Pythagoras on a building site?
Have you ever wanted to know if a larger angle is square and do not have a framing square?
Suppose you want to install some timber shelving into an alcove and want to know if the internal angle is square. Or you want to set up your joists for the new timber deck you decided to tackle as this summer’s DIY project. This handy tip applies Pythagoras’ Theorem and the magic of the 3-4-5 triangle.
Remember your maths teacher always going on about the sum of the squares of the two short sides of a right-angled triangle being equal to the square of the long side, the hypotenuse. No doubt you thought, “Jeeez, what’s the point of that?”
Well, here is a practical application and great DIY tip using Pythagoras’s Theorem for your building and DIY projects.
How it works.
Simply measure 300mm along one wall marking the wall at this point, then 400mm along the other wall marking the wall. If the distance between these two points is 500mm your walls are square.
You could do the same with a deck but you may prefer to use 3-4-5 feet instead.
This simple trick is also very useful for a site carpenter to knock up a framing square from any offcuts of wood. Any multiple of 3-4-5 will give a right angled triangle. For instance, 600mm-800mm-1000mm.
Who knew that Pythagoras worked on a building site!