This is the basis for customary nail sizes, as it's (for example) how many 6d nails you could get for 6 pennies in medieval England.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_(unit)
I think you can perceive the different factor relationship between the dimensions of timber, fittings and spacing. Although I'm not entirely certain that I'm not picking up other cultural habits in Australian and American building styles. Should I ever ascend the throne, I shall have an imperial palace (naturally) and a metric one built to the same plan to verify my intuition
edit: Words are hard
my two favourite moments in a documentary are #1 in 'the smashing machine' when you glimpse a the boot of the bad girlfriend in the corner, and feel before you know that everything is about to go bad
and #2 in the documentary 'Jean Nouvel: Reflections' about the architect of the same name, where you see him at work, in a dark cozy restaurant at a table surrounded by staff/devotees swirling a full glass of red wine, and he's looping loose enigmatic squiggles on wine stained napkins which he then passes out, a sacred relic, one to each person at the table. And off they go and make the buildings that bear his name.