Prefabrication experiments - 246 - measuring devices – 07 – Gridded measurement system for construction materials

Measurement tools and principles in architecture and construction invoke both the patrician idea of classical proportioning and all manner of tricks of the trade to help in anchoring or positioning building components and elements. Particularly within the spectrum of do-it-yourself aids, many geometric overlays and templates exist to simplify calculations and assembly of premade pieces. The 4x8 modular sheet is one specific example determining building dimensions and their constituting units. Modular production of building products is the basis for categorizing layers or systems and to ensure that components fit together in a rational manner. 

A gamut of apparatuses, hangers, supports, pegs are available in any hardware store. These anchors of every size and shape are precisely profiled to the dimensions and thicknesses of components such as joists and studs to standardize their joinery. Industrialized connectors pre-dimensioned according to materials have made the light timber frame the system of choice for do-it-yourself builders. 

Further experiments have followed elementary dimensional standardization to imprint materials with notes, grids and cut-lines to reduce on-site estimations and increase precision. A patented system by inventor Glenn Robell (US Patent US5673489A) proposed that all types of surface and sheet materials used in construction, from sheetrock to plywood and cement panels, be manufactured with a graphic veneer which inscribed onto the material surface a system for measuring. In a sense this gridded measurement system would be equivalent to adhering a large piece of graph paper over the material. This grid could include any number of measurement scales and notations to inform users of elements to avoid, such as nailing to close to edges or other constraints and care taking measures. The information could normalized and conform with structural or even code requirements. A simple example: bold lines could represent structural spacing of studs, while lighter lines could represent nailing / screwing distances. 

The precise gauging and cutting of materials on a job site is a particular problem for novices or self-builders. Robell’s method suggests specific / generic lines of productions for different building types and methods with different notations (metric and imperial) to imprint dimensional specifications on a material or product. 

US5673489A patent drawing