How to Measure With Measuring Tape
The old carpentry adage, "Measure twice, cut once," only holds true if you know how to properly measure. This seemingly simple process involves a few important techniques: drawing out the measuring tape, reading the hash lines and marking the distance.
- Difficulty:
- Easy
Instructions
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1
Release the thumb catch. This allows the tape to be pulled out of its casing.
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2
Hook the metal piece at the end of the tape over the edge of the surface that you're measuring.
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3
Draw out the tape to the length that you want to measure, recognizing that the large numbers on your tape are the inch measurements. Keep the tape parallel to the straight edge of the surface you're measuring. Be sure that it is not at a diagonal. When you've extended the tape far enough, push the thumb catch back in so that the tape doesn't retract.
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4
Read the fractions between inches. The large midpoint line marks a half inch. The smaller lines on either side of those are quarter inches. The still smaller lines between quarter-inches are eighths of an inch, and the smallest increments are 16ths of an inch.
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5
Mark your measurement, not with a single straight line but with a carat---two lines converging on the point that you're measuring to. This will ensure that your measurement is exact and not confused by the thickness of the pencil line. You may also want to write the measurement beside your mark. Forty-seven inches and three 16ths of an inch, for example, is written as 47 3/16".
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1
Tips & Warnings
If the metal piece at the end of your tape is loose, you should not hook it over the end of the surface, as this may throw off your measurement. Measure instead from the one-inch mark, and be sure to subtract one inch from your final measurement.
When retracting the tape, do so slowly, guiding it in with a hand. Otherwise, you risk both cutting yourself and damaging the tape measure.
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