Guide at Tape-Measures.net for reading a measuring tape gives different styles of Tapes. For measuring rooms, or large areas, the heavy duty style, in a case that pulls open and snaps shut is often used. Measuring tapes also come in soft material, used for the dress maker, or to measure a hem and everything in between. Most measuring tapes have the same unit of measure on the top and bottom of the tape. In the standard system on most full-sized (1" wide) measuring tapes, inches are broken down into 1/16 fractions. Each line represents 1/16 of an inch starting with the first one after any given number or the start of the tape.

To measure, simply hold the front of the tape at the point you wish to start the measurement from, and extend it to the point where you want to stop. Read the first large number before your stop point - this will tell you the number of inches. Read the smaller lines of various sizes up until your stop point. This will tell you your fraction of an inch.

With contractor measuring tapes, used for measuring large areas, you often cannot get a measurement using just the tape, as the body or case of the measuring tape gets in the way. That's why these bodies are carefully designed and marked to a certain width. Lay the tape on the floor and hook the end into one corner of the room. Pull out the tape along the floor. When you reach the other corner push the butt of the tape case into the corner. Take your measurement from the tape and then add the 3" for the complete width. Hence for more information and guide on measuring tapes visit us at Tape-Measures.net.