"Ended up shimming the bottom plate to level it out visually—felt off to deviate from the numbers, but it definitely improved the overall look."
That's a solid call. I've run into similar issues plenty of times, especially with basement slabs or older foundations. Numbers are great, but sometimes your eye just knows better. Regarding laser levels, I made the switch a few years back and haven't looked back since. They're especially handy if you're working solo, and the accuracy does make a noticeable difference. For occasional DIY, though... a decent spirit level still gets the job done just fine.
Good move trusting your eyes over the numbers sometimes. I've been there—spent hours chasing perfect measurements only to step back and realize it looked off anyway. Did you find shimming tricky at first, or was it pretty straightforward once you got going? Laser levels sound awesome, but I'm still hesitant about the price tag for occasional projects... maybe someday. Glad it turned out well for you in the end, though.
Yeah, laser levels are nice, but honestly, for most weekend projects, they're a bit overkill. I remember my first attempt at shimming—felt like I was playing Jenga with the wall studs. Took me forever to get comfortable eyeballing it and trusting myself. Funny thing is, after all that fussing with exact measurements, the walls still looked wonky from across the room anyway. Eventually learned to step back every now and then and just trust what felt right...saved me a lot of headaches.
Totally get what you're saying about laser levels. They're handy, sure, but most times a good old-fashioned bubble level and stepping back to eyeball it does the trick just fine. Learned early on that lumber isn't always perfectly straight anyway—no matter how careful you measure, sometimes you gotta just trust your gut. And honestly, once drywall and paint go up, no one's noticing those tiny imperfections except you...and maybe your overly critical brother-in-law.
"Learned early on that lumber isn't always perfectly straight anyway—no matter how careful you measure, sometimes you gotta just trust your gut."
True, lumber's rarely perfect...but isn't that exactly why laser levels can sometimes save your sanity? I mean, eyeballing works most of the time, sure, but have you ever stepped back after drywall and realized one wall's noticeably off compared to the others? Maybe it's just me being overly cautious, but wouldn't a little extra precision upfront save headaches down the line? Curious if anyone else has had a similar experience.
