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Builders’ Tip: Calculating the Radius of an Arch
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Click for larger image. | Sometimes it’s useful to know the radius of an arch or head casing long before the shop work takes place.
I have found that the following formula provides precise dimensions and takes advantage of the simple calculators on the market today. Even calculators without a square-root function can handle this one:
For instance, let’s assume that an arched opening leading from a dining room to the great room has 84-inch tall sides, the span is 96 inches and the center of the arch is to be 96 inches above the floor.
The rise is then 12 inches, as shown in the drawing.
When you substitute the numbers and calculate the formula you get:
The radius is 102 inches — with no errors resulting from inadvertent stretching of chalklines or other mechanical limitations, such as trying to lay out a curve with a 102-inch radius on a piece of plywood that’s only 96 inches long.
— Charles W. Davis, Watsonville, Calif.
Tips & Techniques provided by Fine Homebuilding.
©2005 The Taunton Press
To request a reprint of this feature, e-mail Christina Glennon at Fine Homebuilding.
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