How to Read a Tape Measure like an Interior Designer (in Feet and Inches)
Learn how to read a tape measure from a professional interior design team. We review the basics in this short video, demonstrating how to read the markings between each line. Note that we are in the U.S., so this video shows the imperial scale of feet and inches.
From the Clairrow course "Fundamentals: Measure & Space Plan". This is the second video in the module "Taking Accurate Measurements" (Module 1 of 5).
To enroll in the full (free!) course and access the workbook, visit https://www.clairrow.com/courses/fund...
Most imperial tape measures follow the below guidelines:
The tick marks are shown horizontally across the tape.
Each whole number, shown in ascending numerical order, represents the measurement of one inch.
Each inch is visually broken down into smaller fractions. Usually, a tape measure will show each inch divided into 1/16ths.
Those fractions can be reduced to 1/8s, 1/4s and 1/2s of an inch.
Different measurements are identified by varying tick mark lengths.
Oftentimes, the whole inch measurements have the longest tick mark on the tape measure, and the tick marks get slightly shorter as the measurements decrease (i.e. the 1/2 inch measurement is the second longest tick mark, while the 1/16 inch measurement is the shortest).
Line the end of your tape to the edge of the wall or item, and note the measurements to the closest tick mark. For the purposes of developing your space plan, we recommend marking at the 1/2" measurements.