i would stand off at some distance with a level and a protractor. hold the level out in front of you so its level and put the protractor (notice how i worked the word tractor in here) on top of the level. read the angle where the hill intersects the proTRACTOR. once you know the angle then you can figure out the rise/run by using trig and a scientific calculator.
MATH QUESTIONS I need help on
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Squeak n Itch
Silver Member
Randy41 has the lowest cost solution if you want to know the slope in degrees.
First, a protractor is the half-circular plastic thingy you used in school and is normally tannsparent with degrees on it. It is available in any Wallymart in the school supplies section for about a buck.
Another way to easily to use a protractor, is to fasten pin through the hole in the middle of the straight part to a short (1 foot) 1/4" dowel at about 4" leaving the 8" (heavy) end to point down. Stand on top of the hill and look along the straight edge pointed at the bottom of the hill and read from the degrees on the curved part. Not precise but pretty close.
Please, others help this explanation along with corrections and amplifications.
First, a protractor is the half-circular plastic thingy you used in school and is normally tannsparent with degrees on it. It is available in any Wallymart in the school supplies section for about a buck.
Another way to easily to use a protractor, is to fasten pin through the hole in the middle of the straight part to a short (1 foot) 1/4" dowel at about 4" leaving the 8" (heavy) end to point down. Stand on top of the hill and look along the straight edge pointed at the bottom of the hill and read from the degrees on the curved part. Not precise but pretty close.
Please, others help this explanation along with corrections and amplifications.
djw250
Silver Member
slewisma said:
Harbor Freight also has one of these that works pretty well and is fairly cheap ($4-5 on sale). You could set it on the dash or loader arm and see the angle at a glance.
Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
Soundguy
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Got a level and a tpost... drive a tpost into the ground.. make sure it is plumb and level.. then use a protractor to figure your angle.... easy..
soundguy
soundguy
Squeak n Itch
Silver Member
Squeak n Itch said:
Almost accurate but you have to subtract your reading on the protractor from 90 degrees. Otherwise you get a wierd answer.
dmccarty
Super Star Member
Does you quarry sell by the yard or the ton? The ones I have been too sell by the ton.
Once you figure out how may yards you need you will then have to figure out how many tons are in a yard of material. ABC gravel I use for the driveway is 3,000 pounds per yard. You should call the supplier to find out the weight.
But it can depend on how wet the gravel is kept.
Buy more than you think you will need.
Later,
Dan
Charlesaf3
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To add a (hopeful) explanation to the above - slope angle is the same as roof angle. You find the rise over a certain run - using say a 6 foot level and a plumb stick. Measure the distance from the level to the ground on the plumb stick.
You now have 2 sides of a right triangle, one of which is 6'. Sine = opposite divided by adjacent, so sine = x/6. Take that number and get the arcsine off a scientific calculator, or web, or whatever.
So to plug in actual numbers, 6 in 12 would be 3' in 6' so x=3. arcsine of 3/6 = 30 degrees. So your roof is pitched 30 degrees, as would an equivalent hill be.
Mowing your roof sideways would be dangerous.
You now have 2 sides of a right triangle, one of which is 6'. Sine = opposite divided by adjacent, so sine = x/6. Take that number and get the arcsine off a scientific calculator, or web, or whatever.
So to plug in actual numbers, 6 in 12 would be 3' in 6' so x=3. arcsine of 3/6 = 30 degrees. So your roof is pitched 30 degrees, as would an equivalent hill be.
Mowing your roof sideways would be dangerous.
gotrocks
Platinum Member
Charlesaf3 said:So to plug in actual numbers, 6 in 12 would be 3' in 6' so x=3. arcsine of 3/6 = 30 degrees. So your roof is pitched 30 degrees, as would an equivalent hill be.quote]
Charles; Not trying to be pickey but I believe 6 in 12 is actually 26.6 degrees.
I've just been "fighting city hall"
Regulations say "in no case shall the slope be greater than 1:2 which is the same as 6:12.
I took some scrap wood and made a 10 foot x 5 foot "framing square" hung a plum line on the end AND took my 4 foot level and set a couple of stakes that were almost 1 foot high that was where the 1:2 grade should be.
They started right on (little over) our line that runs 150 feet and the slope is 30 feet to the bottom. We now refer to that back side of our property as "THE BLUFF"
They were saying point A to point B was OK, but the actual lay of the land is indicated by the red line.
Sorry about the rant but I got started and couldn't stop.
rooftrussman
Member
I found a tilt meter substitute at HD that is a protractor with a magnet to hold it to things that is used by electricians when they bend conduit. It sticks to the pipe and the swinging needle tells you when the bend gets to a certain angle. It sticks to my tractor and gives a readout for tilt. It was in the tool section or the electric section, can't remember which, and seems to work well and it was cheap. I did find out I got nervous long before it got to the point that some people on this site say is safe. I guess that's a good thing for me but it does let me push a little extra which is a bad thing I suppose.
