Stabila

A Stabila level is what a contractor reaches for to check level and plumb on block and brick, framing, concrete forms, window openings, road work and landscaping. Stabila builds its tools for construction professionals. On the yellow levels the vials are cast into the profile, so there’s nothing to work loose and the reading holds over the long term.

Stabila Messgeräte Gustav Ullrich GmbH is based in Annweiler am Trifels, in Germany’s Rhineland-Palatinate, and has made measuring tools since 1889. Gustav Ullrich founded it, and his descendants still own it. The company is known for spirit levels, folding rules and electronic measuring tools, and its Annweiler plant turns out up to 14,000 spirit levels a day.

Box levels and level sets

Buy the 48-inch and 16-inch pair first. The 48 spans studs, headers and door and window openings; the 16 reads a single block, the space between studs or the inside of a cabinet box. The most common mistake is owning only a 4-footer and setting it across a spot it doesn’t fit, where it rocks on a high point and reads level when the work isn’t. The 32-inch box level covers the middle, on a vanity top or a window stool where the 48 hangs off and the 16 is too short to read across. For hanging doors, the 78/41 set is the one: the 78 reads almost the full height of a standard 80-inch jamb in one go, and the 41 checks the head and the width of the opening.

Stabila’s magnetic box levels, in 24 and 48 inches and a 32/78 pair, stick to steel studs, conduit, pipe and metal framing, so both hands stay free. The 24-inch heavy-duty and the 96-inch heavy-duty box levels are the rough-work lengths for forms and block. If you’re starting a kit or replacing a worn one, the sets save the shopping: the Pro set of 12, 24 and 48 inches with a case, the Masons, Classic and Magnetic three-level sets, and the six-piece heavy-duty kit. The 10-inch torpedo is the level that lives in the tool pouch: it reads level, plumb and 45 degrees, and it is the one for setting a pressure tank, pitching a drain line under a sink or squaring up an electrical box, anywhere a 16-inch level won’t fit between the pipes. The 8-inch box level does the same job with a full box profile for tight spots on a cabinet run.

The vial guarantee

What sets a Stabila apart is the vial guarantee: Stabila guarantees for the life of the level that its vials won’t fog, leak or lose their stated accuracy, and replaces the level free if a vial fails from a manufacturer’s defect. A cheap level is accurate the day it’s new; what matters is whether it’s still accurate after three seasons of sliding off planks and riding under a pile of tools. Every Stabila product is checked several times during production, under a quality process certified to DIN ISO 9001, and the electronic tools carry two years of coverage against defects in materials or workmanship.

The Dark Shadow set

Dark Shadow is Stabila’s black level line, in an anthracite matte finish, sold as 24- and 48-inch sets with a case. The vials are locked into the profile the same way as on the yellow levels. The end caps pull off, so you can set the level tight into an inside corner and mark right to it. With the caps on, the slip stoppers hold the level still while you scribe a line. Two vertical vials let you read plumb in any position without turning the level around, and the powder-coated finish wipes clean after mortar or concrete work.

R Beam levels

The R Beam, Stabila’s Type R 300, is the toughest level Stabila makes, built for the roughest job sites. The profile is a five-chamber R shape that stays light and resists twisting, and the extra-wide measuring surface keeps it from tipping over on a form board or a top plate. It has three marking and cutting edges and a handrail with a finger groove, so it’s easy to hang onto with gloves on when a foundation is getting formed in a Montana November, the week before the ground freezes for good. It comes in 24, 48, 72 and 96 inches and as a three-level set with a case. Use the 96-inch on a long wall, a slab form or a run of joists: a 4-foot level sits on one hump and misses the next, while the 96 reads across the whole span. The 48-inch R Beam is the everyday framing length, and the 72 handles walls and tall forms.

Type 196 heavy-duty levels

The Type 196 is the heavy-duty box level with rubberized handholds, on an extra-rigid aluminum profile with two flat-milled measuring surfaces. The vials are locked in and read to 0.5 mm per meter, and the end caps absorb the knocks and have slip stoppers so the level holds still while you mark. The 48 is the everyday length for a mason or a concrete crew, and the 72 checks a wall or a tall form in one reading.

The digital box level

Stabila’s IP67 digital box levels come in 24, 48 and 72 inches, the magnetic 48 and 72 with a case, and they’re the levels for slopes. Set a number for the fall on a concrete form, the drainage on a patio slab or the pitch on a garage apron so snowmelt runs away from the door instead of freezing into a sheet of ice against it every March, then repeat that same number at every stake instead of judging where the bubble sits. IP67 means the level is sealed against dust and water, so it keeps reading through wet snow on a fall pour and rinses off with the hose afterward, and Stabila builds the digital level to need no calibration. The vials on the same profile still read level and plumb the old way.

