How useful math is in construction

How do I change Inches to Decimal Feet and Avoid Errors?

This is what a construction worker said:
Bud Caldwell, one of the best Superintendents I ever worked with, taught me the
value of changing inches into decimal feet. We were reviewing a shop drawing for a
piece of equipment with lots of anchor bolts, and everything was in feet, inches and
fractions of an inch. In his head, he quickly converted the inches and fractions of an
inch into decimal feet, so we could easily add and check dimensions. He showed me
a wonderful little trick of the trade that I've used for over 25 years. The inches to
decimal feet conversion table shows illustrates the information.
As you know, adding fractions challenges most of us. We probably learned the
concept of lowest common denominator at some point, but struggle to remember
how to actually use it. So to add feet and inches, we have to deal with fractions and
with that 12" in a foot concept, which means we have to add by hand, using pencil
and paper. Special calculators for adding feet, inches and fractions of inches are
available, but they always seemed difficult to use for me. So adding a string of
dimensions in feet, inches and fractions of an inch gets much easier if we can
simply convert to decimal feet.
Numerous situations occur where these conversions help:
1. Checking a string of dimensions to verify they correctly add
2. Comparing elevations between a site drawing (normally in decimal feet) and
an architectural drawing (often in feet and inches)
3. Laying out accessible ramps and accessibility routes
Let's use accessible route as an example. Say the building finished floor elevation is
401' - 6 1/4" and the grade at the parking space is 400.14'. The sidewalk between
the parking space and the front door has a distance of 30'. Now you probably know
that an accessible route has a maximum slope of 5%, or it becomes a ramp and
needs handrails. So 401' - 6 1/4" converts to 401.52. Then subtract 400.14 to find
the grade change of 1.38'. To find the slope, divide the grade change of 1.38' by the
distance of 30' to get a slope of .046 or 4.6%, which is less than the maximum of
5% allowed by code. So it works.

What are the Basic Area and Volume Formulas?

To figure how much concrete to order for a slab on grade, you need to know some
basic area and volume formulas. Most of us understand that length times the width
times the thickness gives us the volume. We may need a bit more help, though,
when the things aren't rectangular or other complexities arise. Let's start with an
example and work through how to utilize the geometry of common shapes.

Hopefully, the example above makes sense to you and simply illustrates a few
useful concepts. If you need some help understanding the example, you may want
to review the US Navy Basic Math and Algebra training class. This course give lots of
basic and more advanced information for understanding math.
The areas and volumes of common geometric shapes probably don't need to be
memorized. It's usually simple just to know where to easily find the formulas. By
knowing how to use these formulas, you will be able to solve many construction
problems, such as:
1. How much soil needs to be moved? How many truckloads will actually be
hauled? How many trucks are needed on site?
2. How much concrete to order for the pour?

3. How much does something weigh? What will it take to lift it?
4. How much water will be in that pool? How long will it take to fill it?
These questions and many more get solved by knowing how to calculate the areas
and volumes of Common Geometric Shapes.
What are 3 Useful Trigonometry Concepts?
When most people hear "Trigonometry", they they assume it's something they could
never understand nor use. I've actually never had a course on trigonometry, so I'm
no expert, but I learned three really useful things on my own. Sine, Cosine and
Tangent help me solve all sorts of problems. If I'm actively involved in building
anything, I'm using these few simple formulas. The figure below explains the

concepts and gives some examples.