Need some tips on this. I know the calculations regarding spacing, etc. plenty of free tools out there.

Have two questions though:

• How do you 'flag' locations in the attic of where you want to put your lights? I.e. I have 24" of insulation in my attic, how do I locate these points from above to clear away insulation prior to cutting so that I do not make a huge mess? I bought some 811 style flags to poke through into the attic but these are not long enough so looking for alternative ideas
• Any lasers or other tools y'all have used to make sure lights run straight/square?

Thanks in advance

laser on the ceiling yes

drill small holes where the lights will go and shove an electrician's rod thing up there. Or a long wooden dowel, or if you are a golfer - an alignment stick. Maybe a fishing rod even. Helps to have another person do this part while you clear out the attic space.

Yeah, what the guy above said. You can cut your hole without doing that if you know your electrican was worth a crap and didnt string wires everywhere. Then use your hole saw to cut JUST into the drywall. then you can take some device as stated above and have someone poke the hole and watch for the movement in the attic.

Our electrician ran a string line to keep everything straight, but that was in the pre-drywall rough-in stage. If you are working in an existing ceiling definitely use a laser or you could still use a string line, but use something to get them straight.

Electrician rod and dowel are good ideas.

Any recs on a laser system?

I have this very one - you stick the base into the sheetrock, and then it is a magnet that holds the device on it...I would assume it can support the weight of it when in the ceiling, or just have someone hold it while you make pencil marks

https://www.amazon.com/BLACK-DECKER-BDL170-Bullseye-Auto-Leveling/dp/B000IDX1IM

Bosch will get the nod on most laser levels, but I went cheaper and it's been great. The green is nice

https://a.co/d/a2bqqgl

Thanks y'all!