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Last Post 05/30/2012 11:09 AM by  okclarryd
Laser Distaance Measuring Devices
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hunter0544
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10/20/2008 10:29 AM
    I am interested in buying an adjuster-tested laser measuring device that works well indoor and outdoors.  Although I 've been a roofer/remodeler for two decades, I never really had to use a pointing device to take my measurements as there is always somebody else present to handle the other end of the tape. My search has narrowed it down to three instruments; of which I need to choose one!  a) the Stabila 200 at http://www.toolup.com/stabila/06200.html   b) and c) Leica Disto A6 and Fat Max TLM 300 at http://www.engineersupply.com/laser...160;  I need your advice, suggestions and inputs about pros and cons of these instruments in regards to usability, efficiency, durability etc.  PS. The other day I went (as a contractor) to meet an adjuster at a fire-damaged building.  He was using the Disto A5 but at one point,  he put down his clip board, took out his tape and used it to measure the exterior wall length an off-set section of the house. He did not have a definitive answer for doing that when it would have been easier with the red Disto.  That got me thinking "caveat emptor".And that is where you field experienced members of the forum come in.  What do you think?
     
    Am glad am now able to start a new topic on this FORUM, which I have not been able to do for months!!
    Tags: Tools, Tools
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    stormcrow
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    10/20/2008 10:32 AM
    Love my new Hilti PD4 ($213) smaller then my now retired beatup old Disto, easier to use and better range. Can be found at any Hilti store.
    I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming in terror like his passengers.
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    Davidad1
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    10/20/2008 9:59 PM
    I have a older Hilti and a newer Bosch Dk 165. The laser works great for indoors. I have found it a real time saver when doing estimates, this is especially true in fire damaged houses when there is debris in the way and you need a measurement. I would suggest you get one that is back lit so you can read it in a dark house. It takes a little longer on dark colored walls ( smoke/fire damaged) for the laser to read the measurement . The Bosch is not back lit and I was spoiled with the Hilti which is.. Outside works okay. I usally use it to read the height from the ground to the peak or eve of the roof. Unless there is something at the other end to point the laser at it I find it is not real helpful on the exterior . If you are going to spend the money. The low end would be the fat max at about $ 100.00 up to the top of the line 1/8 " at 100', The Bosch is about $165.00 new and at lot less on ebay. 1/16" at 165'0.. The higher end models are accurate for a longer distances . All are more than accurate and better than a tape measure.
    Estimating is living on the edge between greed and fear
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    BobH
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    10/20/2008 11:12 PM
    I agree with what Dave said.  My old Disto works GREAT indoors, but Outdoors I only trust it to shoot the height of the soffit.  I don't care what the literature says, you cannot hold the dot at the edge of an exterior wall,  or the ridge cap of the roof to get the rafter length, or end of a fence and trust it to the degree you would trust a tape measure.
     
    They are awesome indoors, but you will still reach for a tape occasionally to bang out cabinet measurements - you use the right tool for the task at hand.
    Bob H
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    JimGary
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    10/21/2008 8:20 AM
    I use the Stanley Fat Max laser, it was cheap ($30), works great on interior rooms. I have also used it measuring outdoors, but like Bob says, keep your tape handy. Watch ebay for some good deals, that's where I got both mine, new in the box.

    JWG
    I know the voices aren't real, but sometimes they're right!
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    RandyC
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    10/21/2008 10:36 PM
    I used my Disto A-5 mostly for interior until recently. Not long ago I was showing a roofer how it didn't work so good to measure a roof, looking into the viewfinder and punching the button. He started laughing. "Take your hat off," he said. "The red dot is hitting the bill of your cap!"

    Since then...I've found if you turn your cap backwards, steady it against anything, wall, fence or two hands braced against your body, the red dot doesn't dance so much on the other end.

    To measure a fence, aim at the shaddow end and brace your elbows. When it works, beats walking 100 feet.

    To measure peak of a gable, I yank a six foot folding rule open, place the Disto on top and pop the red dot on the peak, add six foot to the measurement. Beats trying to put the dang thang on the ground, press the button and dodge the red dot all at the same time. Use the six foot rule (some use a yardstick) inside. stay in the middle of the room and let the ruler do the walking to the edge of the room. Works great when both walls are blocked with junk...or muck.

    Use the bubble on the disto. Hold one end of the six inch disto on roof, level the bubble, then measure from the other end to the roof and find the pitch per 6 inches. Multiply by 2 for the pitch per foot. Now it is a pitch gauge.

