3 Bubble Level Tips to Instantly Improve Your DIY Skills

Summary

In this video by Everyday Home Repairs, Scott shares useful tips and tricks on using a bubble level, specifically a torpedo level, for various DIY projects like building a treehouse. He explains how to utilize a line level for outdoor projects and provides a detailed look at using a torpedo level for precision work. Scott also highlights tips for effectively using the markings on a torpedo level to measure slope. Lastly, he introduces a maintenance checklist to help homeowners stay on track throughout 2025, with QR codes for easy access to relevant video playlists.

Highlights

• Learn to effectively use a torpedo level with magnetic assistance for precise DIY projects. 🧲
• Master the art of setting up a line level to ensure your outdoor projects are error-free. 🌲
• Discover the secret functions of tick marks on torpedo levels for better slope measurements. 🔍
• Access free maintenance checklists and video tutorials to simplify your home care routine. 📅
• Get tips on measuring roof pitch easily with adjustable torpedo levels. ⛏️

Key Takeaways

• A torpedo level is essential for your DIY toolkit. 🛠️
• Using a line level is crucial for accuracy in outdoor projects like landscaping. 🌳
• A well-placed slip knot can keep your project neat and precise. 🎯
• Understanding the tick marks on a torpedo level can enhance measurement precision. 📏
• QR-coded maintenance checklists can streamline DIY home care. 📋

Overview

Scott from Everyday Home Repairs takes viewers through the practical steps of using bubble levels in various DIY tasks, focusing on the torpedo level. From setting up a treehouse to perfect outdoor leveling, he ensures your projects are straight, secure, and professional-looking. Using clear instructions, Scott guides you through each step, helping you avoid common pitfalls.

Among the handy tips Scott offers is the correct use of a line level, vital for outdoor projects like measuring slopes or leveling between trees. He demonstrates making a slip knot, ensuring efficiency and ease of use in setups, and highlights the importance of tight string placement to avoid errors. Further, he explains how to utilize the tick marks on torpedo levels for more detailed measurements.

Additionally, Scott introduces a 2025 maintenance checklist that categorizes tasks into monthly, seasonal, and yearly priorities, complete with QR codes linking to comprehensive video tutorials. This makes staying on top of home repairs manageable and less daunting, ensuring homeowners can expertly maintain their properties year-round.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Project Overview The chapter titled 'Introduction and Project Overview' begins with the host, Scott from Everyday Home Repairs, engaging the audience by introducing a tool essential for DIY and home improvement projects: the torpedo level. He explains its importance when embarking on projects like constructing a treehouse, where determining what is level is critical. He promises to share tips and tricks to assist viewers in their DIY projects, starting with an introduction to the line level as an effective tool for outdoor projects.
• 00:30 - 02:00: Using a Line Level This chapter provides a guide on how to use a line level when landscaping to determine the slope and ensure lines are level between two trees. It details the process of using a slip knot to secure a string or line, which can be readily obtained from any home improvement store. The chapter advises on making a loop, threading the free end through it, and tightening the knot securely. To release the knot for future use, simply pull the loose end. This method is practical for marking specific landscaping areas with precision.
• 02:00 - 05:00: Utilizing a Torpedo Level The chapter on 'Utilizing a Torpedo Level' provides a step-by-step guide on how to use a string and line level to ensure straightness and accuracy in construction. It begins with securing a screw partially into a beam, allowing for a slip knot to be placed easily. The string is then tightly stretched to a distant reference point, ensuring no droop for accuracy. Finally, the line level is positioned over the string, ideally in a central location where the bubble can be seen clearly to confirm the level.
• 05:00 - 07:00: Using the Torpedo Level with a Pressure Treated Board The chapter discusses the proper use of a torpedo level when working with a pressure treated board. It emphasizes the importance of positioning the level correctly to avoid errors in marking. The narrator explains how to align the bubble to establish a reference point, which is crucial for marking the tree. After setting up the reference mark, they proceed to use the torpedo level on the project. The chapter concludes with a note on boring a 2-inch diameter hole for a tree tab barrel after marking the spot.
• 07:00 - 10:00: Additional Tips and Conclusion In this chapter, the focus is on detailed advice for DIY enthusiasts, specifically about using a 3/16 inch augur bit with a rotary hammer drill. The speaker emphasizes the importance of using the drill on its drill setting and highlights the usefulness of a torpedo level, especially if it has a magnet on its bottom. This allows for better reference and accuracy when drilling into metal pipes. The speaker also acknowledges the potential confusion for those unfamiliar with using levels, indicating the need for careful handling and understanding of tools to achieve the best results.

