Note this is not the most glamorous part of my job, but I deal with existing buildings on a regular basis. Most of the time there are no existing plans available so I have to go field measure to construct a base plan I have been doing this for over 25 years and I have established a certain method that I would like to share.
The first thing you need is the correct mindset. It can either be considered a boring nightmare you HAVE to do, or it is just a puzzle that you have to put the pieces together. You have to understand before you even leave the office that it has to be done and there is no turning back. Accept your challenge and move on. Accept that it is going to take time and that you are task oriented and not time oriented, so get over trying to estimate how long it will take, as you never get it right.
The first thing you need is the correct mindset. It can either be considered a boring nightmare you HAVE to do, or it is just a puzzle that you have to put the pieces together. You have to understand before you even leave the office that it has to be done and there is no turning back. Accept your challenge and move on. Accept that it is going to take time and that you are task oriented and not time oriented, so get over trying to estimate how long it will take, as you never get it right.
The second thing you need to have is good background music. It has to be music you enjoy, but not something you have to listen to with a lot of focus, so even things like audio books are out. . The noise has to fade away into the background once you start concentrating on the task at hand. If you start to get into the music, soon after you pull the measurement and before you write it down you will start questioning yourself. “Was that 38 ¼” or 14 ⅜” inches?”. I recently measured for four hours listening to the same 10 songs (thank you Florida Georgia Line), but I only heard about every fifth song so I never got tired of the music. It beats the heck out of four hours of listening to creaking and cracking sounds made by the building. I use a $10 Polaroid mp3 player I got from Office Depot and some mini speakers I got from Dick's Sporting Goods. I think they cost about $12. The speakers have a hard plastic clip, but it is to hard to get on my belt loop so I use a carabiner to act as the middle man. I start my tunes and slap it on to my left side, because I hook my tape measure to my right. I sometimes use ear buds, but I wanted to be able to hear in this large building while I measured. No one is going to be sneaking up behind me! :-)
The building I am measuring by myself is a 56,000 warehouse. Without the invention of the laser measurer there is no way I could measure this building by myself. It is real nice not to have to have someone hold the dummy end of the tape.
The first unit I got was a Flat Max by Stanley, it will measure up to 100’ with an ⅛” accuracy. It originally cost about $100. I then bought an additional measure made by Bosch. I thought Bosch made spark plugs, or dish washers? The Bosch is a model GLR225 and it will measure 225’ with a 1/16” accuracy. Did I mention this warehouse is 250’ in one direction? Fortunately I can stand about midway and measure from an existing masonry wall in both directions. Both Stanley and Bosch make laser measure devices that will go over 300' for around $200. I have even seen a bosch that will measure up to 825'. I also have my trusty 25’ long by 1” wide tape measure I got from Walmart. I don’t remember the cost, but it does have magnets on the end which has come in very handy when measuring where there are steel studs, beams, and columns.
I can’t seem to get all the light to come on in this building. It is dark in some places and maybe I just haven’t found the right breaker box yet? So flashlights are another very important item. I was given, as a present, an energizer head flashlight. It has the band that goes around your head, but instead of being elastic mind has a velcro strap in the back. Also in the back it the battery compartment for one AA battery. It is nice to use as it keeps your hands free. I also wanted a fairly potent flashlight for those dark back corners and recently purchased a - Coast PX45. It supposedly produces 212 lumens, where I think the output on any of my other flashlights is less than 100 lumens.
Over the years I have a specific routine for taking measurements that I think is the most effective. The first thing I do is sketch up the space. Secondly I draw only the dimension lines I want to measure and then the last thing is to measure. This method works best with two people because when you get to step three one person is calling out dimensions and the other is writing them down. Even with one person it goes extremely fast, trust me. To take the time to draw the plan, then measure and then mark up only that one dimension and repeat is an extremely slow and painful process. I know I have done it enough times.
Once you get the right mindset and the right tunes, it is time to “rock and roll”. I find measuring between two and four hours at a time works well for me. After about four hours all I want is OUT! The fun part starts when you return to the office and try to figure out why none of the dimensions work? I have alway told people I meet while measuring, “I’ll be back tomorrow, because nobody gets it all the first time.” Next measurement playlist - Zac Brown Band!
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