About

Architects, site managers, and contractors frequently navigate the friction between Imperial site measurements and Metric structural standards. This tool bridges that gap by converting Feet (ft) to Meters (m). Precision is non-negotiable in structural engineering; a rounding error of a fraction of an inch can lead to material waste or fabrication failures. This utility handles both clean decimal inputs for surveying data and composite feet-inch measurements typical of on-site tape readings.

The meter is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), defined by the speed of light. The foot, historically based on human anatomy, remains the standard in the US construction industry. Accurate conversion relies on the international agreement of 1959, which standardized the foot to exactly 0.3048 meters.

Formulas

The conversion is based on the exact definition established in 1959.

L_m = L_ft × 0.3048

When working with composite measurements (Feet and Inches), the system first normalizes the input to decimal feet before converting:

L_m = (ft + in12) × 0.3048

Reference Data

Feet (ft)	Feet & Inches	Meters (m)	Typical Context
3.2808	3′ 3.37″	1.00	Standard doorway width (approx)
6.5617	6′ 6.74″	2.00	Door height (standard)
9.8425	9′ 10.11″	3.00	Story height (residential)
10.0000	10′ 0″	3.048	Basketball rim height
13.1234	13′ 1.48″	4.00	Average lane width
16.4042	16′ 4.85″	5.00	Pole vault elite height
32.8084	32′ 9.7″	10.00	Diving platform height
50.0000	50′ 0″	15.24	Small plot frontage
100.0000	100′ 0″	30.48	Short sprint distance
328.0840	328′ 1″	100.00	Length of soccer pitch

Frequently Asked Questions

In 1959, the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa signed an international agreement defining the yard as exactly 0.9144 meters. Since a foot is 1/3 of a yard, 0.9144 / 3 = 0.3048 meters exactly. There is no rounding involved in the definition.

Use the "Feet & Inches" tab in the tool. Enter "10" in the feet field and "6" in the inches field. The logic divides the inches by 12 (6/12 = 0.5) and adds it to the feet (10.5 ft) before multiplying by 0.3048.

This tool uses the International Foot (0.3048 m). The US Survey Foot is slightly longer (approx. 0.3048006 m). While the difference is negligible for small measurements (like room dimensions), it accumulates over geodetic distances. For most construction and real estate tasks, the International Foot is the standard.

The calculation remains mathematically correct. 15 inches is 1.25 feet. If you enter 0 feet and 15 inches, the tool converts 1.25 feet to meters (0.381 m). However, standard practice is to carry over values greater than 11 into the feet category.