Carpentry Math
The carpentry math, used for most projects, can be narrowed down to
some basic formulas and computations provided right here on this page.
The formulas below can be used to square a wall or deck frame (the
Pythagorean Theorem), calculate the area of a
circle, calculate the volume of a
cylinder, calculate the
circumference of a circle, and more.
Carpentry Math - Right Triangles - The Pythagorean Theorem
The Pythagorean theorem is used extensively in carpentry and
construction. Almost every carpentry project involves some
combination of squares and triangles.
The square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the
sum of the squares of the other two sides. The square of
side A plus the square of side B equals the square of side C.
A2 + B2 = C2
The square of one side of a right triangle equals the square of the
hypotenuse minus the square of the other side. The length of the
square of side A equals the square of side C minus the square of side B.
A2 = C2 - B2
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If this sounds complicated, consider
the 3-4-5 rule of a right-triangle. It is
the best way to square two walls. Here's how it works - if
one side of a right-triangle is three feet and the other side is
four feet and the hypotenuse (or long side of the triangle) is
five feet, then angle 'A' is 90 degrees (see diagram at right).
If you want to square something larger, you can use proportions
of this same formula, such as 6-8-10.
52 = 42 + 32 or 102
= 82 + 62
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How to calculate the square feet of a
triangle |
The area of a triangle is equal to one-half
the product of the base and height.
A = .5 x (B x H)
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How to calculate the area of a rectangle |
To calculate the area of a rectangle,
simply multiply the length of side 1 by the length of side 2.
A = S1 x S2
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How to calculate the area of a trapezoid
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To calculate area of a trapezoid, multiply its
height by one-half the sum of the parallel sides.
A = .5 x (L1 + L2)
x H
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Calculate area of a circle |
To calculate the area of a circle, multiply
the circumference by one-half the radius.
A = C x .5(R)
Or, multiply the radius2 by
3.1416 (pi).
A = 3.1416 x R2
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How to calculate circumference of a circle |
To calculate the circumference of a circle,
multiply the diameter by 3.1416 (pi).
C = 3.1416 x D
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How to calculate the volume of a cylinder |
To calculate the volume of a cylinder,
multiply the radius squared x 3.1416 (pi) x the height of the
cylinder.
V = 3.1416 x R2 x H
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If you know of any other formulas that you would like to see added to
this carpentry math page, please
contact-us.
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