United States and Imperial Units
In the United States, and prior to metrification in Britain, Canada and Australia, architect's scales are/were marked as a ratio of x inches-to-the-foot (typically written as x"=1'-0"). For example one inch measured from a drawing with a scale of "one-inch-to-the-foot" is equivalent to one foot in the real world (a scale of 1:12) whereas one inch measured from a drawing with a scale of "two-inches-to-the-foot" is equivalent to six inches in the real world (a scale of 1:6). It is not to be confused with a true unitless ratio (inches to inches)-- a 1:50 architectural scale would be a 1:60 unitless scale.
Typical scales used in the United States are:
- Full scale, with inches divided into sixteenths of an inch
The following scales are generally grouped in pairs using the same dual-numbered index line (one scale is read from the right, and the other scale is read from the left):
- three-inches-to-the-foot (3"=1'-0") (ratio equivalent 1:4)/one-and-one-half-inch-to-the-foot (1½"=1'-0") (1:8)
- one-inch-to-the-foot (1"=1'-0") (1:12)/one-half-inch-to-the-foot (1/2"=1'-0") (1:24)
- three-quarters-inch-to-the-foot (3/4"=1'-0") (1:16)/three-eighths-inch-to-the-foot (3/8"=1'-0") (1:32)
- one-quarter-inch-to-the-foot (1/4"=1'-0") (1:48)/one-eighth-inch-to-the-foot (1/8"=1'-0") (1:96)
- three-sixteenths-inch-to-the-foot (3/16"=1'-0") (1:64)/three-thirty-seconds-inch-to-the-foot (3/32"=1'0") (1:128)
Read more about this topic: Architect's Scale
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