Way to apply yard stick to ground while standing. Tools, physics, balance?!

[Arugela]

I'm putting this into science because it's a measuring method and might have to do with traditional tool making.

Does anyone know how to make or a normal way to apply a yard stick to the ground without bending over? Are there traditional ways like with string and balancing it?  This probably used to be done a lot. But a tried and true method would help to get out the kinks?

Literally trying to quickly and easily and rapidly measure ground while standing up. Trying to use a yardstick to do it. Are there easy ways to mod or traditional tools used to do this sort of thing? i'm measuring something at exactly 3 feet intervals. So a hard solid yard stick is useful.

I have  square/cubic one made of wood and a flat metal one. Is there any fun ways to do this. Or just a simple way. I also have twine. 8d

I assume this is just plumbing a yard stick. But I don't know a good way to do it. The only plumbing google provides involves copious amounts of large mens but cracks. And hence bending over. And having to see thumbnails of that...

Edited February 6, 2023 by Arugela

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

This? 

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Lufkin-Measuring-Wheel/3878546?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-tol-_-ggl-_-LIA_TOL_216_Construction-Hand-Tools-_-3878546-_-local-_-0-_-0&ds_rl=1286981&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_J3c4_WB_QIVufbjBx2W8gMoEAQYAiABEgLsZfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Or this? 

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-100-ft-Long-Tape/4667541

 

 

[AckSed]

There are grippers/litter pickers that let you pick up rubbish without bending. They could just as easily pick up your yardstick. Might have to find or modify one that'd let you keep the stick straight.

https://www.gardentoolbox.co.uk/garden-hand-tools/gardeners-tidying-tools/litter-picker/

[magnemoe]

One simple way would be two yard sticks with an rope to the end. put one down, put the other down at the end of the first, then drag or lift the first so it hit the seconds end and put it down, repeat. 
Benefit is that you could use longer and heavier sticks. 

[LHACK4142]

Could you use a tape measure?

[kerbiloid]

A long rope tied to both ends of the area.

Something of known length to go along it and mark the places.

Short rulers like a roulette or so may fail with making the line straight.

[Gargamel]

8 hours ago, Arugela said:

i'm measuring something at exactly 3 feet intervals

There’s your answer.     What has regular intervals over distances?     Wheels!

Get a wheel of exactly 3 feet circumference (they’re actually available commercially and common), and every time it clicks or the line hits the grounds, there’s your interval. 
 

oh, I see @JoeSchmuckatellihad one of those in that convoluted link. 

[kerbiloid]

The classics.

Spoiler

(But the rope is anyway good, to align the intervals properly.)

Edited February 7, 2023 by kerbiloid

[Nuke]

i usually count floor tiles. the ones in my house are exactly one foot. doesn't work outside though, but i never go there.  the cracks do introduce error, but so does the loose metal thing at the end of my tape measure.

 

i seem to recall wheel based measuring devices, usually used in sports to draw field lines at regulation distances. i think its just a wheel on a rotary encoder of sorts. you just roll it over the ground and a digital readout will indicate distance. 

Edited February 7, 2023 by Nuke

[kerbiloid]

1 minute ago, Nuke said:

i usually count floor tiles. the ones in my house are exactly one foot. doesn't work outside though, but i never go there.  the cracks do introduce error, but so does the loose metal thing at the end of my tape measure.

The way I have measured our service building while going there in the mornings.

Bricks and windows.

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

17 hours ago, Gargamel said:

that convoluted link. 

The forum does not like my phone.

[Shpaget]

15 hours ago, Nuke said:

loose metal thing at the end of my tape measure.

The only reason it is loose and all wobbly is to increase accuracy.

[Gargamel]

42 minutes ago, Shpaget said:

The only reason it is loose and all wobbly is to increase accuracy.

Hrumph…. Accuracy in a tape measure?  Hmph….

[Terwin]

8 hours ago, Shpaget said:

The only reason it is loose and all wobbly is to increase accuracy.

If you hook the loose bit over the end, it should pull taught and thus extend the hook-part past the end of the tape, if you butt it up against an edge, it should push in so that the measured end is still accurate on the tape measure.

 

Personally, I usually start measuring at the 6 or 12 inch point on the tape and subtract that from the end point when feasible, because the loose bit also bothers me...

[kerbiloid]

True Kerbals would just

Spoiler

ignite the engine and count the Mach diamonds.

