Squares are important tools that make sure corners are perfectly square ensuring alignment, marking 90 and 45 degree angles on various materials, laying out lines and cuts, and even guiding cuts. Most times these are small squares that fit into a toolbox or are at the ready for many construction professionals. But every once in a while it is nice to have a large square on hand to ensure layout of pavers, forms for concrete, decking, fencing, and many other larger scale projects.
Large Foldable Square
This large collapsible square has proven extremely useful in our hardscape applications. Whether used for squaring up corners of a wall or ensuring a paver patio is being laid square, this tool has proven to be valuable in several applications on the jobsite.
The problem with having a large square is that it is not viable to be able to hold such a large square without the possibility of becoming warped and taking up the space that it would. But with the ability to fold the square upon itself provides the ability to be able to fold it into a portable unit that has less likelihood of being damaged when stored or transporting.
Applications for Hardscaping
- Retaining Wall Corners
- Block Step Corners
- Paver Patio Corners
- Checking Foundations
As shown in the photo above, the large square can be used for inside corners of retaining walls to ensure that they are square when laying in place.
When building steps using segmental retaining wall units, it is important that they are square to the foundation or what they are being laid to. In order to do that, a large square helps in that process.
Whether laying a paver patio, walkway, or driveway, having a large square helps in getting your corner established to lay from and even create a string line from to continue that square along the length of the project to ensure you are laying square to whatever structure you are laying to.
Often times with paver projects you are laying along a foundation. However, the likelihood of that foundation being square is unlikely. We are usually laying along a foundation that is not perfectly straight or if there are corners in the foundation they are not perfectly square. Placing this foldable square against those corners help us adjust our patio to the true square and not follow the foundation when it is off.
There are many other applications outside of hardscaping including squaring forms for your concrete, decks, fencing, and much more. It especially helps in getting your string line started in order to provide a squared stringline. There are alternatives to this which you can still use to check whether you are square including the 3-4-5 method. This involves laying a string line that measures 3 feet wide, 4 feet in length, and if the long angle is equal to 5 feet then the angle is a 90 degree or a right angle triangle providing you with what this square provides. You can continue this with the same 3:4:5 ratio including 6:8:10 and so on. Another method would be to draw a stringline along four different stakes in a square shape. If the angles from one point to the other are equal, then your shape is indeed square.
This is where having a collapsible square really comes in handy in saving you in the time consuming process of driving pins into the ground, tying stringlines, and adjusting as needed to follow these two methods. Instead, the large square will provide you with a starting point in your wall, patio, or whatever you are building and then you can snap a string line to follow that created line. At the very least, it can provide you with a starting point to then double check with either of these methods to ensure you are square in your project.