Tolerances

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michael.rohrbach@gmail.com - 25 Sep 2005 15:10 GMT

I am currently building a new home, well, the contractor is doing the
building. What are the expected tolerances for room dimensions? The
reason I am asking we were about to purchase a king bed room set. Total
length of the set was 142 inches. The particular wall in question was
spec'ed at 142.5 inches. So we went out to measure drywall to drywall
and ended up with 139 inches.

Mrs. tdf2001 got quite upset because now we would have to "settle" for
a "lesser" set. Take that with a grain of salt. I am interested,
however, what normal tolerances are when it comes to this.

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JerryD(upstateNY) - 25 Sep 2005 17:37 GMT

Usually rooms are measured from the center of one wall to the center of the
other.
If the walls were spec'ed at 142.5 center to center, and the walls were made
of 2X4's with 1/2" drywall on each side, you should have a drywall to
drywall measurement of 138".
So at 139", the room is actually 1 inch bigger than the specs.
Depending on how far along the house is, you could pay for moving the wall
over a few inches.

Signature

JerryD(upstateNY)

I am currently building a new home, well, the contractor is doing the
building. What are the expected tolerances for room dimensions? The
reason I am asking we were about to purchase a king bed room set. Total
length of the set was 142 inches. The particular wall in question was
spec'ed at 142.5 inches. So we went out to measure drywall to drywall
and ended up with 139 inches.

Mrs. tdf2001 got quite upset because now we would have to "settle" for
a "lesser" set. Take that with a grain of salt. I am interested,
however, what normal tolerances are when it comes to this.

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Mellowed - 26 Sep 2005 03:38 GMT

And to compound that problem, our new house just being completed has 2x6
walls with 5/8" drywall.

: Usually rooms are measured from the center of one wall to the center of the
: other.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
: Depending on how far along the house is, you could pay for moving the wall
: over a few inches.

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tdf2001 - 26 Sep 2005 05:50 GMT

Thanks for all the replies, especially the center to center one. That
makes perfect sense to me. We did not purchase the set yet and opted
for another one.

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BP - 26 Sep 2005 12:31 GMT

And remember, that first exterior wall is always measured from the outside
to the center of the first interior partition on architect's plans, further
confusing the issue.

> Usually rooms are measured from the center of one wall to the center of
> the other.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Depending on how far along the house is, you could pay for moving the wall
> over a few inches.

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3D Peruna - 26 Sep 2005 03:16 GMT

> I am currently building a new home, well, the contractor is doing the
> building. What are the expected tolerances for room dimensions? The
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> a "lesser" set. Take that with a grain of salt. I am interested,
> however, what normal tolerances are when it comes to this.

Was the 142" made known as a "hard" dimension at the design phase? If
so, then Mrs. might have a point to get the wall moved. If not, then
its here problem (maybe a change order) to change.

I always ask people if they have specific furniture (including TVs) we
need to design for. Then, I make sure we have the clearances necessary
AND the clearances necessary to actually get the furniture into the
room. Not hard to do...you just need to pay attention.

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RicodJour - 26 Sep 2005 05:39 GMT

michael.rohrb...@gmail.com wrote:

If you have concrete evidence that the drawings were in error or
weren't followed, then you could push for correction or compensation.
As this is a future event and you don't actually have the bedroom set
yet, you won't have damages unless you have already put down a
non-refundable deposit. You could opt to avoid the aggravation and buy
a different unit. There are unlimited numbers and styles.

Your wife is letting herself in for a lifetime of disappointment with
that attitude. If she's going to look at that bedroom set twenty times
a day and feel badly about it not being the "perfect" one, she's doing
herself a huge disfavor...and it won't be any favor for you either.

R

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JR-jred - 26 Sep 2005 23:27 GMT

> michael.rohrb...@gmail.com wrote:
> > I am currently building a new home, well, the contractor is doing the
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> > a "lesser" set. Take that with a grain of salt. I am interested,
> > however, what normal tolerances are when it comes to this.

Even at 142.5 inches, it wouldn't work. How would you change sheets,
etc. with 1/2 inch clearance? I would think you would need a good 18"
clearance on 3 sides of the bed to be anywhere near comfortable.

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-JR
Hung like Einstein and smart as a horse
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Bob Morrison - 27 Sep 2005 00:31 GMT

In a previous post JR-jred wrote...

> Even at 142.5 inches, it wouldn't work. How would you change sheets,
> etc. with 1/2 inch clearance? I would think you would need a good 18"
> clearance on 3 sides of the bed to be anywhere near comfortable.

JR:

I think he meant that the headboard with night tables was 142 inches wide.
Since a typical king bed is 76 inches wide there would be ample room on
each side of the bead.

The problem stems from trying to design a room for a specific piece of
furniture. Unless the builder was told that the room absolutely had to
accommodate a piece of furniture that was 142 inches wide I'm not sure he
can be faulted.

It sounds like the dimensioning on the plans may have been less than
adequate or was not very clear. On the other hand since the difference is
exactly the width of a 2x4, it is possible the builder measured
incorrectly..

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Bob Morrison, PE, SE
R L Morrison Engineering Co
Structural & Civil Engineering
Poulsbo WA

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RicodJour - 27 Sep 2005 02:32 GMT

> In a previous post JR-jred wrote...
> > Even at 142.5 inches, it wouldn't work. How would you change sheets,
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> exactly the width of a 2x4, it is possible the builder measured
> incorrectly..

I read it a little differently. Since the house is under construction,
and it obviously takes a while to work up plans, get a permit and frame
the house including interior walls, I'd bet dollars to donuts that the
furniture in question came into the picture well after the plans were
done.

My guess is that the dimension on the plan was used by the OP for
shopping and they didn't pick up on the location, nor importance, of
the dimension hash mark. Once that "perfect" bedroom set was stumbled
upon, and it fit "perfectly", the actual dimensions became a rude
wakeup call. Of course I could be totally wrong, too. OP...?

R

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PipeDown - 27 Sep 2005 21:26 GMT

>> In a previous post JR-jred wrote...
>> > Even at 142.5 inches, it wouldn't work. How would you change sheets,
[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]
>
> R

Agreed, just a laymen misinterpreting a technical document. In any case, no
harm done since the OP selected a different set. For planning purposes it
is best to leave a few inches to account for moldings and carpet tak strips
etc. preventing close fit to the wall.

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JR-jred - 27 Sep 2005 12:21 GMT

> In a previous post JR-jred wrote...
> > Even at 142.5 inches, it wouldn't work. How would you change sheets,
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> Since a typical king bed is 76 inches wide there would be ample room on
> each side of the bead.

That does make more sense but even then, if the bed is 76" that leaves
66" for night tables. 33" wide each? Seems pretty wide but maybe.
Once again, that sets up the same problem. If the nightstands are
jammed up against the bed, it's going to present a problem changing
linens, and worse, you're going to have to learn to be damn careful
about how you move in your sleep or you're going to whack you head or an
arm on the night tables.

Mine are a good 6" away from the bed. It may not sem like much but if
they were pressed right up against the mattress, I know it would be
claustrophobic.

My only point is that I'm guessing the OP didn't take that into account
when he came up with that 142" measurement. Had he done so, a .5"
difference would not have been a problem.

> The problem stems from trying to design a room for a specific piece of
> furniture. Unless the builder was told that the room absolutely had to
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> exactly the width of a 2x4, it is possible the builder measured
> incorrectly..

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-JR
Hung like Einstein and smart as a horse
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Homeowner Forum / Construction / September 2005

Tolerances