Basic Hand Tools: How to Read a Tape Measurer

"One of the most important tools to have on the job site is a tape measure. A tape measure determines the length of the item that is needed to be cut. Other sizes of the rooms, your layout and for your doors, windows, and etc. Today we would be using a 25 foot measure for demonstration. This is the tape measure that I normally carry with me on my estimates and my job production. Tape measures comes in various different sizes. Anywhere from 4 foot in length, up to 200 foot in length and they are broken down into 8 increments on the tape measure as we have here. On this tape measure here, we have black marks and we have red marks. The black marks enters the every foot markings and the red marks introduce where the studs would be going on your layout plans. Layout is where you measure out for your studs, your windows and so on, on what you are building. The 16 inches are usually measure out and 16 3/4 on the way back which would bring our stud to the center of the 16 for the center of our project in the building process."