Feet & Inches Calculator
Tape-measure arithmetic without the decimal gymnastics: two measurements with fractions, four operations, and the answer in the format the tape reads.
First measurement
Second measurement
The tape line rounds to the nearest 1/16 in — up to 1/32 in from exact. The decimal lines are exact; lay out from the decimals, mark from the tape line.
How the math works
Each measurement is converted to decimal inches (feet × 12 + inches + numerator ÷ denominator), the operation runs, and the answer converts back three ways: tape format rounded to the nearest 1/16 in (the fraction reduced — 4/16 prints as 1/4), decimal feet, and total inches. Multiplication of two lengths is an area, printed in sq ft and sq in; division of two lengths is a count — how many of the second fit in the first.
Rounding note: the tape line is the decimal honestly rounded to the nearest sixteenth, so it can differ from the exact decimal by up to 1/32 in. The decimal lines are the exact figures — layout from the decimals, mark from the tape line.
A worked example
5 ft 6-1/2 in + 2 ft 3-3/4 in: in decimals, 66.5 in + 27.75 in = 94.25 in — the tape reads 7 ft 10-1/4 in, the decimal is 7.854 ft. Multiplied instead of added, the same two measurements are a 12.82 sq ft area.
Questions from the field
How do I add feet and inches with fractions? Convert everything to inches, fractions included, add, then convert back. 5 ft 6-1/2 in is 66.5 in — the fraction stops being special the moment it is a decimal.
What is 94.25 inches in feet and inches? 7 ft 10-1/4 in — 84 inches of feet, 10 whole inches, and a quarter. This page prints it in tape format so you do not have to do that division at the saw.
Why round to the nearest 1/16? Because that is the finest mark on a standard tape. Finer answers exist (the decimal lines show them), but a measurement you cannot mark is trivia, not layout.
Can it multiply two measurements? Yes — that is an area, and it prints in square feet and square inches. Dividing gives a count of how many of the second measurement fit in the first.
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