How much is pipe per foot?
The whole pipe divided by 19.75 — because a six-metre length measures three inches short of twenty feet, which is what our supplier says his own pipe is.
A six-metre pipe is 19.75 feet, not 20
We asked our own supplier what one length actually measures rather than converting it on paper. The answer was three inches short of twenty feet — 237 inches, which is 19.75 feet.
So the foot rate is the whole pipe divided by 19.75. Not the metre rate multiplied up — the pipe price is the one figure on the supplier’s sheet that was not worked out from something else, and a foot is a cut off a pipe.
Why the divisor matters, on a real row
Taking the dearest plastic pipe in our catalogue today — UPVC Pipe SCH-40 at Rs 4,163.9 a length:
| Divided by | Rate per foot | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | Rs 208.2 | The market’s shorthand — a pipe is not 20 feet |
| 19.685 | Rs 211.53 | Converting 6 m on paper — not the pipe in the godown |
| 19.75 | Rs 210.83 | What our supplier says his pipe measures — this is the one we use |
A few rupees a foot, and a house is not a foot. Over 35 feet those three come to Rs 7,287, Rs 7,403.55 and Rs 7,379.05. That is why we publish the divisor and not just the answer.
Where we do not quote a foot rate
Only pipe sold as a six-metre length gets one, because that is the only length anybody has measured for us.
PPRC pipe comes in four metres. Those rows show the pipe and the metre and say nothing about feet, rather than borrowing a ratio from a different pipe. Guessing here would be guessing about money.
Ordering a cut length
Tell us the size and the total feet. The rate is the same published one whether you take a whole pipe or a cut off it.