Modeling/editing in imperial units

Question

I am attempting to model in Blender 2.79b using imperial units. Unfortunately, the majority of the objects I'm modeling are based on schematics in imperial units, and converting constantly will significantly increase build time.

I have set the units in Blender to feet, as instructed, and am modeling shapes normally. I noticed, however, that if I change dimensions on an object, I have to include the ' or " in the measurement that I enter, otherwise Blender will change the dimension a seemingly random amount (entering 14 for 14 feet causes the program to change the dimension to roughly 4 feet, not 14).

When extruding or using other modifiers, I can't input these symbols at all and again the measurements appear to be random fractions of what they are intended to be. It seems to me something about the scale or inability to input feet and inch markers is causing it to behave strangely, but I am not familiar enough with the software to trace the issue.

Is there a step I am missing that will allow me to model/modify without having to manually select and edit fields in the menus to produce the desired result?

Thank you.

Answer 1

I believe if you switched to imperial units and just use for example extruding for 1.5 it will be 1.5 feet or 1'6". To do ' or " signs while doing these operation you need to use "advanced mode" pressing = after choosing operation. Not sure if there are addons/better ways for using imperial units. Some info on advanced mode from similar question. Also you could check "Separate Units" on Scene tab under Units settings, so you can see units as separate, otherwise by default you could see 1.5' instead of 1'6" during/after operations which can be quite confusing.