As our minds drift back to elementary American history lessons tomorrow, one can only think, “Did Christopher Columbus have access to an architect scale ruler in his day?”
Okay, sure, that’s probably not the first question that pops to mind when you think about Columbus Day. But surely, Columbus must have possessed a ruler of sorts to help measure his ships, even if it wasn’t an architect scale ruler.
The burning questions is “Why does it matter”. If you ask an architect, he or she will tell you that an architect scale ruler is vital to their daily business. They would not be able to function without these rulers.
Architect Scale Rulers at Work
What is an architect scale ruler? It is a special ruler that is marked in special scales that correspond to the scale of the drawing. If the drawing is done in 1″ = 1 foot, then each inch on the correct scale will represent one foot in the drawing. If the drawing is done in 1/4″ = 1 foot, then each quarter inch on the 1/4 scale corresponds to 1 foot in the drawing. On this particular scale, each 1/4 inch is marked 1,2,3,4,5,6 etc. So that the “4 marking number” is one inch from the zero mark. Simple, so far. But each of these rulers has several scales, so you don’t have to have multiple rulers in your pocket. Other scales can be 1/8, 1/16, 1/3, 3/16 and so forth. The trick of this business is to be able to choose the correct scale for each drawing you are working on. If you are reading a highway map which is drawn to 1/4″ = 1 mile, you would use the 1/4 scale. If you are with me up to this point, you could become an architect!
If you are thinking of giving a useful gift to some of your customers, here are some ideas. These are the people who would love to get an architect scale ruler from you, with your company logo.
Architect
Kitchen Designer
City Planner
Engineer
Contractor
Builder
Draftsman
Construction Estimator
All of these people design or read blueprints in the course of their daily work. An architect scale ruler is a necessity for measuring the size of objects on the blueprint. It is used in the office and at the job site.
If your company needs to advertise to the people on this list, then you need to order architect scale rulers with your logo permanently engraved.
Let’s jump right into a subject that is close to everyone: Designing a kitchen. The architect scale ruler is a very useful device to plan your new kitchen. It helps you to draw your room and appliances to scale, and to read the measurements later. It will tell you if there is enough room to place a refrigerator in a certain part of your space.
Designing Your Kitchen with an Architect Scale Ruler
Now let’s get to the nitty gritty. Which scale should you use on the ruler? Your ruler may have some or all of these scales:
(1/8, ¼), (½, 1), (3/8, 3/4), (3, 1½)
If you use the “1” scale, that would mean that 1 inch on the scale equals one foot in real life. Let’s not use that one, because your 15 foot long kitchen would need a piece of paper at least 15 inches long. Let’s use the 1/4 scale, which means 1/4 inch on the scale (on the paper) represents one foot in real life. This means that your 8 inch wide paper will represent 32 feet. Your kitchen will fit on that paper now.
From here on, you just measure your room and appliances, and draw them on your paper, to scale.
A quick designer tip: Draw your appliances to scale on colored paper, cut them out, and move them around on your drawing for the best arrangement. Also, do the same with any other cabinets or tables that you already have, and want to use them in your design.
Not all rulers are created equal. Some are rigid, some are retractable tapes, some are in metric, some are in imperial. There is also a special kind of ruler used for converting the measurements on a scaled-down drawing or map: the architect scale ruler.
If you had all these materials to choose from, and needed to make an architect scale ruler, which would be the best choice?
wood. Too thick. The markings wouldn’t be close enough to the drawing. Also, printing fine delicate lines on wood is impossible. Warping and changing of length due to heat and humidity is a big factor to consider.
steel. It would rust in time. Stainless steel would be a better choice, but a little expensive.
plastic. Not durable enough for daily use. Plus, how would you put fine markings on it?
aluminum. The best choice, because it won’t rust, lasts forever, and you can print fine lines on it using Photo Anodizing.
Architects, designers, and planners use architect scale rulers in their work every day. Here are 3 ways that an architect scale ruler can help a homeowner like you, too.
Plan a new arrangement of furniture in your living room. Whether you just
Kitchen Design
moved in, or you just want to make a fresh arrangement of your furniture, you can start with a piece of paper and an architect scale ruler to see if your plan will actually fit the way you want it to fit.
Design a new kitchen in your home. The best way to start is to find a picture of a kitchen in a magazine, then see if the components will fit into your space. An architect ruler will let you make precise measurements in your drawings of different kitchen designs.
Design a garden in your back yard. If your space is limited, the architect ruler will help you to make the best of the space you have. You may discover that you don’t need to buy as many tomato plants, or pepper plants.
Most people don’t need an architect scale ruler, but for those who do need one, this is for
Architect At Work
you.
This ruler will make your job easier, so you can obtain measurements off the drawing without having to convert from the drawing’s actual measurements. You can use the 12″ size in the office. Or, you can take the 6″ pocket version with you into the field. For larger drawings, you can use the retractable pocket architect tape. This will work either in the field, or the office.
