with an easy walk out.

 

[fried1765]

I used an Stanley electronic water level when I graded for my 36x72 horse barn. I moved about 3 feet of dirt out of one end. When I did the barn poles I got a simple dumpy level, from Sears I believe. When setting up things in the barn I would place the staff/measuring stick on a post with a bungie cord and read the staff. Walk back to the staff and make a witness mark/reference mark on all 38 posts. Not that big of a deal to use a dumpy level and it can be a slightly inconvenient one man show. I later got a laser level from a pawn shop. Not all that impressive or significantly easier. OK maybe easier but I trusted the crosshairs more than a fuzzy laser line or the electronic sensor. Old school me. The self leveling of the laser is kind of nice though not reading bubble. Yes the sensor kit is good as the laser is not easy to see in daylight. The guys out installing the replacement field lines used a laser level and the electronic sensor. They work it pretty quick. Dumpy Level Survey–What, Where, How, Parts - Civil Engineering

By the way when it was time to build my house I told the builder I wanted a daylight basement here after I had used the old school optical dumpy level and measuring staff. He said he did not see a daylight basement there. The grading service dug out the basement and it worked well exactly where I wanted it. Dry basement mostly underground with an easy walk out.

I have a transit!
A C.L. Berger from the 40's
I was a Civil Engineering student in the early 60's, and bought it shortly thereafter.
My Berger is a truly beautiful piece of equipment, with 20 second accuracy.
I will never part with it!

 

[dodge man]

A level will be simpler to use but only does elevations. A transit measures angles also, both in the vertical and horizontal. I am a retired land surveyor and never thought much of David White stuff.

Everything we did was in tenths and hundredths of a foot. We never used an inch rod. About the only thing done in inches was pipe sizes and tree diameters.

 

[Egon]

Go look at at a hand held level. It will do everything you want.

 

[/pine]

Check pawn shops for used transits...just do a two peg test to check it...

Reminds me of the age old question (posed to civil engineering majors)...what's the difference between precision and accuracy...!

 

[stevewarner1957]

I worked for a state highway dept and used a Zeiss NI2 level to shoot grades and set pipe. After I retired I saw one listed at a auction. I bought the NI2 level with a great tripod and level rod for $40. Zeiss optics are fantastic! I’m used to ft/10ths

 

[/pine]

I worked for a state highway dept and used a Zeiss NI2 level to shoot grades and set pipe. After I retired I saw one listed at a auction. I bought the NI2 level with a great tripod and level rod for $40. Zeiss optics are fantastic! I知 used to ft/10ths

:thumbsup:...it was always great to look down a long run of pipe and see a perfectly round hole of daylight at the other end...!

 

[Jim Nelson]

A level will be simpler to use but only does elevations. A transit measures angles also, both in the vertical and horizontal. I am a retired land surveyor and never thought much of David White stuff.

Everything we did was in tenths and hundredths of a foot. We never used an inch rod. About the only thing done in inches was pipe sizes and tree diameters.

I was trying to say what you just said so much simpler. As an operator and grade checker, working from stakes set by surveyors like yourself , we always used tenths & hundredths. Inches and fractions were for the carpenters and concrete crews.

 

[BoylermanCT]

The holes for my pole barn were dug using a laser transit. Pretty slick. Then we used an optical transit for setting the posts. Finally we used a water level when positioning the skirt boards. The water level was pretty fool proof, even over long distances.

 

[dodge man]

They make folding rulers, called engineers rulers that have tenths and hundredths on one side, inches on the other. Most construction companies worked in tenths and hundredths. I gave away a couple of those rulers to contractors who wanted grade stakes in inches, which I wouldn’t do.

I wouldn’t recommend a hand level for anything but very rough work.

$40 for a Zeiss NI2, that was a steal, one of the best auto levels ever made.

Accuracy and precision? It seems like that is a common question on the test required for a surveyors license. I can’t remember for sure, I took in in 1991. People need to Google it, it’s a important concept.

 

[Egon]

They make folding rulers, called engineers rulers that have tenths and hundredths on one side, inches on the other. Most construction companies worked in tenths and hundredths. I gave away a couple of those rulers to contractors who wanted grade stakes in inches, which I wouldn’t do.

I wouldn’t recommend a hand level for anything but very rough work.

$40 for a Zeiss NI2, that was a steal, one of the best auto levels ever made.

Accuracy and precision? It seems like that is a common question on the test required for a surveyors license. I can’t remember for sure, I took in in 1991. People need to Google it, it’s a important concept.

I can recall a 375 foot cut being brought down with a hand level. It had 1 to 1 side slopes with an 11 foot berm every 20 feet. Came out right on. The interesting fact was that on completion the owners surveyor thought there was about a 40 foot error till he discovered his mistake. There were about 12 D9H dozers with U blades working on the cut. Yea, I was the guy with the hand level!.

 

[3Ts]

I can recall a 375 foot cut being brought down with a hand level. It had 1 to 1 side slopes with an 11 foot berm every 20 feet. Came out right on. The interesting fact was that on completion the owners surveyor thought there was about a 40 foot error till he discovered his mistake. There were about 12 D9H dozers with U blades working on the cut. Yea, I was the guy with the hand level!.

There is a road (highway 60) thru the swamp in Indian River county in Florida (around Vero area) that they rebuilt the road (offset from the existing one) many years ago. Surveyors worked from both ends and the construction crews were building behind them. When the surveyors met they were 60' apart. It caused quite a furor. Fortunately, the construction was far enough back that they could put in a curve to meet up.