    Use Fat Max 30 ft. tape for all short measurements. I keep a 50ft tape with a tennis ball attached with a 1/4 inch fender washer and #12 pan head screw. Throw the ball over the ridge, or more often from the ridge let it roll to the gutter to measure common rafter. I use a long skinny Klien screwdriver stabbed through the tennis ball to stake it to the ground to measure foot print of the house. Sometimes the Disto is more trouble than it is worth. If you have to punch and read five times....you are better off using another tool for the measurement.

    Randy Cox

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    kmerian
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    10/22/2008 3:01 PM
    I love my stanley fatmax, I am on my 2nd one. But I stick to tape outdoors. A laser is good if you have something to bounce off of, otherwise, you have to set a target and then shoot a beam. And if you are going to do that, just run a tape. Or use a GOOD wheel.
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    ChuckDeaton
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    10/25/2008 10:22 PM
    Try a loggers tape/layout tape with a release nail. Ben Meadows sells them. Buy a magnet for your 35' Fat Max and use a Disto Laser.
    "Prattling on and on about being an ass with experience doesn't make someone experienced. It just makes you an ass." Rod Buvens, Pilot grunt
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    BobH
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    10/25/2008 11:12 PM
    Chuck, are you talking about this one?
    Logger tape
    It seems the end that comes with it would be great for exterior wall measurements (with the hook thing).
    http://www.benmeadows.com/search/logger/1344/
     
    Is this the "nail" attachment you are talking about? They say you have to rivet it on - I suppose you drill out the rivets at the end of the tape and secure this one in it's place.  Here's the link: http://www.benmeadows.com/search/nail/1335/122212/?recsPerPage=30 
     
     
     Your suggestions years ago re: Disto and also climbing equipment have saved my bacon, so I pay attention when you suggest something.
     
    Bob H
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    hunter0544
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    10/29/2008 11:06 AM
    I found a seller (wegotbetterdeals) on ebay who listed 'New in Box' Disto A5 for $379 and A6 for $490. These are the best prices so far; but am wondering if anybody here knows the integrity of this seller or if there have been reports of Chinese-made Disto knock-offs.
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    okclarryd
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    10/29/2008 7:58 PM
    I don't think I've ever heard of or seen a Disto knock-off.

    If I was buying, I'd go for the Sears model or the Stanley model. These devices are really good indoors, where the less expensive are just as good as the more expensive. I already have a Disto and I also already have a Stanley.

    Why would you spend $490 when $90 does the same thing?

    Aahhhh, yes. It's a testosterone thing. Kinda like havin' a lifted 4WD 4 door pickup that never sees mud.

    The guy over at Appleby's is sleeping in his lifted 4WD 4 door pickup with the twin turbo diesel and the Allison transmission and has two, count 'em, two Distos. He also uses them for night lights.

    I know this is true cause he tole me so
    Larry D Hardin
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    hunter0544
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    10/30/2008 9:54 AM
    Thanks Larry. I agree with your point, but what happened to "you get what you pay for"? Now, I don't see the Sears model that cost $90. This is what Sears have: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...00P?mv=rr. In addition to the "testosterone thing", In our industry, shouldn't one have an instrument that gives him/her only 1/32" error in 600' than the one that gives 3/16" in 150'. Hey Larry, did the guy at Appleby tell you that when you were sharing the parking lot with him?
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    ChuckDeaton
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    10/30/2008 7:38 PM
    Bob, first your posts amaze me. Second, my loggers/layout tape is 100' and the case is metal. The release nail is nearly the same but a little different. Rick Schaefer has one that he got from a company other then Ben Meadows. Rick also has a repair kit. The kit has a punch and small rivets so that the broken ends of the tape can be put back together. One of my tricks is to take a diamond file and put a genuinely sharp point on the release nail. Nothing like it and a Disto for measuring large boat houses in S Louisiana.
    "Prattling on and on about being an ass with experience doesn't make someone experienced. It just makes you an ass." Rod Buvens, Pilot grunt
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    ChuckDeaton
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    10/30/2008 8:15 PM
    Bob, this is what my tape looks like. I have added the release nail.There is a kit available with the tiny rivets needed to install the release nail and to repair the tape. I broke my old faithful and Rick Schaefer did the restorative surgery.
     
    The the spring wound return, the belt loop hook and the release nail make this thing work. Hook it on the fence, walk down the fence, note your measurement and pull on the tape. The nail releases and the tape rewinds.
     
