Who's good a math?

Jay H

PFG, Picture Framing God
Joined
Dec 8, 2003
Posts
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Loc
KY
Ok I'm sure this is a simple question BUT I don't know the answer. Is there any such way to convert U.I. to sq/ft? In the past my price lists was mostly in united inches. My software wants sq/ft. How do you do that if in fact you can? I have been messing around and have had no luck!
 
Length in inches x width in inches and divided by 144 = sq. ft….I know of no way to convert UL into sq. ft.
 
Originally posted by Jay H:
....Is there any such way to convert U.I. to sq/ft?....
Jay,

The answer is no, because United Inches are a linear measurement, actually a shortcut dimension eluding to the perimeter of the frame. While Square Inches is an Area measurement.

A good example of why they won't convert...

1 x 14 inch frame = 15 United Inches = 14 Square Inches.

7 x 8 inch frame = 15 United Inches = 56 Square Inches. :D

Most POS software for our industry, allows us to price different items / specialty charges via united inches, square inches, or piece.

Regards,

John
 
The problem is; the same UI can generate different sq ft.

The table below for a UI of 18 inches illustrates:

width, height, sq ft

1, 17, 0.12
2, 16, 0.22
3, 15, 0.31
4, 14, 0.39
5, 13, 0.45
6, 12, 0.50
7, 11, 0.53
8, 10, 0.56
9, 9, 0.56

So, if you use Dermot's formula and divide the UI in half first applying the result as the widthe and the height, you will probably yield a number sufficiently accurate for your software.

BTW, you should have a word with your software vendor. It shouldn't be so restrictive.

Edit:
Gee John, you beat me? I guess I type slow.
 
Hi, I'm only a rookie in here and I grew up with feet and inches but since moving to Australia, I had to learn the metric system and still learning. but this is what I learnt
a 8x10 frame is 200mmx250mm or 20cmx25cm and to get a united meter you multiply by 2 so it would be 400+500=900 which is 900mm or 90 cm which is less than a metre of moulding cuz there is 1000mm to a meter
but most software programs can convert to inches to centimeter or even millimeter. I like the millimeters as it gives you such an accurate reading. I hope this helps or makes sense and if i have confused you more.. or if it gets too confusing to convert inches and feet to centimeters use a ruler that has both.
Hope this wasn't a stupid answer

Have a great day!
 
Why would you want to sell molding by square feet?
Glass and mats maybe. You still have to take into account the waste on odd sized pieces. Something 12x12 is one square foot, but so is something 3 x 48.
The 12x12 is going to be a lot easier to deal with.

Your software should have a place to enter the size of the piece, and then figure out square feet for you, if that's what you want.
 
It’s not until somebody like John tells you that your being stupid that you realize your being stupid.

Here is the short and skinny of my problem. Moulding is not a problem at all. The problem is EVERYTHING else. At dads shop we used U.I. on everything. Not just mats and glass but drymounting, canvas and needlepoint stretching and the like. Well I have privilege to this very list. When I was framing out of my house I used this list. Since then I have altered my prices but now I have software that knows better than to use a linear figure for an area problem. I had just yesterday been given a very clear lesson on the folly of using U.I. on things that should be sq./XX. Now I’m unsure how to convert numbers that I have been using to get a similar price result when the numbers can’t/shouldn’t be converted anyway. Back to the drawing board for me. Thanks friends.
 
It was an easy fix. This software has an option in it where you can pick a size and enter your price and it does all the magic for you. The numbers are coming out quite well.

As soon as I get the hang of this technology stuff I will be dangerous.
 
Jay,

In the rush to come up with a formula to solve your problem, I guess nobody thought to ask what POS program you are using??

I ukse FrameReady and in the file for all your inventory, there is an option to price out your materials, ie., matboard and specify what size you are pricing out. For example, if I pay $4.75 for a certain 32x40 matboard, I will enter those figures into the information screen for that item and the program then calculates each size of matboard that I need based on that measurement and price.

Of course the calculated price for the cut board also figures the markup for you based on a pre-entered multiplier and any set price you may want to add for the item. It is much simpler to enter the dimensions and calculate in sq. inches/ft. than to calculate in UI anyway. YOu can price your materials by the sq. in./ft/yd and even price out materials (fabrics) used for mat/liner wraps byk the linear yd. and the program converts it over to sq. in/ft/yds for you.

Framerguy
 
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