"Strings drove me nuts too—one accidental bump and you're back to square one."
Haha, totally been there. When we started framing our custom place, I thought strings would be fine—cheap and simple, right? But after the third time my dog ran through them chasing a squirrel, I was ready to lose it. Finally splurged on a laser, and honestly, best decision ever. Walls went up straighter, faster, and with way fewer swear words involved...definitely worth the extra cash for sanity alone.
"Finally splurged on a laser, and honestly, best decision ever."
Yeah, lasers are great, but honestly, I managed fine with strings once I figured out a trick. Instead of just tying them loosely, I used small nails at each end and wrapped the string around tightly—kept things way more secure. Also marked the ground clearly so if something did bump it (like my kid's soccer ball...), resetting was quick. Lasers are awesome, but if you're on a tight budget, strings can still work pretty well with a bit of patience.
I've used the string and nail trick too, and it definitely helps. One thing I found made a huge difference was adding diagonal braces temporarily while framing. I used scrap lumber pieces, nothing fancy—just cut them at an angle and nailed them diagonally across the studs. It kept everything square and stable until I got the sheathing on. Before that, I had walls wobbling all over the place, especially when working alone.
Lasers are tempting, though. I've borrowed one from a friend once, and it did speed things up quite a bit. But honestly, if you're careful with your initial layout—like double-checking your corner measurements and making sure your plates line up perfectly—you can get by without spending extra cash.
One other thing: anyone here ever use water levels? My dad swore by them back in the day, especially for longer runs where strings might sag or lasers might be tricky outdoors. I've never actually tried one myself but always wondered if they're worth the effort or just an outdated hassle...
"anyone here ever use water levels? My dad swore by them back in the day"
Funny you mention water levels—I actually dug one out of my dad's old toolbox last summer. Took a bit of messing around to get the hang of it, but honestly, it was surprisingly accurate once I did. Definitely slower than lasers though...probably wouldn't bother for shorter walls. Wonder if anyone's come up with a DIY hack to make them easier to set up solo?
Water levels are such an underrated gem—I remember helping my uncle build his cabin a few years back, and he insisted on using one. At first, I thought he was just being stubbornly old-school, but after a couple hours, I realized how intuitive and reliable they actually are. Sure, lasers are quicker, but there's something satisfying about getting it right with just water and gravity. Bet there's some clever DIY rig out there to make solo setups easier...