 

[tomf]

48 minutes ago, Terwin said:

If you hook the loose bit over the end, it should pull taught and thus extend the hook-part past the end of the tape, if you butt it up against an edge, it should push in so that the measured end is still accurate on the tape measure

Wait, that's a feature? Genius!

[Nuke]

the tape measure in question is something i walked off of the jobsite with. on the last day i had it clipped to my belt and didn't notice it until after the 36 hour ferry ride home. it has a history im completely unaware of. the thing is busted in a dozen different ways. there are wood fragments in the reel, neither of the buttons to hold the tape work, and the clip looks like it was ran over by a truck and bent back out with a straight edge screw driver. 

[steve9728]

If the definition of not bending is "I don't bend myself", then there is another way: hiring someone.

[kerbiloid]

If measure the intervals twice, i.e. there and back again, the midpoints of two measurements will compensate the measurement error and thus be very precise.

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

6 hours ago, kerbiloid said:

If measure the intervals twice, i.e. there and back again, the midpoints of two measurements will compensate the measurement error and thus be very precise.

Not the way my wife drives 

[kerbiloid]

6 hours ago, JoeSchmuckatelli said:

Not the way my wife drives 

It's hard to apply the roulette all 100 mi way long, each 100 ft .

[Arugela]

What I'm doing with it is making a garden path. I have 3 foot exact walkways. I need to measure from a given point and lay bricks on the other side for the edge of the garden bed. So, I need to have a 3 ft measure that i can in essence move along the garden bed to ensure the bricks layed down are straight and mainting a 3 ft distance from the previous object. In this case the garden path starts at the back of a garage. Then it has a 3ft walkway and bricks laying out a 4 ft by 18 ft garden bed. Then another 3 ft walkway. So, the solid ruller is also helping to push the bricks against it to physicall keep them straightented. Probably with my foot. So, it's a matter how hassle free I can manage to lay the bricks out.

I plan on measuring on both ends of the garage to ensure the end points are correct. Then I have to drag the stick or place it periodically to make sure it's as straight as possible. This will project the rest of the garden as I lay out more walkways and more garden beds. I just need to be able to do it without physically bending over as much as possible for sanities sake. Plus standing helps see better anyway to ensure it's really straight. So, the stick should help act as  barrier to push the bricks agains.

Maybe i need a t shape on the end of it without adding length. maybe on both ends. Then I could slide it. Then a stick to pull it straight sideways without it rotating on me and retaining an accurate object to line the bricks up against. I just need to drag it without it going sideway somehow. Maybe a counter weight? Not sure how to make it stay straight while moving it.

So, technically it's a measure and a physical object to align stuff with.

The first walkway will be 3 ft from a garage and then measured against it basically. The next rows will be farther away though. Hopefully they won't move too much as I move stuff as they will have to be pressed against the other bricks... and hopefully the ground will be flat as I will be using a tiller to flatten it and remove weeds/grass.

So having a T shape as long as the yard stick might help on both ends might help(maybe some sort of weight also.). Not sure if anything makes one of those or if there is an easy way to mod one. Or if something else, or a combination of things, would work better. This will be done with 1 or 2 people. But being able to do it solo is ideal.

I guess I could buy one of these for the garden bed as it's 48 inches. And only 12 dollars. Just need a few in 36 ft sturdy enough to work. And in an I shape.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Marshalltown-T-Square-FG/5001886007?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-bdm-_-ggl-_-LIA_BDM_248_Drywall-And-Ceilings-_-5001886007-_-local-_-0-_-0&gclid=CjwKCAiA85efBhBbEiwAD7oLQLTy8iK8Psk2CFZYsF48aLezp890M1AqXcIpRh10aLPRsPPRlXwr9BoCZxkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Problem is I'm seeing lots of stuff in 2/4 ft but not 3 ft... And they are not adjustable.

Edited February 10, 2023 by Arugela

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

9 minutes ago, Arugela said:

What I'm doing with it is making a garden path. I have 3 foot exact walkways. I need to measure from a given point and lay bricks on the other side for the edge of the garden bed. So, I need to have a 3 ft measure that i can in essence move along the garden bed to ensure the bricks layed down are straight and mainting a 3 ft distance from the previous object. In this case the garden path starts at the back of a garage. Then it has a 3ft walkway and bricks laying out a 4 ft by 18 ft garden bed. Then another 3 ft walkway. So, the solid ruller is also helping to push the bricks against it to physicall keep them straightented. Probably with my foot. So, it's a matter how hassle free I can manage to lay the bricks out.

