ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Tape measure markings

I agree with the 8' explanation..and all the other more mythical ones too !

...but I would be more concerned with a GC that can't read a tape measure........

I'd also be concerned with a GC who spends his spare time reading tape measures!

hahaha

maybe he should spend some time on a schedule instead of getting Electricians,Painters,trim Carps, Plumbers, HVAC ,Carpet, Landscaping and three inspections in one afternoon..........,

I asked a carpenter today and was told it was for laying out joists 19 3/16" (?) apart so it would work with 8 foot sheets. He said that was started when the TGI's came around.

Tom

My old roommate (a Super at the time) discovered the 19.2" layout in about 1978.

He'd come home cussing about it every day.

That's what the marks are for.

As a GC who can read a tape measure, but it is dry reading, they are indeed for 19.2" oc joist layouts. The code books have included this spacing in their span tables for as long as I can remember.

Yes, I have plenty of that to share -- having read all 1240 pages of Wastewater Management.
As for: "'cubits' range from 16 to 26 inches depending on who is doing the measuring", this is true. And thus it is natural that a proper cubit of 19.2" is quite fitting in the litteral sense. We have to have a name for everything and 'cubit' is an appropriate term for the black diamonds since it has historical roots [and God's sanction]. What other measurement is 19.2" long?
Perhaps the NEC should be converted to the cubit system. For instance, the support distance from a box for conduit would be two cubits. This could be anything from 32" [which is close to the official 36"] to 52" [in case your underling got careless].
~Peter

Peter, remember what happened with the metric system? I think that MUCH larger "conversion", (In more ways than one) would be hard to impliment.

Add to that: Speeding tickets - (Cop)"How fast were you going there buddy?" - "75 thousand cubits an hour."

[This message has been edited by e57 (edited 02-28-2006).]