Just realized blueprint scales in my office are off by 0.5% for the last 7 years

Caught it when I double-checked a set of field measurements against a county plat from 2016 and everything was just slightly wrong, anyone else ever find a systematic error like that in their own gear?

2 comments

2 Comments

hugo_moore7d ago

Did you check if it was temperature related? I had a steel tape do that once.

rowan2627d ago

Honestly yeah, temperature can mess with steel tapes in ways people don't always think about. I actually heard from an old builder once that extreme heat can make the metal expand just enough to throw off measurements by a few mm over a long distance. It's not something you notice on small stuff but add a few feet and it adds up fast. I never even considered it until he pointed it out, now I always check the weather before I start measuring anything serious. Ngl, it's one of those simple things that can totally screw your project if you're not paying attention.