3 Bubble Level Tips to Instantly Improve Your DIY Skills Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 how's it going you guys it's Scott with everyday home repairs Now using a level and specifically here we have a torpedo level is going to be part of your DIY Journey as a homeowner if you're doing a project such as I'm doing here where we're setting up a treehouse there are multiple different aspects to this project where you have to know what is level and it's not always a straightforward so let me show you a few tips and tricks that are going to help you out on your projects around your own house let's jump into it so first up before jumping into the torpedo level let's look at the line level this is super handy for your out door projects
• 00:30 - 01:00 Landscaping finding slope or here I need to reference a level line from two different trees in combination we're going to need some type of line or string you can get at any Home Improvement store and then often you're going to be doing a slip knot so I'll make a little Loop like this and then we'll pass the free end through that Loop and then just go ahead and pull that guy tight and you have your slip knot now to undo that and get your line back for the next project just pull your loose end and you're good to go so for me I want to Mark the bottom of this
• 01:00 - 01:30 beam and I have a screw sunk almost all the way in with just a little bit of lip there where I'm able to place my slip knot once that's in place now I can pull my string out to the tree in the background is 14t away and just make sure that you pull the string tight you do not want any droop in your string because that will lead to air when you're trying to find level and then take your line level and place it over your line try to move it towards the middle as much as you can where you can still see that bubble so you can see
• 01:30 - 02:00 your reference but you don't want it all the way to one end because again that can lead up to some error in your marking so I'll move it around to get the bubble where I want it and then once it looks good now I have my reference for string and I Mark that on the tree which will go on to the next part of this project where we're using the torpedo level so now I'm going to use my torpedo level I've already bored out at my mark a 2in diameter hole for the barrel of what's called a tree Tab and
• 02:00 - 02:30 now I have a 3/16 of an inch augur bit that I got to sink in here about 7 in now I have a rotary hammer drill which I'm just using on the drill setting a very long augur bit so I'm way out there and here's where your torpedo level you want to make sure you have one with a magnet on the bottom because now you can just attach that to a metal pipe or an augur bit like this and have your reference now it gets a little confusing if you're not used to level just
• 02:30 - 03:00 remember that when the bubble is on one side that is your high side so you need to drop that side to then move it in the middle and to make sure you're level now I'll Chuck this multiple times with this augur bit as I drill in because obviously I'm not going to leave the torpedo level on the augur while the drilling is going on so we get it to bite in there and get another reference
• 03:00 - 03:30 PR make sure I'm not going too high I'll lower it down a little bit and then continue [Music] drilling all right I'm going to get this Monster tab sunk into this tree and then show you a feature on most torpedo levels that homeowners simply don't understand and that's this other horizontal vial you see the normal level we use there and then there's one over here with tick marks on it and it has 1/8 of an inch quart of an inch and it
• 03:30 - 04:00 has measurements now most homeowners don't know what that is or how to use it so I'll walk you through an example because it can come in pretty darn handy so with that tab set now I've stretched a 16ft pressure treated board across and I'm going to use my torpedo level on top of that board to get my last reference mark on this tree so I can sync the last of my tabs now we have
• 04:00 - 04:30 beautiful weather today we are cranking through spring and I am trying to get ahead of all my maintenance items if you need a quick reference we do have our 2025 one-pager maintenance checklist it has all the items in monthly buckets seasonal buckets and yearly buckets and even better we included QR codes that you can scan with your phone and it's going to jump you right over to a playlist that's going to give you complete videos for each one of those items if you need to dive deeper and get more detail details so you see a link in
• 04:30 - 05:00 the description or you can just scan this QR code if you're watching on your TV print it out hanging on your refrigerator and just have that small reminder to stay on top of your maintenance throughout 2025 okay so now we have our 16t board with our torpedo level on top and we can see that that far side's A little bit higher than the side that we're holding right now so we're going to need to go up a little bit but here's where those little marks can come in handy if we look over top we
• 05:00 - 05:30 can see there is actually fractions there's 1/8 of an inch 1/4 38 and 1/2 and then we can see we're a little bit on the high side over 16 ft away so what this is saying is you look at the end of the bubble the end of the bubble is on 1/8 of an inch so for every one foot of span here I am 1/8 of an inch off so if that is 16 ft away that'd be 16 over 8 or 2 in so if I had somebody
• 05:30 - 06:00 holding that end and they're making adjustments I know now that I need to adjust by 2 in so I'll go ahead and bring this side up a little bit until we get to zero and at zero you should be right in the middle so it just gives you additional granularity and a little bit more on what your slope is additionally there's cool ones like this stalt that have an adjustable pitch that make it it really
• 06:00 - 06:30 easy to find something like the pitch on your roof so all you have to do is set it on your shingles and then just rotate until the bubble is perfectly level and now we see that this pitch is 3 over 12 or it rises 3 in for every 12 in of run now hopefully that helped you out let me know if you guys have any comments or other tips down below the video in the comments now if you want to dive deeper especially when it comes to those line levels check out this video right here and we'll really walk through
• 06:30 - 07:00 how to get slope of your yard for different drainage projects you might be doing and then if you want to see that project in action you can check out this video right here which is a drywell I installed on my old house when I had a flat yard and needed to take the water from the roof away from the house and place it out in my yard so thanks for joining me on this video and we'll catch you on one of those next ones take care