Linear feet (also called lineal feet) are the same as regular feet, but they’re used to describe length. Square footage is a measure of area and is expressed in square feet.
You might use linear feet when you’re buying lumber or other long, narrow materials like carpeting or fencing. The standard length of lumber is 8 feet, so you might say you need 16 linear feet of lumber for a project.
You’d use square footage when you’re measuring the size of a room or the area of a piece of land.
Why is it important to use the right measurement?
Using the wrong measurement can lead to problems and wasted materials. For example, if you’re buying carpeting for a room that’s 10 feet by 12 feet, you’ll need 120 square feet of carpet.
But if you mistakenly ask for 120 linear feet of carpet, you’ll end up with way more than you need. That’s because a 10-foot-by-12-foot room is only 120 square feet, but it’s 144 linear feet around the perimeter.
In general, it’s better to use linear feet instead of square feet when you’re buying long, narrow materials. That’s because it’s easier to visualize how much material you need when it’s expressed in linear feet.
It can also help you avoid ordering too much material, which can save you time and money.
Linear feet vs square feet
Linear feet is a more accurate way of measuring than square footage, especially when you are dealing with irregularly shaped spaces. When you use linear feet, you can more easily determine how much material you will need for a project.
Square footage is a less precise measure because it can’t account for irregularities in shape. This means that you might end up with too much or too little material when you use square footage as your guide.
Linear feet is a straightforward way to measure, and it will help you avoid wastefulness and errors in your projects. Make sure you always use linear feet instead of square footage!
How to calculate linear feet
To calculate linear feet, simply measure the length of the material in question. For example, if you’re buying lumber, you would measure the length of each board in feet.
If you’re measuring a piece of fabric, you would unroll it and measure its full length from end to end. Once you have the length of the material in feet, that’s your linear footage. It’s important to note that linear feet and lineal feet are the same thing. Lineal is just an older term that is sometimes used interchangeably with linear.
How to calculate square feet
To calculate square footage, you need to determine the length and width of the area in question. For example, if you’re measuring a room, you would measure the length and width of the room in feet.
Once you have those measurements, multiply them together to get the square footage. For example, if your room is 10 feet long and 12 feet wide, the square footage would be 120 (10 x 12).
Examples of when you would use each calculation:
– You would use linear feet when measuring the length of a piece of lumber, or when buying carpeting for a room.
– You would use square footage when measuring the area of a room or plot of land.
– Some examples of situations where it might be useful to calculate both linear feet and square footage include renovating a home, measuring for new furniture, or calculating the amount of material needed for a construction project.
When in doubt, always use linear feet instead of square footage to avoid ordering too much material!
When measuring materials or areas, it’s important to use the right unit of measurement. Linear feet are used to measure length, while square footage is used to measure area.