Road building with hand tools needs round-point shovels for digging, square-point shovels for grading, picks and mattocks for hard ground and roots, rakes for spreading gravel, hand tampers for compaction, barrows or carts for hauling, string and stakes for alignment, and a water level for height. A water level made from a clear tube and read to about 5 mm over 10 m gives a grade accurate to 0.05%, which is good enough for a 1% ditch and marginal for a 0.3% one. Check the tube for air bubbles before every use.
Part of Road Construction Basics
The hand tools used to cut, fill, spread, compact and measure a road, and how to make the ones you do not have.
The Water Level Is The Tool That Decides Whether The Road Drains
The parent article lists the kit. Each tool has a job:
| Tool | Job | Improvise from |
|---|---|---|
| Round-point shovel | Digging | A flat board with an edge of iron, or a hardwood spade |
| Square-point shovel | Grading and spreading | A flat plank on a handle |
| Pick and mattock | Hard ground, roots | Forged iron or a hardwood pole with a stone or antler tip |
| Rake | Spreading and levelling gravel | A wooden board with pegs, or a forked branch |
| Hand tamper | Compaction | A flat plate on a long handle, or a log end on a pole |
| Barrow or cart | Moving material | A cart, a sledge or a litter |
| String and stakes | Alignment and height | Cord and sharpened sticks |
| Water level | Setting heights | A clear tube filled with water |
What You Need
- A clear tube, such as clear plastic or a hollow cane with glass ends; longer than the distance you measure.
- Water, with a drop of dye so it is visible.
- Two measuring sticks marked in centimetres.
- A helper at the other end.
Method: Make And Use A Water Level
Step 1: Fill the tube Fill it with water and work out every air bubble; a bubble breaks the connection and ruins the reading.
Step 2: Fix both ends Hold or tie one end to each of two stakes. The water stands at the same height in both ends.
Step 3: Read the heights At each stake, measure from the water surface down to the ground or the mark. The difference is the difference in ground level.
Step 4: Convert to grade Grade = rise / run. For 10 m between stakes, 10 cm of difference is 1%.
Worked Example: How Accurate Is A Water Level?
Inputs: a tube between stakes 10 m apart; each end read to ±5 mm, assumed from the width of the water surface against a mark.
- The two readings combine to a worst-case error of 5 + 5 = 10 mm.
- Grade error: 10 mm / 10,000 mm = 0.001 = 0.1% worst case; typical errors partly cancel, and about 5 mm net gives 0.05%.
- Against a 1% ditch the error is 0.05 / 1 = 5%; against a 0.3% ditch, 0.05 / 0.3 = 17%.
- To get a 1% grade over 10 m, the far stake mark is 10 m × 0.01 = 0.10 m lower than the near one.
Longer shots add more error from bubbles and from the tube sagging. Keep shots to 10 m or less and reverse the check by reading from the other end.
Common Mistakes
- A bubble in the line — it holds the water apart and shows a false difference. Flush it out.
- A sunlit tube — the water warms and bubbles form. Shade the tube.
- A dull pick — it skids and glances off. Keep tools sharp, with the heads wedged tight on the handle.
- Using a shovel as a pry bar — it breaks. Use a pick or mattock.
- Too few barrows — diggers stand idle. Match the hauling to the digging.
Safety
Swinging and thrown tools
Picks and mattocks swing in a wide arc, and a loose head flies off the handle. Keep a full swing and an arm’s reach between workers, check heads for tightness each morning, wear boots, and carry tools with the head pointing down.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Grading & Earthwork — using the tools in order
- Combine with: Water Level — more on the instrument