Meet the Reluctant DIYer.

Hey, I'm Brad.

I work in IT. I like computers. I understand technology. I enjoy solving problems that involve keyboards, monitors, and preferably a comfortable chair.

What I do not particularly enjoy is spending my weekends covered in drywall dust, crawling around on my knees, or making my 47th trip to Lowe's because apparently there's a special screw for everything.

And yet, here we are.

For the past 20 years, I've been remodeling houses, building things I have absolutely no business building, and tackling home improvement projects that are routinely several pay grades above my actual qualifications.

Why? Two reasons: I'm cheap, and I married a woman named Natasha who has ideas.

I'm not talking about little ideas, either. I'm talking about the kind that start with, “You know what would look really nice?” and end six months later with me standing in the middle of a demolished room wondering where my life went wrong.

It started innocently enough. Our first couple of houses needed the usual stuff. Some paint. A little trim. New cabinets. Maybe some flooring. Nothing too crazy.

Then Natasha had what I can only describe as a catastrophic lapse in judgment.

“We should buy a fixer-upper.”

Those five words changed the trajectory of my life.

We bought a house that needed what real estate agents optimistically call “a little TLC.” Apparently, TLC stands for Tear Literally Everything Apart.

Before long, half the house was stripped down to the studs, and I was learning electrical, plumbing, framing, flooring, drywall, and approximately 400 other skills I had never intended to acquire.

Slowly, we put that house back together the way we wanted it. Against all odds, it turned out great. We eventually sold it for a nice profit.

You'd think that would have been the end of it. You'd be wrong.

Apparently, successfully rebuilding half a house doesn't earn you retirement. It just convinces Natasha that you're capable of doing even more ridiculous things.

Which brings us to today.

At this very moment, I have three major projects going simultaneously:

• Retiling virtually the entire first floor.
• Building a wainscoting wall because regular walls are apparently no longer acceptable.
• Building a deck, presumably because the ground isn't good enough to stand on.

Three projects. At once. I haven't finished one before another starts. I'm beginning to suspect Natasha maintains a secret project backlog that would make a corporate IT department weep.

And the worst part? I keep doing them.

Because underneath all the complaining, I'm still the same cheap bastard who looks at a contractor's estimate and thinks, “For THAT much money, I can screw it up three times and still come out ahead.”

Which is usually exactly what happens.

So Why MeasureMarks?

Somewhere along the way, I realized that half my frustration wasn't actually building things. It was figuring out where everything was supposed to go.

How far apart should these battens be? Where exactly do I drill these cabinet handles? How many balusters do I need? Why does the last tile end up being three-eighths of an inch wide? And why, for the love of everything holy, are we using fractions in the 21st century?

I'm a computer guy. I can troubleshoot enterprise networks, automate complicated processes, and make computers do things they probably shouldn't.

But ask me to evenly space nine boards across a 137⅜-inch wall, and suddenly I'm staring at a tape measure like it's written in ancient Sumerian.

So I did what any self-respecting IT nerd would do. I built software to avoid doing math.

That's how MeasureMarks was born.

These calculators were originally built to solve my own problems on projects I never wanted to start in the first place. Eventually, I figured other people might find them useful, too.

The goal is simple: enter your measurements, let the computer handle the ridiculous fractions, and get clear marks and visual blueprints that tell you exactly where to cut, drill, or install something.

No engineering degree required. No subscription. No pretending you're a master carpenter. Just practical tools for regular people trying to build something without losing their minds.

One Last Thing

I'm not a professional contractor, carpenter, or home improvement expert. I'm an IT guy with two decades of trial, error, YouTube tutorials, and an increasingly suspicious collection of tools.

These calculators are meant to make the measuring and layout parts easier. Double-check your measurements, use your judgment, and don't blame me if your wall isn't square. Mine aren't either.

If MeasureMarks saves you a little time, prevents a bad cut, or keeps you from making another emergency run to Lowe's, then it's done its job.

And if you happen to know how to convince Natasha that a house can actually be finished, please use the contact form immediately.

I'm begging you.

— Brad
Founder, MeasureMarks
IT Professional · Reluctant DIYer · Unpaid General Contractor

Currently accepting prayers, coffee, and excuses to avoid the next remodeling project.

Questions or feedback?

Real project feedback helps improve the tools. Visit the Contact page to report a problem, suggest a calculator, or share an idea.