That cheap laser level from Amazon cost me $900 in rework

I bought a no-name brand laser level for $35 on Amazon last month to save money. Took it to a job site for a commercial drop ceiling install and it was off by a half inch over 30 feet. Didnt catch it until the whole first section of grid was hung and had to tear it all down. Spent 6 hours redoing work that should have taken 2 hours. Stick with a known brand even if it costs more, the calibration is worth it. Anyone else get burned by cheap tools on a big project?

3 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

3 Comments

lucasw842mo ago

Had a buddy get a cheap framing nailer off a site like that and it jammed every third nail on a deck job. He spent more time fixing it than actually building.

4

quinnm772mo ago

So my buddy @lucasw84, his experience with that nailer sounds about right because I had a coworker try the same thing with a cheap laser. He bought one of those no-name ones for a basement finish and it was off by almost an inch over 40 feet. He didn't check it against a chalk line first and ended up tearing out a whole wall of studs after the drywall was already screwed on. Cost him two weekends and a ton of extra material fees. It's crazy how a $35 "deal" can turn into a $500 mistake real fast.

3

samrodriguez2mo ago

Damn, I gotta push back on this a bit. Yeah, you can buy junk that screws you over, but not every cheap tool is a guaranteed disaster. I've grabbed a $30 laser level from Harbor Freight and it's held dead true for three years now. The issue is people not testing the thing before they commit. Your coworker should've checked it against a chalk line on the first stud, not after the whole wall went up. That's on the operator, not the price tag.

-1