ACCURATE MEASURING FOR HOME REMODELLING

Hi, I’m Bob Schmidt with Home Remodel Workshop. Measure twice cut once. That’s pretty much the only tip I’ve ever heard out there, for how to get accurate measurements. There are many other practical tips out there; I’ll show you what they are. Let’s get to work.

Very important thing is to have the proper tape measure to use. There are many different available out there, this one here is a self-centering tape measure, this one here has an engineer-scale on it, this one here is a metric end standard, this one here is a fractional tape measure, this one here is a typical wood roll and this is just a standard U.S. inch and feet tape measure.

An engineer’s tape; not only does it have feet and inches, but for some reasons it has tenths of feet for typically home owner remodeling you’ll not going to need this tape.

A fractional tape; although it does have inches and feet marks on it. This little extra numbers down here that tell you exactly where a half-inch and everything is that makes this tape a little bit more confusing to read, again another tape I would not purchase.

A metric standard combination tape; it does not have the feet marks on it, and it has the metric numbers down here on the bottom and the inches half here on the top. I did purchased this tape because I do have a set of cabinets that were ordered from China, which are all done in metric so I will make use of this tape, but this is a special to use, this tape and I will probably only use it once.

This tape here is a self-centering and it’s also a fractional tape. It has the fractions marked up here on the top. It does not have the feet marks, it has marked it 24inches and on the bottom it will give you what’s half of the 24inches. A tape like this I will never purchase because there’s a way too much stuff on here. When you put this up on the wall and you go to read it, it’s going to be far too confusing.

A standard Wood roll; a standard measurements as you can see is simply markers no feet marks as mark it 24 but everything else is a real simple easy to read scale.

This is my tape that I used on a daily basis. It has feet marks and an inch marks on it. All the fractions are clearly marked with easy to read up and bottom lines, and there’s not all that additional writing in confusion in the tape.

Now, every tape measure you’ll buy is going to have an end on it that’s pop riveted on generally. And what happens is, is they allowing some looseness in this, so that when you’re hooking over piece of lumber. And you pull down it pulls the tape down and helps the tape get even with the end of the board compensating for the thickness of this end. But if you butt the tape, it allows the tape to push up getting close to the corner to give you measurement that is more accurate. Either way it goes as you used this tape this rivets are going to get more or less loss, and it is going to change the way you measure each and every time. And also sometimes, after using a tape a little bit if its drop like this one was several times, if this end gets bent, it actually shortens the measurement that you’ll get when you hook it on at the end of the board. So, my first practical bit of advice is when measuring your material to cut, burn an edge. What that means is go ahead and hold your tape right at the one inch mark and then add one inch on to your measurement, and go ahead make a second mark. Now, that way you know that the marking center on the tape is going to match up with the markings that you measure.

Have you ever try to use a tape measure that measures onto a corner. You can see it is not really design to bend right into that corner. Stage off the corner you end up having a kind of guess above where it’s going to be. Others are better way to do this. In that way, is what I call but it didn’t go ahead and butt it in this corner. Come over to where you can comfortably hold the tape. Find a 10-inch mark is 90 or hundred inches in this case, we’ll going to mark 90inches, very lightly with your pencil make sure you’ll have an eraser. Just a little dink will do then go ahead and flip your tape around butt it in the opposing corner, and this measures 20 and 5 16th. So I know my accurate measurement on this long this lane is 90 plus 20 and 5 16th which is 110 and 5 16th much better than guessing with that number is in the corner without actually being able to see a nice sharp line.

Let’s say you have an open book case like this that you built or you don’t have an existing one and you want to add a shelf into it. The best way to get an accurate measurement from inside the inside well, first obviously, if you have an existing shelf that‘s already in it you could use this as a pattern for a new one. Well, let’s say that all the shelves are right in there or fixed, and you will need to get that measurement. What you do is you purchased your wood roll. I always purchase one that has a sliding bar on it. The sliding bar is very important. It has measurements on it, and then what you do is just simply unfold the Wood roll until it’s too small on the sides it will actually fit inside against the box, then slide that metal wood that metal roll out until it butts right against where you want to have that shelf. Pinch this down with your fingers very gently get it out making sure that you don’t slide that. Then what you do is just simply take the last largest number showing here that you had butted against the left side of the cabinet, which is 25, and you add it to the 3and ½ inches that you’re metal bar slit out to butt the other side. So you know an inside dimension there that’s accurate this 28 and ½ inches.

Another excellent use for a wood roll that has a middle guide like this, is let’s say we’ll put a piece of molding on here we want it to be a certain distance away from this edge, simply set this measurement at the distance you want it to be away from the edge. Pinch so that it does not slide, and in tandem with your pencil very slowly and carefully, go ahead and make that mark. Transfer that mark from this guide onto that wood, and then when you go back later to put that piece that trim on there. You know that it’s going to run a nice even more than this side.

Basically, what I am going to be talking about now, as far measuring this is use of material. If you’re going to burn an inch like I showed you, you have to keep track of exactly what you’re doing when you get that material back to your stand to go ahead and cut it. If the inch monster geisha everything that you cut that you forgets to add an inch to your measurement, it’s going to be 1inch short. So this being said, what I generally do is when I order up my material I order up this big pieces as possible let’s say baseboard or dry wall whatever, and then what I do is I do the biggest pieces first. That way if you make a mistake on a bigger piece let’s say the inch monster geisha or you’ll become dyslexic and by dyslexic, what I mean is it seems like any two numbers on the right against to each other like 67, 78, and 89. Somehow or another one they get back to the cutting table and ends up being 76, 87, 98. You’re lucky if you get bigger because you can always re-cut it. Then let’s say you mess up by 10inces and you cut it short 10inches. If you used your biggest pieces first you can always take those bigger pieces and used them in a smaller cut areas, and you’ll still have a second shot at another big piece. So when your measuring baseboard let’s say you have a room that’s—or several areas don’t order your baseboard exactly to the length or don’t order 4’10” and 2 12s and 1 16th. And then if you make a mistake you’re shot or you add extra joints in unnecessarily. Get all as big a material as you get start with the biggest pieces first then work yourself for the smallest one.

Now, these are just a few practical tips of all that’s available out there. If there’s a better way to measure something I’m always up for listening. If you got an advice please post it here I’ll be interested in hearing what you have to say. I'm Bob Schmidt with Home Remodel Workshop, if you appreciated this tape please subscribe if not go back to our home channel we have many other videos there. Thanks