Lost technology??

If he had one with a Digicalc wheel attached, I'd buy one.

Heh...specially when you can buy a Digiroller Plus II for less...

Buckeye... I've seen those, but I just can't see it helping me much in layout. The can has to be a foot behind the middle of the wheel, and it still doesn't address the 8.68' parking stall issue. That thing may be more for surveyors or people that don't have to be exact. I want the perfect one.... that no one sells

Less than one percent of our jobs require measurements with inches to the second decimal. If they have to be that exact, I'll ask for the customer to have it shot in with an instrument and go on to the next job.

As to being exact I use the "LAW OF 3" If I do not have equall stall head length I split the amount and adjust the last three stalls only. You would not even know unless you measure.

For some reason in this area we run across a row of spaces all the time that is say, 65' wide or 105' wide, right in the middle of being 8.5 or 9' spaces. We if we did the "law of 3" those 3 spaces would be way off. So, we measure them one at a time and make them all the same. If it's a long row of say 20 or 30 spaces then we will make all but the last few normal size and make the last 5 or 6 spaces an off size. If it's in a townhome parking lot we have to make them all the same because you can be guaranteed the homeowners will measure. I've had to explain more than once "sir..the gutter pan is part of your space" That's why I would love a gadget that would put a dot of paint down at a set distance. If I saw that this was going to be one of "those " lots, I could walk once to measure and walk back putting down dots, no brain teasers involved.

Hey SF! That's exactly how I do it! Measure the total (figure if it is a multiple of 9 or not) then mark on the way back.

Poor Man's Dalton Walker: 1 - Digiroller Plus II 1- Ft/Inches Calculator >Measure space between end curbs with D-roller (bay length) >Determine number of spaces to go in bay >Divide bay length by number of spaces needed >Enter result into D-roller as Autocount >Spray dot at each beep >Stripe, repeat as needed to cure headache.

Ok, Ok, you've convinced me. I read your meathod before BTS, but thought it wouldn't be accurate enough. After thinking about it more, it does sound like a pretty fast way to do it. If each dot is off an inch or so, so be it. I blame my hardheadedness on the fumes.

So far I think I am with you on using the "digiroller" and spray can but I need a little more clarification. Once you decide how wide the stalls will be, can the "ft/inches" calculator" automatically add an additional stall to the total: i.e.: 8' 10", 17' 8", 26' 4" etc? Then, how do you figure where the end of the parking lines start? Don't you need a string or tape to line them up? Does the digiroller automatically add the new total of stalls?

Yep, gonna need a starting point for the line anyway you do it. String, Chalk line, weed eater line, tic marks, something. Where you go from there depends on your skill level. Some can shoot a straight line by eye, others prefer to use a reference line. This is just a faster way to put down layout marks. As far as Ware-ever's question, here is the answer if I understood the question correctly: The calculator can start with 8'3" and add 8'3" as many times as you want. Keep pressing the = key. With the D-Roller, you input the stall size (8'3"), zero it and start rolling. It will beep every 8'3". With a little practice, you can even use it to put both the marks on radius spaces. (measure the outside radius, divide, mark, measure the inside radius, divide, mark). This works fast for me, others may prefer other methods that may be just as fast. I just remember seeing the Dalton Walker and thinking that it would cut down on those "late in the day, I'm tired whoopsie" layout mistakes (or those "dayum I never knew tequila could hurt so much" morning whoopsies). This is my Shadetree Engineering version of the Dalton.... And as for the accuracy, well the old reliable tape has been known to slide, stretch, shrink, lie, cheat and generally play the fool. I still use one when it has to be ULTRA precise, but for most jobs this method gets me spraying faster....particularly when the stalls work out to some weird size that my premarked tape wants nothing to do with.... ....now if I could just train a ferret to pull the trigger on the spray can every time it heard a "beep" I would cut my labor in half. BTW I just checked. You can pick up Digirollers cheap on eeeeeeeeeebay

Thanks for your help BTS. I didn't think about ebay, but I already ordered a digiroller. We have 3 guys, so this should work out well for us. I can start walking and marking, while the other two start snapping. Before, 2 were working while one just got ready and wasted time till the marks went down. This should speed things up quite a bit.