Letƒ??s go Metric they said, Itƒ??ll be fun they said...

Messing with paper sizes would disrupt the industry.

We did a couple of them several years back when Illinois was going metric.?ÿ From the standpoint of setting stakes, it wasn't to bad.?ÿ Running a metric level rod, not so great.?ÿ We ending up getting a digital level just because of that.?ÿ Just hit a button and it reads metric.

Did some sub work in metric in about 1993-94 for a street project controlled by the DOT. ?ÿSimply set the total station readout to metric. ?ÿApplied a few simple conversions for common offsets, such as from the prism to the center of a power pole, when drafting.

I just dont think I will even be able to eyeball 80 meters away, or be able to pace in meters.

As a Canadian, I find this humorous.

All of our plots are done 1:1000 (mm) using standard paper sizes (ANSI Full Size D).?ÿ The interchangeability is simple.

All I usually have to do is remember how to multiple by 10.

Usually, the only conversion factors I need are 1" = 2.54cm and 1' = 0.3048m.?ÿ I leave that US foot stuff to you guys as it wasn't a thing up here.

I can pace metres pretty easy.?ÿ On a *rough* pace, 1 yard = 1 metre.?ÿ With my height, 69 paces is roughly 65m.?ÿ I run that in my head.

Imperial measurements are just another "language" to me.?ÿ I regularly speak English w/ very rudimentary French.?ÿ I usually "speak" metric, but do rudimentary "imperial" when I'm on site w/ builders (a 2"x4" and inches will almost certainly rule for them unless our friends to the south change).?ÿ Switching back and forth is no different than giving instructions in English and cursing in French for me 😉

But, hey, whatever works for you.?ÿ If they suddenly decided to any of these units, I'd be good with it as long as my equipment was setup w/ SI and there was an option to changes units.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_humorous_units_of_measurement

No problem changing scotch, vodka and rum bottles not to mention those 2 litre soda. It's all in the application. Though somethings which in some cases were a lot of things really just was not prudent to tackle.?ÿ

Toss in the bureaucrats getting involved with standards and policy changes doomed it all from the start.

For pacing, just take bigger steps ???? 

What was,the problem with metric level rod?

I've run both ad infinitum and always the metric rod was the easiest to read and record.

i'm glad i was born in the metric system ?????ÿ

Bloody English, imperial, driving on the wrong side of the road,... ?????ÿ

THEY?ÿsay many things,?ÿTHEY?ÿdidn't bother to tell you was how painful those conversions were going to be, although I have to confess I was one of?ÿTHEM.

I even had my son drafting one of the more awful examples. The old unmonumented right-of-way was getting shifted, sometimes expanded, putting together the old tangent-curve right-of-way with a new tangent spiral-curve-spiral metric right-of-way that sometimes slopped inside and sometimes outside the older right-of-way were fun times.?ÿ

Don't ask why?ÿTHEY?ÿwere doing spiral-curve-spiral in the early 2000's, by then you would think that would have been put to bed. As you can imagine merging the new descriptions and plats that had elements of imperical and metric combined; with tangent-curve in imperial on one side spiral-curve-spiral on the other side of the new right-of-way was interesting to say the least.?ÿ

Frankly if I didn't have my son there drafting the nasty thing I may have gotten a permanent migraine.

I think that experience stopped him from considering surveying as a career.?ÿ

And in the field the foot is far superior as a measuring unit. It's not even close.?ÿ

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And in the field the foot is far superior as a measuring unit. It's not even close.?ÿ

Yes Who wants to hit?ÿ and/or measure a home run in meters? Just isn't the same.

Then in football we abandoned the foot for the yard which is really a meter that shrunk a tad.

Not being a *rough* Canadian, my pace IS a yard. So 100 ft has always been 33 steps plus a shoe length. 30 metres becomes 33 steps minus a shoe length - simples! But like Jaccen I speak in Metr-english, depending on the age of those listening.

You'll get used to it - we changed over in 1972 ish. Working in tens is sometimes simpler.

Meters was OK in the field, but a centimeter is a bit rough for curb and gutter, a bit fine for rough grade where a .1' works well for rough grade and .01' is just right for tight layout. And for me there is this:

Of course depends on the shoe ???? .

We have never surveyed in feet except in tens. House layouts and the odd descriptions being the exceptions.

Would you be willing to share that document??ÿ srreeser at Gmail dot com

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Funny, the only argument I ever hear to NOT switching to the Metric system is "change".?ÿ Change is tough.?ÿ I wonder how difficult the change from perches to feet was for surveyors?

Builders in other countries seem to be OK with meters, heck even the buildings stay standing.

Hmmm - decimal parts of a unit.?ÿ What a concept!

Metric is easy.?ÿ Switching back and forth between metric and imperial from day to day - that's hard.?ÿ

Participants on this board from outside the US are laughing their rear ends off at all the rigid old codger Americans. Please stop embarrassing yourselves.?ÿ

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Building materials are made to imperial standards because the American market demands it. But if America went metric, the building materials manufacturers would soon follow suit.  

I agree our DOT went through metrication and it failed. Two systems of units are too many. Constantly switching settings from one day to the next was a recipe for disaster. I would be fine with one or the other, but not both.

Then there were these strange "soft" conversions that were nonsense. We were told that 2 inches were equal to 50 millimeters in one "class" which is far from true. Some industry methods just do not compute.