# Convert floor plan to actual ft X ft real world dimensions **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 7, 2023, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-floor-plan-to-actual-ft-x-ft-real-world-dimensions/988202 "2023-08-07T18:25:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tabco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tabco/32/7644_2.png) [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-floor-plan-to-actual-ft-x-ft-real-world-dimensions/988202/21 "2023-08-09T00:44:56Z")
I have some software installed on my computer related to my work, and added dimensions based on the front door being 3’-0". This made the interior doors 2’-6" and the tub 5’-3". [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/PtrEDgo.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/PtrEDgo) I have the file saved on my PC and can “recalibrate” if you suspect the dimensions should be different. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-floor-plan-to-actual-ft-x-ft-real-world-dimensions/988202/22 "2023-08-09T00:59:07Z")
Oh bless you, bless you. A million wonderful blessings on your head! 🤩 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-floor-plan-to-actual-ft-x-ft-real-world-dimensions/988202/23 "2023-08-09T01:36:57Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > 72 and 100, and multiples thereof. I measured the front door as 150 pixels wide. If that’s 36", then according to the scale (48:1), then it implies the image was rendered at 200 dpi. So, definitely a good bet. 300 dpi would imply the door is only 24", which is very unlikely, and 72/100/150 dpi would imply a huge door. So a 36" front door and an image at 200 dpi seems by far the most likely here. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-floor-plan-to-actual-ft-x-ft-real-world-dimensions/988202/24 "2023-08-09T07:06:23Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > While you’re doing renovations, knock out the wall between the hall and the living room (what a weird layout!) I’d also knock down the wall between the dining room and the living room and the dining room and the hall, in effect making re living/dining room one single open space. Additionally, I’d seal off the doors between the kitchen and study and the former hall, and take down that little half-wall between the kitchen and the breakfast nook. And why does the bathroom need a walk-in closet? In short, that house has too many walls and too many doors. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-floor-plan-to-actual-ft-x-ft-real-world-dimensions/988202/25 "2023-08-09T09:46:52Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Carpet, it turns out, is sold by the square yard. And some people really have a problem with nine square feet in a square yard. Metric should be easier, except that engineers use millimetres and carpet fitters use metres. It’s easy to get the decimal point in the wrong place. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-floor-plan-to-actual-ft-x-ft-real-world-dimensions/988202/26 "2023-08-09T10:18:16Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > In short, that house has too many walls and too many doors. Back in the days before central heating, having lots of doors and walls was important. Smaller, enclosed areas are easier heat ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-floor-plan-to-actual-ft-x-ft-real-world-dimensions/988202/27 "2023-08-09T10:22:52Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Back in the days before central heating, having lots of doors and walls was important. Smaller, enclosed areas are easier heat Heh - you’re right. I’m not thinking in terms of heating, I’m thinking in terms of air flow. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-floor-plan-to-actual-ft-x-ft-real-world-dimensions/988202/28 "2023-08-09T10:42:42Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I’m thinking in terms of air flow. Yeah,…in Israel, that makes sense. The real estate advertising in Hebrew always includes “directions of air flow” as a big selling point. But in the rest of the world, not so much . 🙂 . (I’ve been in American houses where nobody has opened a window for years on end. Even if they wanted to, they can’t… the window frames are so warped from non-use that they are jammed and can’t move.) |And I originally opened this thread to help the OP with the measurements…but damn, those dimensions in feet and inches are confusing! Give me the metric system.) ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-floor-plan-to-actual-ft-x-ft-real-world-dimensions/988202/29 "2023-08-09T10:59:09Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Carpet, it turns out, is sold by the square yard. She kept getting $$$ that was way too expensive. Wait, what? I’ve bought carpet from Home Depot, Lowes and a small local chain and it’s always been priced by the square foot. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-floor-plan-to-actual-ft-x-ft-real-world-dimensions/988202/30 "2023-08-09T11:13:21Z")
She was dealing with quotes from a local flooring company and all prices were in square yards. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-floor-plan-to-actual-ft-x-ft-real-world-dimensions/988202/31 "2023-08-09T12:45:24Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > |And I originally opened this thread to help the OP with the measurements…but damn, those dimensions in feet and inches are confusing! Give me the metric system.) However, building materials are sold in feet and inches in North America, so even Canada with its nominal metric system still uses Imperial/American for some building-related items and I imagine it will be pretty much impossible to change. > [@chappachula](#): > > Back in the days before central heating, having lots of doors and walls was important. Smaller, enclosed areas are easier heat Yes, “Open Concept” has been the rage for a few decades - I assume because combining several rooms makes the living space seem much larger. Modern furnaces/air conditioning use forced air and newer furnaces, the fan is always running to even out the temperature in the entire house. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-floor-plan-to-actual-ft-x-ft-real-world-dimensions/988202/32 "2023-08-09T12:54:35Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > However, building materials are sold in feet and inches in North America, so even Canada with its nominal metric system still uses Imperial/American for some building-related items and I imagine it will be pretty much impossible to change. Hell, even in purely-metric Israel, they still use inches for pipe diameters. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-floor-plan-to-actual-ft-x-ft-real-world-dimensions/988202/33 "2023-08-09T15:39:57Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I’ve heard it called “the gentleman’s door.” I’m guessing the purpose is so that the gentleman can come and go discreetly and not rouse the whole household. That name makes me suspect it was more to allow the gentleman’s mistress to enter and exit discreetly. @Alessan , are you at least consistent with your inch-measure pipes? Around here, PVC with an inside diameter of half an inch (12.7 mm) and PVC with an inside diameter of 15 mm are both labeled and sold as “half inch”. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-floor-plan-to-actual-ft-x-ft-real-world-dimensions/988202/34 "2023-08-09T16:07:27Z")
All pipe dimensions vary from nominal sizes based on the material and other factors such as maximum pressure. Standard dimensions include minimum and maximum diameters and wall thicknesses. Pipes with exactly 1/2" diameter aren’t common. Tubes are different. Their nominal size is usually based on OD but ID and wall thickness will be specified also, along with more precise dimensional tolerances. Tubes are structural components and the exact dimensions are important. Although frequently used for DIY projects, pipes are fluid transport devices requiring much less dimensional tolerance. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-floor-plan-to-actual-ft-x-ft-real-world-dimensions/988202/35 "2023-08-09T17:01:08Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > A million wonderful blessings on your head! I think they’d prefer the cashew fudge. (I know i would !) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-floor-plan-to-actual-ft-x-ft-real-world-dimensions/988202.md?page=1)