About

In architectural surveys and real estate fabrication, the ambiguity between decimal feet and standard tape measure units creates expensive errors. A measurement of 10.6 ft is not 10ft 6in; it is actually 10ft 7316in. This discrepancy leads to material waste during cutting and framing.

This tool bridges the gap between digital site plans (often in Meters or Decimal Feet) and physical construction tools (tape measures calibrated in Inches and 16ths). It processes the conversion using the standard international foot definition, then applies a fractional rounding algorithm to the nearest 116 of an inch, ensuring compatibility with standard US carpentry tools.

Formulas

The core conversion relies on the 1959 International Yard and Pound Agreement constants. The conversion to feet is linear, while the fractional decomposition requires modular arithmetic.

1. Base Conversion:

L_ft = L_m × 3.2808399

2. Integer Feet & Remaining Inches:

Feet = floor(L_ft)

Inches_dec = (L_ft − Feet) × 12

3. 16th Rounding:

Sixteenths = round(Inches_dec × 16)

If the calculated sixteenths equal 16, the inch count increments. If inches reach 12, the foot count increments.

Reference Data

Meters (m)	Decimal Feet (ft)	Architectural (ft-in)
1.0	3.28	3′ 3 38″
2.5	8.20	8′ 2 716″
3.0	9.84	9′ 10 18″
5.0	16.40	16′ 4 1316″
10.0	32.81	32′ 9 1116″
100.0	328.08	328′ 1″

Frequently Asked Questions

Decimal feet represent a fraction of 100, while inches are a fraction of 12. 0.1 feet equals 1.2 inches. Confusing these leads to a 20% error margin on small measurements.

The tool employs standard nearest-neighbor rounding to the closest 1/16th inch. For rough framing where "measure twice, cut once" implies a kerf allowance, you may need to account for blade thickness manually.

We use the definition where 1 inch is exactly 25.4 mm. This results in a meter-to-foot factor of approximately 3.280839895, sufficient for high-precision architectural work.

Yes. Surveyors typically work in Decimal Feet (due to the ease of addition), while contractors work in Feet and Inches. This tool acts as the translator between the site plan and the crew.