Which construction laser do you need? 3 things to look out for

Lasers are essential in construction and installation to really line things up neatly. But you have them in many varieties. There are simple line lasers, as well as cross line lasers and rotation lasers. There are devices with red laser beams and with green ones. With a pendulum or a motorized dragonfly. What should you look for and what do you need?

When buying such equipment, of course, there is always the penny question. You have the choice between a simple line laser of well under 100 euros and you can go up to at least 6000 euros. You don't want to spend too much on features you won't use anyway, but you also don't want to run into the limits of your equipment. 'That's why you have to think carefully about what you're going to encounter,' says Herwig Janssens, founder of Laseto, which markets the FuTech lasers. He now has 25 years of experience with lasers and knows better than anyone else what they are used for and what users encounter. 'It happens regularly that I talk to people who have bought a cheap model, who after my explanation change their minds that they would have been better off spending a bit more on a device that can do a bit more. And vice versa.'

Laseto, Futech and Topcon

The Belgian company Laseto - short for lasers and tools - was founded early this century by Herwig Janssens, among others. In 2009, they launched the Futech brand, which has a range of measuring equipment. And thus also construction lasers. As of early December, Laseto additionally does the distribution of the brand Topcon. 'That is one of the three big players in measuring equipment,' says Janssens. 'They can scan an entire landscape from under a plane, but they also have lasers for irises. We distribute their lasers for construction.' That doesn't cannibalize their own products, he believes. 'Futech Pro starts with €89 lasers and goes up to €1300. Topcon only starts at 800 and goes up to 6,000 euros. They also have sewer lasers, for example.' While Futech is lord and master in the cross-line lasers, he continues. "I don't want to brag, but I put that feather in our cap.

What to watch out for

When buying a construction laser, as mentioned, there are several things to consider. And then you start primarily from what you are going to do with it, Janssens emphasizes. Are you an installer, bricklayer, carpenter? Will you use it indoors or outdoors, to hang lights or to lay a terrace?

Pendulum or motor dragonfly

"It is often forgotten," says Janssens, "but there are two different systems for ensuring that lasers are truly horizontal and vertical, and those systems must also be properly calibrated on a regular basis. The first is a pendulum system, which can be compared to the clapper of a clock. This system works with gravity, like a plumb bob. The second system is a motorized dragonfly. The latter system has three advantages. The first is stability. When the wind is strong, the pendulum is not usable. So if you often go outside with your laser, then you better think about a motorized Leveler. Furthermore, the motorized vial is more accurate. The pendulum has a margin of error of 2-3 mm over 10 meters, the motorized dragonfly one of 1 mm over 10 meters. Both, by the way, are fine to use professionally. Finally - and this is perhaps the most important difference - you can use the motorized vial to plot a slope. This is necessary, for example, when building a terrace. For this you really need a motorized vial, which can be finely adjusted.

Visibility of the laser

To work properly with a laser, you will need to be able to see it. Therefore, visibility is an important issue. First of all, it is important here whether you purchase a red or a green laser. The red ones are more affordable, but the green ones are more visible. "Only on a red surface, such as red brick, there again you can see the red laser better," Janssens points out.

Outside in the sun, visibility is a tricky issue anyway. There you often need a special sensor to know where the line is. It is good to know that there are also devices with a lens that make points on the line very visible. 'With that you can, for example, set two outdoor lights at exactly the same height by first determining one point and then turning the laser lens so you can mark another point on that same line.'

Horizontal and vertical

The very first choice to make, of course, is whether to buy a line laser or a cross-line laser. "What happens a lot," Janssens says, "is that an electrician, for example, buys a laser to be able to line up all the light switches and sockets. He thinks he can do that with a line laser. But he forgets that he also needs to be able to align lights on the ceiling, and for that you need a second vertical line, the plumb line function. Then you're better off buying a cross line laser for a little more money. Or a bricklayer, who mostly needs the laser to check whether the layers of brick are still at the same height everywhere. But then he forgets that he also needs to set out right angles regularly. So you always have to think carefully about what your whole field is, and only then make a choice.

At BouwBeurs 2025

Get everything explained about the different Futech lasers at BouwBeurs 2025, to be held from Feb. 3 to 7 at Jaarbeurs Utrecht.

Hall 12, booth B037