Does anyone have a site they could refer to do some basic conversions for measurements such as tenths, etc.? (example:converting 6.65 into feet & inches, etc.) for me to give to a new,young laborer who wants to break into this business. Thanks in advance.
Best thing he can do is get ahold of one of these tapes for around $8 available where they sell surveying supplys. A tenth = 1 3/16 inch
yep i agree,side by side comparison
Should just be able to some simple math and memorize the inch to tenth's conversion. But he probably wasn't taught properly with today's education system.
Does anybody understand why all dirtwork is in 10th's and 100th's and base rock, paving and curb & gutter is in inches? The engineers scale is much easier to calc with a decimal point why not use it for the entire job? Wierd I think
Drives me nuts when growing up dad always did EVERYTHING in tenths as thats what was on the grade stick, that and easy to go by 10 than it is by 12 and then the next guy(concrete, builder, plumber, etc) was using inches. We always took a shot on the invert of the pipe we installed and took a shot on top as well cause you were usually running grade and already knew how big the pipe was just had to have stuff at the right elevation. I prefer tenths but alot don't understand them. Trbo
Say your road stake is C-2.25 to top of AC from that you add the section say 4" AC over 6" AB to get dirt grade so you have to add a cut of 10" to the C-2.25. Not a big deal I just wondered why base rock and pavement are refered to in inches. Or you have a 6" curb instead of a 0.5 curb
http://www.simetric.co.uk/ Here is one that I have used in the past. I have tapes and a folding rule even that is labeled in inches on one side and MM on another. I usually convert to inches when digging a cellar if the engineers stake it in tenths but when I am doing septic work etc I leave it in the tenths as the grade rod is usually in tenths as well. When I am digging for a house foundation as often as not I would just be using a site level instead of the laser unless someone brought one to me from the shop and a fractional folding rule was just easier for me to wrap my brain around. Half of the time that I did get a laser the battery would be dead so I ended up with my Locke level anyway.I adjust all my elevations so that I am shooting at 55" so I don't have to bend over or stand on my tippy toes.LOL.Ron G
I think it is about time to universally accept metric. How many times has their been a mistake made with tenths of a foot and inchs. how much has these mistakes cost. metric is simple and easy, less likely for mistakes.:Banghead
What? you mean simplfy things, that makes too much sence
I was waiting for somebody to bring that up. Feet and inches, then metrisizing (new word?) a foot??????? :beatsme Stop dicking around and go metric, you'll love it.
The USA passed a law in 1866 making the metric system legal .... why anyone still wants to measure in furlongs and hogsheads is beyond me. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metric_system
Thanks guys, I'll pass it onto the lad. I also did some research and found a great site FYI...It's ONLINECONVERSIONS.COM and it's a forum identical to HEF in format. There one can convert anything to something from linear footage to liquid units to air pressures to mass, etc. etc. Handy place for this kind if thing, and the guys are helpful and way smarter than I would ever be.
Lowboy make sure that your site actually knows that there is 12" to the foot some do not. If you are Interested I found a free file download for a computer , which has this function it originated here: http://www.steel-link.net/index.cfm This spring my comp. crashed i could not find it on that website but was avaiable through one free download sites - search for desktop tools - calc. if that does not work i saved a copy to backup someplace that I will send you
Thanks OneWelder, I actually am using the site myself too, to improve my skills as well on the subject. I'm dealing with a few different scenarios on this site I'm working on currently. The engineers figures are in tenths, some layout is calculated in metric, and I have a bunch of curbing to do with a lot of radius' to put in ranging from 2 degree radius' to 40.5 degrees. The curbing is figured in feet & inches, and the grade in tenths. Being the curbing's 16" in height, (10" buried, 6 reveal,) you'd better have your witts about you on this job or the asphalt is going to show your mistakes real quick. It's not rocket science by no means, but it can get confusing for sure.
I carry a Construction master calculator with me. It let me convert tenths to feet and inches, metric to feet and vice versa, also angles, slopes, stairs, etc. They are about $50, but can save you thousands. They also have one made specifically for site work http://www.calculated.com/cat4/Construction+Calculators.html