Imperial or Metric?

[chilliMin]

Morning all
 

What are the best (i.e. easiest) units to use for a UK build?

With particular reference to concrete and steel fabrication?
 

[Crofter]

Metric all the way. 

Steel is sold in 6m lengths. 

Concrete by the cubic metre.

[MikeSharp01]

Metric. 

[SteamyTea]

SI

[saveasteading]

The only time I use imperial is in chat with someone aged over 45.

Then you might describe a timber in inches. Eg  6 x 2 

 

It's actually much more practical than describing it as 150 x 50, or 15 x 5.

Or 147 x 47   etc.

 

Or nails being 3 inches.

 

But it would still be a length in metres in ordering and in cutting.

 

It would be a very bad idea to design and work in imperial.

 

Steel beam dimensions  are actually usually still in the historic round numbers in inches but are now  always calculated and bought in mm.

[markc]

A guy I used to work with was ok in metric as long as they were whole numbers in 100mm increments - everything else was an imperial add-on.

3500mm - 3.5m

3600mm - 3.6m

3612mm - 3.6m and 1/2 inch

it made setting out conversations interesting to others.

[Crofter]

Just now, markc said:

A guy I used to work with was ok in metric as long as they were whole numbers in 100mm increments - everything else was an imperial add-on.

3500mm - 3.5m

3600mm - 3.6m

3612mm - 3.6m and 1/2 inch

it made setting out conversations interesting to others.

On a related note, I know a guy who insists that a 3-4-5 right angle triangle only works if it's in feet.

[JohnMo]

19 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

The only time I use imperial is in chat with someone aged over 45.

Why - I'm over 60 and was taught metric at school, it's been taught in school since about 1965! Only time since leaving I used imperial was working with equipment designed in 1940s.

And ordering wood in imperial cross section (which it isn't actually that size - 147mm is actually 5.79" not 6") and metric length - but building industry is backwards in its thinking anyway, so cannot expect much different really.

[Crofter]

4 minutes ago, JohnMo said:

Why - I'm over 60 and was taught metric at school, it's been taught in school since about 1965! Only time since leaving I used imperial was working with equipment designed in 1940s.

And ordering wood in imperial cross section (which it isn't actually that size - 147mm is actually 5.79" not 6") and metric length - but building industry is backwards in its thinking anyway, so cannot expect much different really.

I'm 44 and we didn't mention imperial units once at school.

 

For me, imperial is used for certain specific things e.g.:

- socket drives

- wheel diameters

- length of a boat

[Mr Punter]

The US and Canada like imperial.  Timber frame with studs at 2 ft centres, timber sheet material being 8' x 4'.  It can make it easy to set out.

 

I doubt many use imperial weights, other than for people eg 5 foot 8 and 18 stone = fat bastard etc.

[Crofter]

1 minute ago, Mr Punter said:

The US and Canada like imperial.  Timber frame with studs at 2 ft centres, timber sheet material being 8' x 4'.  It can make it easy to set out.

 

I doubt many use imperial weights, other than for people eg 5 foot 8 and 18 stone = fat bastard etc.

You can still buy sheet material in either metric or imperial in the UK. That was a surprise to me when I was designing my house. Except they call it 1220mm, not 4ft.

[-rick-]

1 hour ago, Crofter said:

I'm 44 and we didn't mention imperial units once at school.

 

For me, imperial is used for certain specific things e.g.:

- socket drives

- wheel diameters

- length of a boat

 

Similar here, though pretty sure imperial measures was touched on, though I couldn't convert metric/imperial in my head until much more recently. Whatever happened in school I think I've ended up using Imperial more as I got older* though not for anything important. I've always measured my height and weight in imperial but if I'm measuring or weighing anything else it will be in metric.

 

* In recent years I've been watching a lot of makers on Youtube and a lot of them are American and so I've been a lot more exposed to Imperial measurements than I was when I was younger.

[SteamyTea]

1" is 25.4mm exactly.

 

[JohnMo]

15 minutes ago, -rick- said:

I've always measured my height and weight in imperial

Strange until I joined the RAF (1986) I did the same, now its always metric so kg, and metres.

 

6 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

1" is 25.4mm exactly.

 

Yes and 2.2 lb to the kg

[SteamyTea]

2 minutes ago, JohnMo said:

Yes and 2.2 lb to the kg

Not exact though.  I think the distance measurement is the only one that is a stated conversion rather than a defined one based on something real i.e. wavelength of light.