Measurement - Design And Construction

Most measurements are made in the construction industry using tape measures like the one in the picture below. Most of these measurements made in the United States are made in inches. Other countries use the metric system and their measurements will usually be made in centimeters.

In the picture above, the stair builder is checking to make sure that the layout of the stair tread is correct. He lined up the 1 inch mark on the tape measure with the front pencil mark that represents one of the stair risers.

If we work our way down the tape measure, we will run into another pencil mark (11 inches) that represents the next stair riser. If we subtract 1 inch from 11 inches, we will end up with a 10 inch tread measurement.

Tread Measuring Tip: Why did I line up the 1 inch mark with the first riser, instead of using the end of the tape measure?

This is an old trick that my father taught me. If I lined the end of the tape measure up with the riser mark and the end of the tape measure was loose or installed incorrectly, I could end up with the wrong measurement.

By using the 1 inch mark on the tape measure, I don't have to worry about any problems with the end of the tape measure. Could you imagine if the end of the tape measure was off at least 1/16 of an inch or worse than that, 1/8 of an inch?

I'm not about to suggest that you need to purchase a few micrometers or special rulers, to build stairs, but anything that you can think of, to add a little more precision to your stair layout and construction, could make all the difference in the world, to your finished stairway.

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