Layout
Sheet
A free planning tool built around the way fascia painters actually work — optical spacing, cap height, and a baseline grid, checked before anyone picks up a brush.
The grid a painter carries in their head, on a screen
Set a board width, drop in your wording, and Layout Sheet works out cap height, baseline spacing, and how the line will actually read at full scale.
Eight things it does before you touch enamel
Optical Grid
Overlays true visual spacing next to a metric grid, so you can see the difference before it's painted.
Cap Height Calculator
Works out a proportional cap height from board width and viewing distance.
Gold Leaf Estimator
Estimates how many leaf sheets a given letter area will need, with a margin for wind and waste.
Pounce Export
Exports a full-scale, pin-ready pattern for anyone still transferring layouts the old way.
Baseline Ruler
Locks a consistent baseline across multi-line copy, even when letter heights vary.
Letter Spacing Preview
Shows word shapes at fascia scale rather than screen scale, where spacing reads differently.
Layer Order Planner
Sequences paint, size, and leaf so nothing is asked to dry out of order on the day.
Reference Notebook
Keeps measurements and color mixes attached to a specific job, so a repeat client is a five-minute lookup.
Four steps, in the order a painter already thinks in
Sketch the line
Rough in the wording and a first pass at proportions, the way you would on scrap paper.
Set the grid
Enter the board dimensions; the tool works out cap height and baseline spacing to match.
Preview the spacing
Toggle between metric and optical spacing to see how the line will actually be read from the street.
Export the pattern
Print a full-scale pounce pattern or a chalk-line guide, ready for the board.
A few quick answers
Is Layout Sheet free to use?
Yes. It's a companion tool published alongside the Journal, not a paid product.
Does it replace a paper pattern?
Not entirely — it exports one instead. Most painters still prefer a physical pounce pattern for the actual transfer.
Does it work without a network connection?
The layout math runs locally once a page has loaded, so a shaky shop connection isn't a problem mid-job.
Who is it built for?
Working sign painters and gilders first, and anyone learning the trade who wants to check their eye against the math.