Many times, a product can be manufactured without any information about the area that product is being installed, for example decorative louvers or designs on open wall surfaces.  Sometimes however, measurements need to be taken to help ensure that the product you want will fit in the space you envision it, such as window headers and sills, columns or crown trim beneath the soffit.

Here are some common considerations when measuring for your foam project.  As every building is different, there are instances when other measurements are required, so if you aren't sure, please contct us and we can answer your questions!

• When do I need to provide you with measurements?  You should provide measurements prior to fabrication.  The ideal time to provide measurements is during the design phase, when any areas of concern can be addressed before finalizing the look and layout of your project.
• What measurements do you need from me?  Anytime your project is calling for a design that may be impacted by an existing structure, such as the soffit, window or door opening, arched areas, walls, protrusions or surface finish (such as stone work, brick, or vinyl siding).
• Don't assume a consistant or standard size.  This is particularly true when planning for columns, crown trim and corbels (brackets that go beneath the soffit).  If you are considering crown trim or corbels to fit beneath an existing soffit, it is advisable to measure a number of times along the length of the soffit.  Sometimes the building can be off from one end to the other by as little as 1/2", but that is all it can take for your crown trim to not fit properly.  If you find your soffit varies, use the smallest measurement as the projection of your soffit when selecting crown trim or corbel designs.
• What if my measurements aren't precise?  Sometimes precision is an absolute must, for example when measuring for an arched area, or a window opening.  There are other times when a rough number will work, for example in measuring a long run of trim band.  The final product can also be forgiving for "inexact" measurements, however, ArcusStone® products cannot be easily modified in the field to accomodate uncertainties that arise.

There are a number of decorative elements for windows and doors that require measurements for fabrication.

Headers and Sills

For header or sill elements, take the outside measurement of the window or door. Your header or sill will be fabricated so that the least narrow portion of the width of the header or sill (typically at the bottom) will match this measurement.

A good rule of thumb for gauging how wide your header or sill will be (in order to ensure it will fit against other elements) is to take the projection of the header or sill profile you want, subtract 1 inch, multiply by 2 and add that to your measurement. As an example, for a window measuring 48" outside width, if your sill profile is 9" tall x 6" projection, then take your projection (6"), subtract 1" (5"), multiply by 2 (10") and add to your measurement (10" + 48" = 58"). This will yield your approximate overall width.

Don't forget to add in for any surround band you may be putting vertically along your window or door. If you already have surround band, measure to the outside of the surround band, not the window opening. If you are adding surround band, just let us know how wide that band will be, and we can add that into your measurement when we fabricate your header or sill. If you have shutters on your home, do not add that width to your window measurement.

Shutters

Shutters are fairly straight forward to measure. Measure the height of your window opening, that will be the height for your shutter. The width of your shutter will depend upon how wide your window is. For aesthetics, your shutter should not be any wider than half your window opening. For example, you would not use 18" wide shutters on a 24" wide window (12" would be the ideal size). The idea is that if they were functional shutters, they would cover the opening of the window without overlapping. For double or triple windows (in the same opening), take the opening width, and divide it by twice the number of windows. So for a 72" opening with 2 windows, divide 72" by 4 to get the ideal width of your shutter (18" width). Ultimately, that is not a hard rule for large windows however, as you would not want 36" wide shutters for a 72" wide window opening with one window pane, and is up to the home owner as to what he or she thinks will look best. Most shutter sizes will be between 10" and 18", with common sizes of 12", 16" and 18".

When measuring for corbels or crown trim for your project, the most important consideration is how much room you have beneath the soffit to accomodate your design. For some styles and designs, such as "kicker" style corbels, they are meant to project past the soffit, and therefore the soffit measurement won't necessarily matter. Others however should not project past the soffit.

To measure the soffit for corbels or crown trim, take a number of measurements perpendicular to the wall, along the length of the soffit, and use the smallest measurement as the projection for your corbel or crown profile.

Other factors to consider include the distance between the soffit and the tops of any windows (too little space and the height of the corbel or crown trim will hang into the window opening), any pitch to the roof and any pre-existing stucco bands that need to be accomodated on the backs of the corbels or crown trim.

Another important factor to consider if you are planning to install crown trim on an existing home is the amount of ventilation your home requires. If your home has soffit vents spaced out every so often, be sure to accommodate them in your profile design or layout. If your home has metal soffit with openings for ventilation throughout, don't cover the entire soffit with crown trim. In most areas, your home requires 1 square foot of ventilation for every 150 square foot of attic space (and in some areas, even more is required by building code). If you aren't sure, check the building codes for how much is required by your local municipality. Covering soffit vent may decrease the amount of air flow through your attic, and increase the cost to keep your home cool.

Columns can vary widely not only in their style and design, but also in the various areas and locations they can be found.  The columns provided by Mr. Foamy / TrimStone are not structural.  This means that they are not designed, nor intended to carry the weight of any part of the building that they appear to support.  Because of this, most times columns are designed to accomodate structural supports, usually dimensional lumber (like treated 4x4 or 6x6) or steel support posts of varying diameters and sizes.

What size is the structural support, if it exists? Typically the structural support used will be dimensional lumber, such as a treated 4x4 or 6x6, but there are times when other sized materials are used, including steel and aluminum.  Get the best measurement you can of the structural support; for round supports, a measurement of the circumference would suffice, or an "eye-ball" of the diameter.

Is the structural support centered, square and true? This is a critical question, because there are times when structural supports are not centered on the areas above or below the support, and knowing ahead of time, the product can be designed to take any offset into account.  Also, if the lumber twists or is warped, you will want a little extra "play" in the structural notch so the column doesn't buckle or bend over time and can be installed with ease.

Are there any walls or edges that need to be accounted for? The base of most columns will project an additional 2" - 3" from the bottom diameter of the column shaft.  If a wall impedes the placement of the base, or if the base will overhang the surface it is being placed on, it is important to know so any design changes can be accomodated, and be carried throughout the project (you wouldn't want one column to look noticably different from others).

What is the width and depth available to the column base? Measure the maximum width and maximum depth for the base of the column.  If the column is being placed on an area that has no walls, steps or edges, you won't need this measurement.

Does the capital project past the building? If so, the top will need to be finished.

Since every project is unique, these measurements are provided as a general guide to help give you an idea of the kind of measurements we may need.  If you aren't sure, please feel free to contact us, and we will answer any questions you may have!

Generally speaking, there are three different types of arches that appear in construction: a true arch, an eyebrow arch, and an elliptical arch.  Each arch requires precise measurements to be taken to manufacture trim to fit, and may even require a template to be taken to ensure proper design.  Since arches are usually made in the field and not precisely manufactured, they can vary widely from one arch to the next, and even from one side of an arch to the other!  If you aren't confident that your arch can be exactly measured, make and provide a template of the arch to be sure we match up our design to your arch.

	True Arches A true arch is one where the width of the arch (the run) is twice as much as the height of the arch (the rise).
	Eyebrow Arches An eyebrow arch is an arch that spans a distance, but has a shallow rise.  These arches are consistantly round, following a larger radius.
	Elliptical Arches An elliptical arch basically is half of an egg shape or ellipse.  The arch starts 90° vertical on one end, comes across completely horizontal and then back down 90° vertical.  Elliptical arches are usually best done using templates, as there are widely varying techniques to construct them in the field.

There are other types of arches, including gothic arches, that can be designed and accomodated.  If you have an arch, and you aren't sure if it can be done, please feel free to contact us, and we would be happy to assist!