What Is The Diamond On A Tape Measure For

Any explanation to this discrepancy with your tape measure.

They start at 19 2 inches which was originally used in metric layouts. On my tape measure the diamond appears at exactly 16 the next one at 32 etc. On top of that there s a separate reason why some tape measures have roman numerals on them and it s actually very important. This is what the black diamonds on your tape measure are for.

That s another story for another day though. The black diamonds on the top scale of a tape measure are for truss layouts for eight foot sheet goods. This spacing allows for six supports in each 8 foot length. The tape measures also come with markings that are supposed to help you when it comes time to space your wall studs.

There are four levels of tape measure accuracy. The numbers that were mentioned above also come into play here. So in a perfect world you should be able to make pencil etches at your red marks to easily identify the placement of the studs. 16 inch spacing is for stud placement in walls.

RELATED ARTICLE :

• what is the best day to go to disneyland
• what is the beast in beauty and the beast
• what is the best essential oil to kill fleas

The black diamonds give you the assistance that you need with your floor trusses. Tape measure and pencil on wood surface. Many tape measures add red numbers or some other graphical standout every 16 inches a very common spacing for studs in house framing. The next black diamond is 19 2 inches away from the first stud 38 4 inches from the beginning of the tape measure and the diamonds go all the way to the 96 inch mark or 8 feet.

96 inches divided by five gives 19 2 inches so five trusses per sheet. Lloyd april 5 2019 reply. Tab1962 istock getty images for instance every multiple of 16 inches is highlighted to help carpenters position studs and joists properly and black diamonds assist framers constructing roof trusses.