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1:40 Scale Explained

At 1:40, one unit on the drawing stands for 40 of the same unit in real life. So 1 cm on paper is 40 cm, and 1 m in real life is drawn 25 mm long.

What is 1:40 scale used for?

1:40 is used for school scale drawing exercises and some interior layouts, though it is not one of the standard metric scales in ISO 5455. Drawings at this scale are read with a scale ratio ruler marked in ratios, or with any metric ruler and a quick multiplication.

How many meters is 1 cm at 1:40?

At 1:40, 1 cm on the drawing is 40 cm in real life. Multiply any paper measurement by 40 to get the real size in the same unit: a kitchen drawn 10 cm wide is 10 x 40 = 400 cm, or 4 m, wide in real life.

How do I convert real size to 1:40?

Divide the real measurement by 40. A 5 m wall is 125 mm long on a 1:40 drawing.

How much fits on one sheet at 1:40?

An A1 sheet (841 x 594 mm) covers 33.64 m by 23.76 m of real space at 1:40, before margins and the title block. An A3 sheet (420 x 297 mm) covers 16.8 m by 11.88 m.

A 4 x 5 m room at 1:40

A bedroom 4 by 5 meters is drawn 100 by 125 mm at 1:40. That is why house plans use 1:50 or 1:100: rooms are big enough to label, and the whole floor fits on one sheet.

How to measure a drawing at 1:40

1. Check the title block or scale bar to confirm the drawing really is 1:40. Plans are often printed at a different size than they were drawn.
2. Measure a dimension that is already labeled, such as an exterior wall, and compare it with the chart above. If they disagree, the print was scaled.
3. For PDFs and images, skip the ruler. The floor plan scale calculator converts any measurement, and MeasureFloorPlan sets the scale from one known wall and measures every room from there.

More on reading scales: floor plan scale explained. Nearby scales: 1:25 and 1:50. Every scale is compared on the drawing scale chart.