Sunlight and Laser Measurement Help Please

[sputnam]

I can take that fiberglass tape and stretch it more than 2" or it could be loose more than 2", my distro is accurate down to a fraction of an inch.

The tape is as accurate, to the required level, as your Disto. No one cares what the dimension is down to the nearest 0.001. The Disto can be faster... sometimes... but, as is evident from the OP, it has cons as well as pros. The 'stretch' is factored into the markings. You do have to deal with sag.. but, that's an operator error.

 

[NC Appraising]

The tape is as accurate, to the required level, as your Disto. No one cares what the dimension is down to the nearest 0.001. The Disto can be faster... sometimes... but, as is evident from the OP, it has cons as well as pros. The 'stretch' is factored into the markings. You do have to deal with sag.. but, that's an operator error.

How about two story homes with a tape? Slow..
Sloped ceilings....tape is slow.
Measuring ceiling height....tape is slow.
Two story great rooms...tape is slow.

If your disto does not have a camera function, you are missing out. A back plate is a good sub tho.

I remember back in the day my sup 20 years ago, using a tape for two story homes. Not too big of a deal on colonials. Those high-end custom built homes...now that what funny to watch with a tape and looking back kinda of silly.

Funny how when I started, the tape was king.
+-2005, distos became king
Near future will be the smartphone with a app. No tapes or distos needed.

 

[Brian W Street]

The tape is as accurate, to the required level, as your Disto. No one cares what the dimension is down to the nearest 0.001. The Disto can be faster... sometimes... but, as is evident from the OP, it has cons as well as pros. The 'stretch' is factored into the markings. You do have to deal with sag.. but, that's an operator error.

The tape is accurate, but that is not what I stated. I said that the tape can be stretched and significantly. Not just as you are using it but over time as well, it is better than a wheel but nothing as accurate as a disto. But how is stretch factored into the markings?

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Direct measurement of upper levels/stories is impossible.

Well, perhaps not impossible with a sky hook, but dangerous at best, and time consuming regardless...if you have a scaffold or a lift ... yeah, you can do it. But who wants to rent one, and spend half a day measuring?

Then the issue of measuring the upper level inside. You don't know the thickness of the wall. Was it 3/8" sheetrock, or half inch? Was the sheathing ditto? Is there one layer of shingle or 2 or more... and what is the roof pitch? In a half story, the wall "thickness" at a level is greater than a vertical wall. And where is that 5 foot level? Can you really determine it from the outside? To me, measuring the interior then adding the thickness of the wall is introducing error. And relying solely upon the interior dimensions isn't the same metric as measuring the EXTERIOR of the first floor then adding the INTERIOR of the second. Makes no sense in terms of either precision nor accuracy. If they want it uniform, the all measurement should be INTERIOR which is practically speaking the actual usable space including interior walls.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

The tape is accurate, but that is not what I stated. I said that the tape can be stretched and significantly

Surveyors used invar steel tapes that don't change with temperature and they had a handle that stretched the tape to a given tension. They didn't switch to Laser for accuracy, rather for speed. Measuring a lot with tape was more time consuming than shooting all 4 corners with a target.

As for a wheel. They are calibrated to be accurate to the tenth easy enough but it is the roughness of the ground that makes their measurements less precise, not the intrinsic accuracy of the wheel. On smooth concrete they are as accurate as a tape. I worked with an engineering firm back in the 70s and one of our engineering interns was so a nal that he would have us crawl through 4' drain pipe measuring drain sewers in inspection with tape and it was exactly the same distance as the top of the ground 12" above us...go figure. When I was inspecting a waterline I used a wheel and that was as accurate but my numbers were basically identical to the length of the pipe itself which the contractor knew to the inch. I am confident that drain sewer pipe sections were exactly one length and measuring the number of pipes x that length would result in the same figure.

 

[Overimprovement]

The interesting thing about measuring upper levels is that ON AVERAGE the market tends to value GLA on upper levels LESS than the same GLA on main levels anyway. So all the concerns over accuracy are overshadowed by this.

For those who appraise split foyer homes, with fully finished lower levels, do you adjust at the same $/sf on the lower level as the upper? I doubt it. In my market there is a significant difference. Well the same is true for upper levels, though smaller in scope, what with their typically lower ceilings, possibly sloped walls, potentially lower levels of quality, etc, etc. The volume of space simply is not the same as the same GLA on a main level. Now some houses it is, and no problems there, but those also tend to be more straightforward to measure. Also, if one is using comparables similar in style, these differences wash out, but if forced to use a one story comp to a 2 story subject, it is definitely something I am looking at.

 

[Overimprovement]

Surveyors used invar steel tapes that don't change with temperature and they had a handle that stretched the tape to a given tension. They didn't switch to Laser for accuracy, rather for speed. Measuring a lot with tape was more time consuming than shooting all 4 corners with a target.

Bingo. While measuring device is, in the end, a personal preference, I have definitely found a notable time savings from using a Disto. It paid for itself in a few months in fact. Is it more accurate? That depends on the user. Is it more precise? Yes. But as others have stated, the level of precision attained should not be a factor in what we are doing. A tape is 100% precise enough, but I do think it is more prone to accuracy errors.

 

[Carnivore]

I think what everyone understands by now about ANSI it is a a standard. I also think by now everyone understands that it will be very difficult at times to adhere to the standard. Then you have to make a Declarative Statement of why you deviated.

Prominent Person at this site ask the Question: What did you do before ANSI? My answer: As best as I could under the circumstances.

What will I do now? I will follow the Standard as best as I can. That's all anyone can expect.

 

[Brian W Street]

Surveyors used invar steel tapes that don't change with temperature and they had a handle that stretched the tape to a given tension.

I was referring more to the fiberglass-type tapes that most of us use. I still carry and use one when the Disto can't get the measurement and I would agree that tapes are accurate enough. I guess I just question the need for the accuracy down to the inch. I always rounded up or down to the nearest foot, is the market even going to see the difference in a 40'5"x40'5" 1,640 sf home versus the 1,600 that I have used for 25 years?

 

[James Micozzi]

Surveyors used invar steel tapes that don't change with temperature and they had a handle that stretched the tape to a given tension. They didn't switch to Laser for accuracy, rather for speed. Measuring a lot with tape was more time consuming than shooting all 4 corners with a target.

As for a wheel. They are calibrated to be accurate to the tenth easy enough but it is the roughness of the ground that makes their measurements less precise, not the intrinsic accuracy of the wheel. On smooth concrete they are as accurate as a tape. I worked with an engineering firm back in the 70s and one of our engineering interns was so a nal that he would have us crawl through 4' drain pipe measuring drain sewers in inspection with tape and it was exactly the same distance as the top of the ground 12" above us...go figure. When I was inspecting a waterline I used a wheel and that was as accurate but my numbers were basically identical to the length of the pipe itself which the contractor knew to the inch. I am confident that drain sewer pipe sections were exactly one length and measuring the number of pipes x that length would result in the same figure.

run the wheel along the side of the house. solves the ground problem.