Home › Weights and Measures › Weights and Measures: Measurement

Weights and Measures: Measurement

In computing the capacity of walls of cellars and buildings, masons and bricklayers multiply the entire distance around the outside of the wall (the girth) by the height and thickness. Thus the corners are measured twice. But this measurement applies only to the labor and not to the quantity of material to be paid for. Measurement of Stone and Brick Walls. A perch of stone is 24.75 cubic feet. When built in the wall, 23 cubic feet are allowed for the mortar and filling; hence 22 cubic feet of stone makes one perch of wall.

Masons estimate 3 pecks of lime and 4 bushels of sand to a perch of wall.

To find the number of perches of stone in a wall, multiply together the length, height, and thickness in feet and divide by 22.

Measurement of Brick Work. -The size of bricks varies, and rules for estimating the number of bricks required must be modified accordingly. Bricks are now usually made 8 inches long, 4 inches wide, and 2 inches thick.