    Another thing I do is to carry my camera on a necklace with a ball compass on the necklace (Wal Mart) in my shirt pocket. Usually I stick my pens(3), blue, Pilot G2 07,(Office Depot) on the necklace. The camera is a FUJI J10. My recorder is a digital Sony.
    "Prattling on and on about being an ass with experience doesn't make someone experienced. It just makes you an ass." Rod Buvens, Pilot grunt
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    okclarryd
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    10/30/2008 8:24 PM
    Remi,

    You realize you're talking about a difference of less than 1/4 of an inch, I'm sure.

    If the millwrights that are checking your measurements find that excessive, I suppose you should go ahead and get the really good one.

    BTW, I go to Appleby's for breakfast. You should try it sometime
    Larry D Hardin
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    BobH
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    10/30/2008 10:12 PM
    Chuck,
    Thanks for the info. 
    Your tips over the last 10 years have helped me, and lots of others.
     
    Based on your advice years ago, I got a genuine Disto (before the Fat Max was available).  Last year I bought the cheaper Fat Max laser as a back up.  Both are made by Lieca.  Both provided exactly the same measurement when I did a few houses using both on the same walls.
     
    But I always reach for the real Disto because it is backlit, the numbers are larger-easier to read, and it gives a confirmation tone when it gets the reading.  Those little points matter to me.  But any true laser is better than none, and the Fat Max gets the job done.
     
    The newer Disto can transmit the measurement wirelessly to Xactimate so you don't have to type it in, and Chuck is a step ahead of me on that.  There is another thread focused on that capability (follow the link)
    *****************
    Camera comment:
    You may enjoy a camera that has a WIDER ANGLE lens than the Fuji J10.  Your camera would frustrate me, trying to get an overall wide view of a roof, or of a large view of the risk - especially some of the commercial properties you do.  A wide-angle lens helps when getting an interior shot of a kitchen or bath and you are trying to show the entire room, but the camera only shows one wall because the focal length on MOST digital cameras will not go wide angle.  The Fuji J10 is NOT wide angle, and here are the specs (focal length in 35 mm equivelant = 38mm-113mm). 
     
    FinePix J10 incorporates an 8.2-megapixel CCD sensor, a 2.5-inch LCD and a 3x Fujinon optical zoom lens that captures large groups or distant subjects with ease thanks to a 38mm-113mm equivalent
     
    A wide angle would be 28, or even wider 24mm but very few digitals are wider than 28 mm.
    There is
    another thread focused on that issue, anyone that wants to talk about it should follow this link.
    Bob H
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    ChuckDeaton
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    10/31/2008 7:22 PM
    You are right! Cameras and images are a thing with me so I carry several with different applications in mind. Wide angle cameras have a place in my equipment bag along with 35mm, waterproof and video.
    "Prattling on and on about being an ass with experience doesn't make someone experienced. It just makes you an ass." Rod Buvens, Pilot grunt
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    swink_d
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    11/04/2008 4:22 AM
    I switched to the Bosch DLR165

    I find it much better than the Fat Max . It clicks when the measurement has been taken , The buttons are easier to find and use . especially the power on /off. It has continuous measure feature and the pythagorean theorem feature. Accurate to 165 feet and smaller than the others

     
     
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    hunter0544
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    11/05/2008 11:56 AM
    Posted By Larry Hardin on 30 Oct 2008 08:24 PM
    Remi, 

    .........................................

    BTW, I go to Appleby's for breakfast. You should try it sometime

    Been there!  Yes the food is good,  but never saw the guy in the parking lot nor you!  Did he leave with you   By the way thanks for the advise on laser measuring devices.

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    hunter0544
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    11/05/2008 12:01 PM
    Posted By Bob Harvey on 30 Oct 2008 10:12 PM
    Chuck,
    Thanks for the info.  
    ..................................................................................................................................
     The newer Disto can transmit the measurement wirelessly to Xactimate so you don't have to type it in, and Chuck is a step ahead of me on that.  There is another thread focused on that capability (follow the link)
    *****************
     .............................................................................................................................................
    A wide angle would be 28, or even wider 24mm but very few digitals are wider than 28 mm.
    There is
    another thread focused on that issue, anyone that wants to talk about it should follow this link.
     
    Bob, thanks for all these links. Shows you do a lot of research and you're a computer wiz!  I would like to be able to insert links and objects the way you do.  Can you teach me how to?.  You can PM or e-mail me.


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