• Measurements need to be precise to encourage accurate construction.measurement image by Kimberly Reinick from Fotolia.com
  
  Architecture and engineering require extremely precise tools and accurate design to produce a structure with great integrity. A handful of tools are ideal for documenting and designing high-performance structures. Surprisingly, a few of these are extremely old, having been used since antiquity. Nevertheless, workers at a building site would be at a loss without these instruments.
  
  

Laser Measuring Tool

• Although tape measures are accurate, they are inconvenient for large-scale distances. Laser measuring tools provide extremely accurate measurements of distance, are durable and can be used without the help of another. Laser measures can reach accuracies of within 1/32 inch, and they can measure effectively distances up to 650 feet.
  
  

Transit

• The transit was used by the Romans, and it has not changed much since that time. The transit provides an extremely accurate reading of the difference of height by measuring the height of the transit lens and finding the difference in height of a pole measure at a known distance. This is the perfect tool for indexing elevations and topography.
  
  

Compass and GPS

• The compass is also old technology, but it provides the cardinal directions from which to orient the construction. In conjunction with the compass, a GPS unit provides relatively accurate locations related to latitude and longitude. Using the laser measure and compass, you can find latitude and longitude differences from the initial reading and accurately place a structure in the landscape.
  
  

Scale

• The scale provides an accurate measurement of an object's mass, which is important when finding structural qualities and capabilities. Although digital scales are common, the bar scale cannot be beaten for accuracy and durability. The measurement of mass relative to weights cannot be affected by changes in gravity or atmospheric pressure.
  
  

Trigonometry

• The final ideal measuring tool is actually an old math: trigonometry. Although it is not used to measure distance directly, tangents, sines and cosines are used to accurately calculate hard-to-reach places using triangulation and measurement of shadows and horizontal distances using the laser measuring tool. Furthermore, trigonometry is used to calculate changes of latitude and longitude using distance or bearing.