I plan on measuring on both ends of the garage to ensure the end points are correct. Then I have to drag the stick or place it periodically to make sure it's as straight as possible. This will project the rest of the garden as I lay out more walkways and more garden beds. I just need to be able to do it without physically bending over as much as possible for sanities sake. Plus standing helps see better anyway to ensure it's really straight. So, the stick should help act as  barrier to push the bricks agains.

Maybe i need a t shape on the end of it without adding length. maybe on both ends. Then I could slide it. Then a stick to pull it straight sideways without it rotating on me and retaining an accurate object to line the bricks up against. I just need to drag it without it going sideway somehow. Maybe a counter weight? Not sure how to make it stay straight while moving it.

So, technically it's a measure and a physical object to align stuff with.

The first walkway will be 3 ft from a garage and then measured against it basically. The next rows will be farther away though. Hopefully they won't move too much as I move stuff as they will have to be pressed against the other bricks... and hopefully the ground will be flat as I will be using a tiller to flatten it and remove weeds/grass.

So having a T shape as long as the yard stick might help on both ends might help(maybe some sort of weight also.). Not sure if anything makes one of those or if there is an easy way to mod one. Or if something else, or a combination of things, would work better. This will be done with 1 or 2 people. But being able to do it solo is ideal.

I guess I could buy one of these for the garden bed as it's 48 inches. And only 12 dollars. Just need a few in 36 ft sturdy enough to work. And in an I shape.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Marshalltown-T-Square-FG/5001886007?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-bdm-_-ggl-_-LIA_BDM_248_Drywall-And-Ceilings-_-5001886007-_-local-_-0-_-0&gclid=CjwKCAiA85efBhBbEiwAD7oLQLTy8iK8Psk2CFZYsF48aLezp890M1AqXcIpRh10aLPRsPPRlXwr9BoCZxkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

As a former professional... I'd never do it this way.

 

When hardscaping... I use stakes and string to mark the path dimensions.  If you need a straight path... mark and stake the width you need at one end - then stretch a string along one side the distance you need making sure its perpendicular to the house or whatever if that's what you want.  At the other end, stake and with the one string tight - use a square to mark the other end and stake it & string it.  

[Arugela]

I was trying to avoid the bending over from that too. Might have to do that though. Maybe I'll make a large string frame and measure it out each time. Then measure the placement and angles. The entire garden is a repeat as it moves down. So i could just keep moving the strings I guess.

The other idea would be to take some metal yardsticks and combine them into a large I shaped object. But I don't own a welder or a means to do that conveniently.

Edited February 10, 2023 by Arugela

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

7 minutes ago, Arugela said:

I was trying to avoid the bending over from that too. Might have to do that though. Maybe I'll make a large string frame and measure it out each time. Then measure the placement and angles. The entire garden is a repeat as it moves down. So i could just keep moving the strings I guess.

The other idea would be to take some metal yardsticks and combine them into a large I shaped object. But I don't own a welder or a means to do that conveniently.

Deep breath.  Not quite a sigh - but I'm trying to accommodate you.

You SHOULD NOT try to build a walkway if you cannot bend over to lay the stakes or measure.  Hardscaping is hard work.  There's a reason you see young men doing it.

A proper build requires ditching out the area to be paved, prepping the ground with a good substrate and packing that down - which can take a while as you need to ensure both good drainage and that it will be free from frost heave and other movement - you don't want pavers to sink or rise or roll, otherwise you and or your guests can get seriously hurt.  Falls - especially for older or frail people are common on badly laid walkways.  I know people who (50s and up) have broken hips and ankles from falling... and a badly laid walkway is potentially more dangerous than just walking across the yard.  Once you have a proper substrate, packed and flat, you need to do a sand or crushed stone layer to make sure its really ready for the pavers - then get those set and sanded or mortared into place.

If you are just dropping several stepping stones or even the concrete pavers you buy at Home Depot... even those should be inset and sanded (at a minimum).

I strongly recommend either hiring someone able to do the work properly or bringing over enough friends to (again) do the work properly.

Edited February 10, 2023 by JoeSchmuckatelli