Plate levels, cases and end caps

Stabila’s plate levels extend from plate to plate, 6 to 10 feet or 7 to 12 feet, so one level plumbs a wall from the bottom plate to the top plate in a single reading instead of stepping a 4-footer up the studs. That’s the tool for a framing crew standing walls. The nylon plate level case fits the 7 to 12 foot level, and Stabila makes a maintenance kit for its plate levels. Levels that wear out early usually rode loose in a truck bed under tools, so keep the set zipped in its case between jobs. Replace an end cap as soon as it cracks, since the cap takes the hit that would otherwise land on the end of the profile.

Checking a level for accuracy

Check a level with one level and a pencil instead of stacking two and comparing bubbles. Set it on a flat surface, note the bubble and draw a line along the edge. Turn it 180 degrees end to end, set it right on that line and read again: if the bubble sits in the same place, the vial is accurate, and if it moved, the level is out. For the plumb vials, hold the level plumb against a door frame or wall, mark along it, flip it face for face and read again the same way, then do the same for the second plumb vial. Check a new level before its first job and again after any hard drop.

Other Stabila tools

Stabila’s tape measures come in 26 and 33 feet for the belt, and the 165-foot and 330-foot Y-frame tapes lay out a foundation, a fence line or a lot corner, which on a Montana acreage means pulling a straight line across a quarter mile of pasture to set the corner posts. Stabila also makes laser distance measurers and wooden folding rules. The folding rule is where the family started: in 1886 Anton Ullrich and his brother Franz patented the spring-loaded joint for it.

Stabila lasers

A laser does the layout a chalk line and a level do, only faster and across a whole room or a whole site. The LAX 300 G is a green-beam cross line laser with plumb points, for cabinets, shelving, tile and trim, and the green beam is the one to buy because it shows up on a wall in a bright room where a red beam disappears. The LAX 600 G throws three planes all the way around the room, so one setup lays out every wall and the ceiling at once for a drop ceiling or a run of upper cabinets. For outdoor work, the LAR 160 and LAR 300 rotary lasers come as kits, the LAR 300 with a tripod, and they are the tools for grading a driveway, setting footings and running a fence line, where a line laser washes out in daylight and you read the beam with a detector instead. Stabila builds its lasers in Changzhou, China, and covers the electronic tools for two years.

Stabila levels at a glance

Level	Lengths
R Beam level (Type R 300)	24 in, 48 in, 72 in, 96 in
Box level	8 in, 24 in, 32 in, 96 in
Magnetic box level	24 in, 48 in, 32/78 in pair
Level sets, with case	48/16, 78/41, Pro 12/24/48, Masons, Classic, Magnetic, 6-piece HD kit
Torpedo level	10 in
Plate level	6 to 10 ft, 7 to 12 ft
IP67 digital box level	24 in, 48 in, 72 in
Dark Shadow set, with case	24 in and 48 in
Type 196 level with handholds	48 in, 72 in
Lasers	LAX 300 G cross line, LAX 600 G 3-plane, LAR 160 and LAR 300 rotary kits

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Stabila levels worth it?

Yes, and the vial guarantee is the reason: Stabila guarantees for the life of the level that the vials won’t fog, leak or lose their stated accuracy, and the levels are built and checked in Germany under a certified quality process. A level is a tool you buy once if it stays true, and a Stabila that rode under the tools for ten seasons still reads the same as the day it left Annweiler.

How do I calibrate a Stabila digital level?

You don’t have to. Stabila builds the IP67 digital box level to need no calibration, so there is no reset routine to run before a pour. Check it the way you check any level, by reading it, flipping it end for end and reading again, and if the two readings ever disagree, the two-year electronic warranty covers a defect in materials or workmanship.

Where are Stabila levels made?

Stabila makes its spirit levels in Germany, at the company’s plant in Annweiler, and the Dark Shadow levels are marked made in Germany. The same Annweiler plant builds electronic measuring tools and construction lasers, and Stabila also builds construction lasers in Changzhou, China. The wooden folding rules come from Haluzice, Czechia.

Is there a 6-foot Stabila level?

Yes. Stabila makes 72-inch levels in the Type 196 with handholds, the R Beam and the digital box level. The 6-footer checks a wall or a tall form in one reading. For a door jamb, the 78 in the 78/41 set covers nearly the whole opening, where a 48 has to be stepped up the jamb, adding a little error at every move.

What is a Stabila plate level for?

It is for plumbing walls. It extends to reach from the bottom plate to the top plate, 6 to 10 feet or 7 to 12 feet, so a framer reads the whole wall at once instead of a 4-foot section of it. Carry it in its case, because a long level riding bare across a truck bed is the one that gets bowed or knocked out of true.

Does Stabila make a laser level?

Yes. The LAX 300 G is a green-beam cross line laser with plumb points, for cabinets, shelving, trim and anything you’d otherwise snap a chalk line for. The LAX 600 G throws three planes all the way around the room, so one setup lays out every wall and the ceiling at once. The LAR 160 and LAR 300 are rotary lasers, sold as kits, for outdoor work like grading, footings and fence lines, where a line laser washes out in daylight and you read the beam with a detector instead.