Calculating acreage ?

• Dec 17, 2009

• #1

buddylee

Senior Member

I am fencing in some land and I don't know how to calculate the area since the sides are of different lengths. Hoping someone on here would know how to do it ?

the sides are 550, 460, 250, and 300. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

• Dec 17, 2009

• #2

Sargent

Senior Member

An acre is 43560 square feet. Calculate the square footage and divide by that amount.

 

• Dec 17, 2009

• #3

Sargent

Senior Member

Without a plat it is hard to do because of the uneven sides.

 

• Dec 17, 2009

• #4

JustUs4All

Slow Mod

Staff member

Here is my guess. Let me know if I win.

If your measurements are in feet, it looks like it ought to be about 3.27 acres. Area of quadrangle would be (1/2 the total length of the opposite sides) multiplied together. Conversion to acres would be this divided by 43560.

 

• Dec 17, 2009

• #5

secondseason

Retired Administrator

I'm coming up with 3.71. But I'm using hill billy math.

 

• Dec 17, 2009

• #6

K

KKrueger

Senior Member

Here's a helpful tool I use all the time. Go to acme.com/planimeter If it's a small area you're trying to calculate it might not be the best but on larger areas it will get you very close. I use it all the time to get a rough size of fields, ponds, sections of timber. The maps come from google earth, but unfortunately the site isn't quite as easy to navigate as google earth.

 

• Dec 17, 2009

• #7

W

WVTreeFarmer

Member

First look at your property deed. It should tell you the acreage. If not, get some graph paper and a protractor and plot the property line calls as listed in the deed to a scale of 1inch = 100 feet. So 550 foot line would be 5.5 inches on the graph paper. This will give you a plat of approximately of one quarter acre per square inch with in the ploted area. Count the square inches you have enclosed. The graph paper will be divided in little squares. A little time consuming. Since we are using a scale of 1" to 100' each square inch wil be 10,000 sq. feet or equal to .22 acres (10000 divided by 43560). Mutiply the sq. ins. you get by .22. This should get you real close to the acreage. I am assuming this is flat land and slope is not an issue.

 

• Dec 17, 2009

• #8

squirreldoghunter

Senior Member

If I tried to explain it I would just confuse you and me both. Maybe these links will help.

http://www.sparknotes.com/math/geometry2/measurements/section4.rhtml

http://www.math.com/school/subject3/lessons/S3U2L4DP.html

 

• Dec 17, 2009

• #9

marknga

GONetwork Member

KKrueger said:

Here's a helpful tool I use all the time. Go to acme.com/planimeter If it's a small area you're trying to calculate it might not be the best but on larger areas it will get you very close. I use it all the time to get a rough size of fields, ponds, sections of timber. The maps come from google earth, but unfortunately the site isn't quite as easy to navigate as google earth.

Click to expand...

That is very cool.

 

• Dec 17, 2009

• #10

buddylee

Senior Member

The area is not flat.

 

• Dec 17, 2009

• #11

buddylee

Senior Member

...and math is my WORST subject, formulas blow my mind

 

• Dec 17, 2009

• #12

Knotwild

Senior Member

The 4 sides make a quadrangle, which is composed of two triangles. Calculate the area for each triangle: Area = Base x Height / 2. Then add them together and divide by 43,560.

That is the easiest way.

 

• Dec 17, 2009

• #13

JustUs4All

Slow Mod

Staff member

Y'all let me know if you get something other than 3.27 acres.

What was the prize anyway?

 

• Dec 17, 2009

• #14

Wild Turkey

Senior Member

without approx interior angles you cant do it

 

• Dec 17, 2009

• #15

Boondocks

Senior Member

Go by your USDA Farm services/Soil conservation office in your county and they will tell you exactly the acerage.

 

• Dec 17, 2009

• #16

Jim Baker

Moderator

Staff member

Assumming the the two longest dimensions do not intersect, the acreage would be 3.16 acres.

A 550 x 300 rectangle would have a area of 165000 sq ft.
less the area of a triangle of 50x550= 27500/2=13750 sq. ft. and a triangle of 90x300=27000/2=13000 sq. ft.


165000-27250= 137750 sq. ft./ 43560= 3.16 acres.

But why would you need the area of the property to fence it? Just asking.

 

• Dec 17, 2009

• #17

Wild Turkey

Senior Member

if the 550 and 460 are two sides and the 300,250 are ends.
Holding the 250 side relatively close to 90 degrees with the 460 side.
You get 3.06 acres

 

• Dec 17, 2009

• #18

crackerdave

Senior Member

jimbo4116 said:

Assumming the the two longest dimensions do not intersect, the acreage would be 3.16 acres.

A 550 x 300 rectangle would have a area of 165000 sq ft.
less the area of a triangle of 50x550= 27500/2=13750 sq. ft. and a triangle of 90x300=27000/2=13000 sq. ft.


165000-27250= 137750 sq. ft./ 43560= 3.16 acres.

But why would you need the area of the property to fence it? Just asking.

Click to expand...

Good question. I would have thought he'd only need to know the total in feet,to build the fence?Maybe because he's fencing in livestock and needs to know how many animals the area will support?

 

• Dec 17, 2009

• #19

buddylee

Senior Member

It is being fenced in for livestock. I came up with 3.16 myself but wasn't sure if I was right.

 

• Dec 17, 2009

• #20

Pineyrooter

Senior Member

Here is a good option that works and is easy. Determine your longest length inside the area. (Not the longest length of fence but from your longest corner to your other longest corner) Once this is measured, determined your average distance perpendicular to that line at three or four locations evenly spaced across the area. For example: If your longest line runs due East/West then take a measurement say 25 ft inside your west boundary due north/south. Walk say 1/3 across the area toward the east boundary and determine that north/south distance from fence to fence. Take another measurement about 2/3 across the area and then again 25ft from the east boundary. Once you have those distances, add them together and divide by the number of north/south lines to obtain an average. If your longest line (East/West is 800 ft and your average line (North/South) is 250 ft then you have 200,000 square feet within the area. Divide that by 43,560 to determine your acreage. In this example you would have 4.59 acres. You'll be amazed at how close this will be. Close estimate is 3.2 acres.

 

Last edited: Dec 19, 2009