8 Measuring Tape Review
The 16″ mark is highlighted in the picture above with a black triangle because it is used in stud layout. The 19.2″ mark is highlighted with a black diamond because it is occasionally used for floor joist layout. Every foot location is highlighted in some manner as well; the one above uses a red rectangle.
On the metric side, every 10 mm or 1 cm is numbered and every 100 mm or 10 cm is in red.
When using the metric side, the equivalent stud or joist layout marks would use a “soft conversion” where 16″ equals 400 mm, 12″ equals 300 mm and 24″ equals 600 mm. Using the metric layout would require metric-sized plywood or OSB panels, otherwise the end of an 8′ panel would not align with a stud or joist, since most panels are made in imperial sizes. This is why wood framing is not normally laid out using metric tapes in Canada.