Rule of 9 for parking lot layouts.

Does a lot 162 feet long divide evenly by 9? Sum the digits 1+6+2=9 If answer is a multiple of 9, there is no left over. 265' 2+6+5=13 Not an equal division. Four feet left over or extra 5 feet needed to sum to 18. Note: It doesn't tell you how many stalls, just if the division is equal.

good one, I didnt know that one,. but that should go in the helpful hints area.

COOL tip!!

Quick way to eliminate the calculator Does a lot 162 feet long divide evenly by 9? Sum the digits 1+6+2=9 If answer is a multiple of 9, there is no left over. 265' 2+6+5=13 Not a multiple of 9. Four feet left over or extra 5 feet needed for another stall. Note: It doesn't tell you how many stalls, just if the division is equal.

or just memorize them. I've done so many, I know them forwards & backwards up to 300.

That's good. My times table of 9 never went beyond 12. Can't do a lot more than 108 feet. I'll call you.

one of my competitors has been striping over 20 years and he still lays out a job with a 25 ft tape measuring one stall at a time because he doesnt know his nines, needless to say his business has never grown, just mark your long tape every 9 ft, I do so its eaiser to see so I can go faster.

Fascinating.

mainestriper wrote on Jul 9, 2009:Go to #1

Does a lot 162 feet long divide evenly by 9? Sum the digits 1+6+2=9 If answer is a multiple of 9, there is no left over. 265' 2+6+5=13 Not an equal division. Four feet left over or extra 5 feet needed to sum to 18. Note: It doesn't tell you how many stalls, just if the division is equal.

If you need to know a quick "approximate" of how many spaces will fit into "x" SQ feet, Just divide the total SF of the parking lot by 260. Seems to work for a general idea for those quick guesstimates.

Just use a measuring wheel

That's pretty neat! I usually just look at the prints to see how many spaces are going in.

Although it's 6th grade education, it's a good method! You can also use your "finger calculator" to multiply by nine

if it adds up to lets say 16 does that mean it a mutiple of 8 and so on... or does it only work on 9

Nobody has stated the obvious (when after reading a 300' tape hundred of times): If 9 x 9 = 81: 180 would be a 9' stall increment (after you get in the hundreds subtract 1 from 81 to get 180) 279 would be a 9' stall (after you get in the two hundreds subtract 2 from 81 to get 279) 378 would be a 9' stall (now, subtract 3 digits from the 300 hundreds) So, if you multiply by nines you could have: 9,18,36,45,54,... But, after you go past 100 you get 1 hundred & 8,17,35,44,53,... Keep it simple like this and you can you can have to guys spread out a 300' tape and have each person mark 9' stalls from each end of the tape (without fiddle ... around!).

Ok here is my little trick. We have a 500' of rope on a spool and it is marked with black, green and yellow electrical tape at 8', 8'6", 9' increments (one color for each obviously). Walk the rope out from one end to the other (you should already know the width of the stalls from the prints) and mark at the appropriate color tape. The biggest time saver is trying to get 300' of tape to lie flat with the right side up on a windy day. (Oh yeah, probably only a Canadian problem because we have imperial and metric on our tapes.) Still with a rope out 200' it is a simple matter for one person to stand on the rope and the other to lean back and pull to bring the rope into a perfectly straight line.This way our start spot is marked at the same time.

The rule works for 9 and 3 if you happen to layout 3 foot stalls (?)

You can also use those plastic cable ties on rope instead of tape. More durable, attach quickly. I use those on my anchor line every ten feet with my color code.

OR just get an auto layout machine and move on a little faster......if your not using one your burning daylight....

My cousin walks off four steps and puts a chalk mark. Depends on leg size I guess.

I shouldn't say this but I am anyway; "your cousin is a hack" who seems to like to Get 'er Done! He's not the guy that ends up with a 4' wide parking stall at the end of a row of parking.. is he?

mainestriper wrote on Oct 29, 2009:Go to #19

My cousin walks off four steps and puts a chalk mark. Depends on leg size I guess.