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How to Convert SY to SF

Engineers, carpenters and others who work with area measurements have a wide assortment of units which they can use. One common non-metric unit which has traditionally been used in North America for many years is the square yard (sy). This unit describes area in terms of squares measuring one yard along each side. Those working in areas also often give measurements in units of square feet (sf). You can convert from sy to sf using a single conversion factor.

Things You'll Need

Calculator

Instructions

- 1
  Enter into the calculator the numerical value of your area measurement in units of sy. For example, if you were reading a blueprint for a house and the area of a room was given as 25 sy, you would enter 25.
- 2
  Multiply the value you just entered by 9. This is the conversion factor between sy and sf. This conversion factor is used since a yard equals 3 feet and so a square yard contains three times 3 or 9 square feet.
- 3
  Report or record the value of your calculation as the area measurement in units of sf. In the case of the example, you would calculate 25 times 9 and record an area of 225 sf.

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