Q:

Notation for feet and inches dimension

I am looking at a set of construction plans where all the dimensions read as x' - y". One example would be 4' - 6". I am confused by the dash in between the feet and inches. Is this supposed to mean subtraction? Probably a dumb question but I am from Europe and am not used to working with feet and inches. 

A:

I'm from the UK but have lived in the US for a long time so I may have forgotten the conventions -- but  I'm pretty sure that $4'-6"$ is four feet plus six inches. I'd write it 4' 6", but the dash was never a minus sign.

