ROTARY LASER ALTERNATIVE BOOSTS PROFITS
by Dennis L. Vories, P.E.

A century ago, the builder's level was the only choice for leveling or measuring elevations over broad areas. A few decades ago, the rotary laser began to replace the builder's level by eliminating the need for a sighting person at the tripod. These optically based instruments still require setting up a rod and tripod and unpacking, attaching and adjusting other devices. They require line-of-sight, have limited ranges and periodically need factory calibration because they are subject to mechanical shock and amplify error with distance. If you want to measure a change in elevation, you must subtract readings from a calibrated rod where you have higher readings for lower elevations and lower readings for higher elevations. Precise GPS is still very costly, requires set-up and acquisition time, substantial training and won't work indoors or among tall trees or buildings.

About a decade ago, hydrostatic altimetry solved these problems. This technology had been in the patent literature for years with problems that prevented practical use on the job site. ZIPLEVEL overcame these issues to become the only precision pressurized hydrostatic altimeter in production in the World. It works much like an aircraft altimeter except that its measurement media is sealed within a pressurized cord making it 1000 times more precise and able to resolve 1/20 of an inch, while being immune from barometric pressure and altitude changes. ZIPLEVEL?s job site benefits far exceed the minor inconvenience of its rugged integral cord.

ZIPLEVEL sets up in seconds to level or read elevations directly in digits over unlimited ranges without tripods, rods, computations, line-of-sight, error with distance or factory calibration. Now, an estimator can instantly predict the finished level of a pad before grading an irregular slope. A concrete former can work alone without a rod man to check or set forms. Home inspectors, architects and engineers can roam freely through a structure to check foundations. Plumbing contractors can easily set a basement toilet and measure drainage slope to the main without readings from multiple instruments and tedious calculations. Landscapers can effortlessly know which way the water will drain. ZIPLEVEL has so many uses it has become known as the tape rule of elevation measurement.

No instrument will do everything. Lasers will continue to be the instrument of choice for vertical alignment, to grade over very large areas, for machine control or to set a dropped ceiling in an auditorium. As hydrostatic altimetry becomes more widely known, it will continue to supplement or replace the rotary laser while boosting job site profits.

Company Name: Technidea Corporation
Website: www.ziplevel.com
Author: Dennis L. Vories, P.E.
Address: 2121 E. Valley Parkway
City: Escondido
State: CA
Zip: 92027