Free guide · Also our client onboarding protocol
Taking an accurate facing reading
Every classical analysis starts from one number: the facing direction of your property, in degrees. Get it wrong by a few degrees near a sector boundary and the entire chart changes. Here is how to take a reading we can actually use — with a phone.
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Use the right app settings
Open your phone's compass app and make sure it shows magnetic north, not "true north." (iPhone: Settings → Apps → Compass → turn off "Use True North.") Classical practice works from the magnetic reading; we apply any correction ourselves.
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Step away from metal
Cars, steel doors, radiators, fuse boxes, and even a phone case with magnets will pull the needle. Stand at least 1–2 meters from large metal objects, take off magnetic accessories, and calibrate the compass if the phone asks (wave it in a figure-eight).
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Stand in the right place
Stand inside the main door, facing squarely out, with your back parallel to the door plane. For apartments, the unit door is usually the reference, but photograph the building entrance too — we will tell you which governs your case.
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Take three readings
Record the degree number three times: at the doorway, then 1 meter outside, then 3 meters outside, all facing the same way. If the three differ by more than ~5°, something nearby is interfering — move and repeat. Send us all three numbers, not an average.
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Photograph everything
Take a photo of the compass screen at each spot, a photo of the front of the property from the street, and note the date. With these plus a floor plan, a remote analysis is as well-founded as a site visit.
The three errors that ruin readings
- Reading "true north" mode. The 5–15° declination difference can move your property into a different mountain (15° sector). Tell us which mode you used if you're unsure.
- Standing inside a steel-framed doorway. The most common source of wild readings. Step clear and compare.
- Measuring the direction you think the house faces. Facing is determined by the structure, not the street address or the view. When in doubt, send photos and let us determine it.
Borderline reading? If your number sits within 2–3° of a sector boundary, say so when you write to us — boundary cases need extra care and sometimes a physical luo pan verification protocol, which we will walk you through.