Squaring a Shed

[Joe]

How does one go about making sure a shed is square? Is there a formula like 3' down one side, 2' down the oposite side should produce

5' across? Help.

Thanks in advance.

[Unisaw A100]

Measure one leg over 3'. Measure the other leg up 4'. The hypotenuse will be 5'.

Use the same edge of the tape on both marks when you go to check the 5'.

You can also double/triple/quadruple this (6', 8', 10') for a larger building and to check that your wall isn't "running out".

UA100

[Ramsey]

Measure diagnaly.

[todd]

And who says that public schools aren't doing their job? Apparently, it's not just a problem in the US.

If you want a right angle, if you create a triangle with sides of 3 units, 4 units, and 5 units, the angle between the 3 and 4 unit sides is a right angle.

If you have a floor or wall laid out and want to check it for square, make sure the diagonals are equilateral (oops...I mean the same length).

todd

[Paul]

How about a(squared) + b(squared) = c(squared) where 'a' and 'b' are the sides next to the (hopefully) 90 deg corner, and 'c' is the hypotenuse (diagonal). It works regardless of the length of either short side.

[Tom Watson]

A Pythy response.

The old boy would be proud.

Regards, Tom Tom Watson - Woodworker Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania

[Robert Bonomi]

Also: 5 ft high, 12 ft wide, *should* give 13 ft on the hypotenuse.

[George E. Cawthon]

If opposite walls are the same length, your method will get the walls parallel and thus right angles. It doesn't work if one of an opposite pair is shorter, i.e. you don't have a rectangle. You use geometry for squaring a base. I'm curious about your "square the walls with the floor tho." Nobody does that. You want the floor level and you want the walls to be perpendicular. To do that you use gravity. To get something level you use water (absent flow and wind, water surfaces are always level)(most people use a tube since any surfaces connected will be level) and to get walls perpendicular you use a plumb bob. Those methods are basic and the standard. Of course most people just use a level which is a derivative method, i.e., the level has to be adjusted to something else to be sure the bubbles indicate level and perpendicular.

[Joe]

On Sun, 10 Aug 2003 16:00:38 -0400, Joe wrote: Thanks for all the replies, some good ideals here.

[ToolMiser]

You were close. 3, 4, and 5.

[Bruce]

Yep, good ol' Pythagorous. Of course, if it is squarely dimensioned, simply measure diagonal corners across and adjust till the measurements are equal.

[Alan McClure]

or 5,12,13 or 7,24,25

ARM