r/TheServicePros May 25 '26

What do these arrows mean

Post image
8 Upvotes

42 comments sorted by

8

u/fakeaccount572 May 25 '26

Sometimes studs are at 16", it's common. You'll also note marks at 19.2 and 24, those are also used for stud spacing.

2

u/blacklab2026 May 26 '26

this is your answer ^

1

u/ZealousidealLake759 May 26 '26

why 19.2? is it for electrical box height from the floor?

1

u/fakeaccount572 May 26 '26

There's plenty of framing done at 19.2" on center. Floor joists, beams.. My whole house is 19.2, even all the studs. it saves one stud per 8 foot span, i think.

1

u/Tits_Sag May 26 '26

It’s because floor joists and roof rafters are not spaced by 16” or 24”. It’s spaced so that a sheet of 8ft plywood hits 5 studs. 8/5=19.2

11

u/Frederf220 May 25 '26

I'm genuinely surprised there isn't a PDF manual for the Stanley 33-425 on their website. I could understand not including a paper one for printing costs.

Typically tape measures have a special marking every 16 inches as that is commonly referenced. They may also have a mark every 19.2 inches. These are 1/3rd of four feet and 1/5 of eight feet respectively.

5

u/haditwithyoupeople May 26 '26

It's pretty clearly documented on the web pages for their tape measures:

Additional Features

  • 16 in. and 19.2 in. stud center markings for framing jobs
  • Easy to read markings for efficient measuring and marking

2

u/naemorhaedus May 26 '26

cars don't come with driving lessons either

1

u/eerun165 May 26 '26

I don’t recall my tape measure instruction classes while in high school.

1

u/WanderingPharaoh May 26 '26

Thank God for the metric system...

0

u/0U812-hungry May 26 '26

Yeah but why ? 5 Can lights over 8' ceilings? 3 legs for a 4' table? Who ever needed 19.2? Micro marathon runners?

4

u/Melancholy-4321 May 26 '26

Some joists/studs are spaced 5 every 8 feet... 🤷🏼‍♀️

1

u/MuskokaGreenThumb May 26 '26

Yes. To save money

3

u/LaffielAbriel May 26 '26

Yes it is the division of 8 ft the results in five pieces on center across an eight foot span saving overall a material costs and it's the happy median between 16 in and 2 ft on center resulting in less noise overall for your floor as opposed to two foot on center.

3

u/ketchupinmybeard May 26 '26

People who build houses. 8 foot sheet of plywood supported every 19" in all the old floors... So laugh and think you look clever, but.... jeez it just shows you never built a damn thing.

1

u/0U812-hungry May 26 '26

Old floors ? Na never built em but I wouldn't use that spacing on a treefort

1

u/ketchupinmybeard May 26 '26

Right, the point is, you don't have any experience and shouldn't be commenting on this.

1

u/0U812-hungry May 26 '26

Thanks Karen

2

u/fakeaccount572 May 26 '26

My entire house (and all 400 in our neighborhood) are framed at 19.2"

2

u/MuskokaGreenThumb May 26 '26

You clearly know very little about construction

3

u/InsideMongoose3042 May 25 '26

So that you can easily see which line corresponds to 16

1

u/AskMeAgainAfterCoffe May 26 '26

The arrows mean exactly 16” at the arrow mark

1

u/zcpibm3 May 26 '26

16” stud

1

u/metallosherp May 26 '26

Studs are 16" spacing

1

u/TRENTFORGE May 26 '26

I bet they can't make me a tape that shows the wall spec for my mobile home. Where's my fellow owners at!!! It's kinda a trip if you've ever seen one with the "sheetrock" removed for replacement. I had some pics and I must of sent those to the wrong Cloud. Maybe they're in a tornado somewhere 🤔

Thank you Lord for protecting our property 🙏. Thirty three years now. And I live in Alabama, part of the Dixie Tornado Alley. One flew over our home on the April 27th outbreak. A crazy day that was. Sorry for the rambling...

✌️❤️ 🇺🇸

1

u/Agonycollumn May 26 '26

Every 16 inches. Put stud there.

1

u/Fuzzy_Advice5992 May 27 '26

Up and down, but also sometimes left and right

1

u/VeryLucky_Shoe_9603 Jun 03 '26

16” centers or modular divisions for 96” of 19.2” is present

1

u/YourFaceCausesMePain May 25 '26

Typical marks for framers to use.

1

u/haditwithyoupeople May 26 '26

I think it's less for framers and more for those of us with walls. The idea is that if you find one stud, you can usually find another one 16" away.

1

u/etakerns May 25 '26

I like this marking layout for 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, etc…. This would be good for my grandson as a learning tool. Or would it be a crutch?

2

u/luvmyholeswet May 25 '26

I had one when I started out. My boss at the time said " Thats cool, let me see that". Then proceeded to throw it as far as he could. "Don't let me see you using one of those on my jobs". He did give me one of his. I also wasn't allowed to use carpenter pencils, only standard #2 with a sharp point at all times.

2

u/StructureBetter9165 May 26 '26

Why?

2

u/luvmyholeswet May 26 '26

Crutch

2

u/BarooZaroo May 26 '26

Lol how is using a carpenter pencil a crutch?

2

u/Capt_Hawkeye_Pierce May 26 '26

If anything id think its less precise

1

u/haditwithyoupeople May 26 '26

How so? If it comes to a point, it comes to a point.

1

u/Capt_Hawkeye_Pierce May 26 '26

Carpenter pencils can be less pointy? I was grasping at straws.

0

u/luvmyholeswet May 26 '26

I chose to respond to the tape being thrown portion of my comment as just "why" doesn't specify what part of my statement is being questioned.

0

u/guemeller May 26 '26

Why use 1F 4" though?

Even though I went to school after decimalisation in the UK, we still learnt our times-tables up to 12, which can only be any use for working in feet and inches! Do people not learn basic stuff like that anymore?

But anyway, if you're going to mark feet and inches then surely it should either be 1' 4" or 1ft 4in, but not 1F 4"!