stick8 said:
This is a good question. Very good, because if you're going to do the "add 5 ft to each side" idea, then it should be very clear how big each side is, right? It's amazing how many people have no idea.
A 9' table is 100" x 50" from nose to nose. There should be approximately 6 inches of rail and cushion on each side. Some have more. Some have less. But, 6" is a good start. So, that's 112" x 62". If you add 5' (60") to each side, then that is 232" x 182". So, that's 19' 4" x 15' 2".
Many people will be surprised when they do the math and get this kind of number, since they'll often expect 19' x 14.5" as an answer. Normally, when this question is asked, most posters won't bother reading it and understand the significance of the dimensions, especially in the shorter direction.
19' is shorter by 2" per side. 14.5" is 4" per side shorter. So, when people are seeing how small they can go before they get out of the comfort range, it's usually the shorter direction that screws people up.
Fred