Levelling Dirt

I've got some dirt work to do so that I can install a deck near the pool. It's going to be about 16' X 22', about a foot higher than the level of the concrete deck that surrounds the pool.

I've got the deck designed in my head, and I'm finishing the paper plans. I like to have a plan down on paper before I start work on anything. It's easier to explain it to folks if I can show them a drawing.

The main problem is that the ground at that end of the pool isn't level. Louisiana is basically flat, and I don't have nearly the problems that my brother in Vermont has with finding level, but my eyeball isn't calibrated.

Then, I remembered that Daddy had one of these little darlings. That's a Craftsman Laser Trac 360 degree level. It's a sweet thing when you're trying to find a reference point. We live in the future, I swear we do. Yeah, I could level it the old-fashioned way with a string and bubble-level, but technology will let me put a virtual string just about anywhere.



So, I hied myself over to Momma's house and borrowed it. We found it in his tool chest, with spare batteries. It's a laser level and it rotates 360 degrees. With that little tool and a photography tripod, it was easy work to learn that one end of my dirt is 14" higher than the other end.

I'll get started on the deck on the Tuesday after Memorial Day. That little level should take most of the aggravation out of leveling the framework.