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Short, source-cited explainers behind the tools.

• Reading Architectural Scales

  How US architectural scales (¼" = 1'-0") map to metric ratios like 1:50, and how to convert between paper and real dimensions.

• ADA Ramp Requirements, Explained

  The 2010 ADA §405 ramp rules — slope, rise, landings, handrails, width — in plain language, with the catch for existing buildings.

• Arches & Funicular Form: How a Hanging Chain Becomes an Arch

  Hang a chain and it finds pure tension; invert it for an arch in pure compression. Catenary vs parabola, and the thrust trade-off. Interactive.

• How Beams Work: Bending, Shear, and the Deflected Shape

  A visual, no-math intro to why beams bend, where they're strongest and weakest, and why a cantilever flips tension to the top. Interactive.

• How Trusses Work: Tension, Compression, and the Method of Joints

  Why a truss is light yet strong: every member is in pure tension or compression. Read the pattern, then try a free interactive solver.

• How Columns Buckle: Length, End Conditions, and Euler

  Slender columns fail by buckling, not crushing. See how length and end fixity set the critical load — Euler's Pcr = π²EI/(KL)². Interactive.

• Load Paths: How a Building Carries Weight to the Ground

  Every load needs an unbroken path to the ground — slab to beam to column to footing to soil. A visual primer on thinking in load paths.

• How to Read a Tape Measure (Fractions of an Inch)

  Read the small marks on an imperial tape measure — halves, quarters, eighths, and sixteenths — and write dimensions the way drawings do.

• Why Joists Stand on Edge: Moment of Inertia, Visually

  A 2×10 on edge is 25× stiffer than the same board laid flat. Here's the why — moment of inertia and why depth (cubed) dominates. Interactive.