Silly question for Aussie

[Steve Jepson]

I am nearly metric illiterate - can someone help me with what these window sizes mean?

[Anonymous]

KeesW wrote:
Those Aussie dimensions are millimetres, This is the standard for our construction industry.

Yes, but what is the "51-87"? Is that a catalogue number?

[Barry Kelly]

It is not anything I recognise.
We usually nominate in millimetres (or possible decimetres for framed construction) or brick coursing.

Barry.

[KeesW]

It looks like a manufacturer's catalogue number. These were sometimes based on window sizes and if the windows or manufacturer is old fashioned, dimensions might be in inches, not metric.

For arithmetically challenged Americans - metric is dead easy to understand. Much easier to add, subtract, multiply and divide millimetres than feet and inches. Hardest thing is to know if metric is in mm, cm or metres.

[Aaron Bourgoin]

Kees, Come to Canada where we use both. Daily.

[KeesW]

Aaron
I'd love to visit Canada - actually have some relatives there!
Why use both? Is it because you need metric for the French and imperial for the Americans? You don't need to put both on architectural drawings, do you?

[gpowless]

KeesW wrote:
Aaron
Why use both?

It is because in the 80's the government decided to adopt metric in order to match the world standard. Unfortunately since a lot of materials come from the US and since builders are reluctant to make any changes to their current methods and materials imperial measurement stuck around.

So today the building codes are all in metric (although they are also echoing some measurements in imperial) and our drawings must satisfy the builders.

Funny thing is that most municipal building departments readily accept imperial construction drawings but insist on metric site development and work plans. Crazy Canuks!

[Anonymous]

I worked in Malaysia for a while in the late '90s. The boss used metric and imperial in the same sentence - "I want this wall 2metres and 6inches long". Always good for a laugh.

[Aaron Bourgoin]

Kees,

It's not uncommon to issue drawings here for permit where the buildings are dimension in Imperial and the Site Plan - always the Site Plan - is Metric.

[Eduardo Rolon]

Puerto Rico is also metric for Site and Civil, and Imperial for everything else.

[KeesW]

How confusing to run 2 systems at the same time! Must generate real clanging errors!