19 Basement Finishing Tips | The Family Handyman

If you've been looking for an excuse to buy a laser level, this is it. Especially if you plan to stick-frame the walls—that is, build them in place rather than build them on the floor and stand them up. That's because with stick-framing you have to transfer the location of the bottom wall plate to the ceiling. You can do this with a straightedge and a regular level. But a laser is so much faster! Start by marking the wall locations on the floor with a chalk line. Then simply line up the laser with the chalk line, and the laser beam will show the location of the top plate on the joists. You'll need a laser that projects a vertical line. And we like the self-leveling type for better accuracy and faster setup. Self-leveling lasers cost from $30 to about $400.

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