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In a way, it has always disturbed me that the lumber industry can’t come up with a simple format for measuring their product. Why can’t a 2×4 be just that, 2″x4″? Instead I have to clutter my head with needless math problems. Let’s see, when I hold two 2x4s together they are actually 3″ x 3.5″ or is it 3.5″ x 3.5″?
Actual The label put on the lumber you buy is called the “nominal” lumber size. The actual size is always a little bit smaller.
Lumber Sizing For Framing A Cathedral Ceiling
Nominal refers to the dimension the lumber was sawn. When a 2×4 is cut out of a log it is 2″x4″.
After the board is dried and planed it becomes its actual size of 1 1/2″x3 1/2″. If your memory is like mine, and you need a little help remembering the actual dimensions of the lumber you’ll need for your next project, then here is a quick conversion chart: Nominal Actual 5/4″ 1 1/8″ 1″ 3/4″ 2″ 1 1/2″ 3″ 2 1/2″ 4″ 3 1/2″ 6″ 5 1/2″ 8″ 7 1/4″ 10″ 9 1/4″ 12 ” 11 1/4″.Tip – Sometimes you’ll need a filler to get sections where boards meet to be of equal size. For example, the header to a door or window is usually made with two boards set together and resting on an upright stud.
The upright stud will be 3 1/2 inches wide, but the two header boards (each 1 1/2 inches wide) are only 3 inches when put together. So, the solution is to cut a piece of 1/2″ plywood to equal size, and sandwich it between the two header boards. You’ll notice that at 8″, the amount subtracted from the nominal size goes up to 3/4″ so the actual size drops to 1/4. The reason for this is that wider boards shrink a greater amount. That is a 6″ board may shrink 3/8″ while an 8″ and wider boards may shrink 1/2″ or 5/8″. So when the board is put through a thickness planer to make it smooth, 3/4″ is allowed so that the boards between 8″ and 12″ are 7 1/4″ and 11 1/4″ respectively. So why not just add on 3/4″ on the wider boards so they all come out at X 1/2″ instead of X 1/4″ when the board’s are wider?
Lumber Sizing
There are 3 reasons I can think of: 1 – Because the sawyers, those who cut the trees into rough lumber, are set up to do so in 2″ increments. 2 – It’s always been done that way. (H8 that answer. Don’t you?) 3 – You don’t want to confuse the sawyers now Do you?
Standard dimension lumber sizes produced in North America are listed as surfaced dry sizes (19 percent moisture content or less) in the table below. The availability of lumber sizes varies somewhat according to the area of the country from which the raw material originates. Lengths up to 6.1 m ( 20′ ) are commonly available from western Canada and up to 4.9m (16′) from eastern Canada. Longer lengths are available on special order. They are also available in the form of fingerjoined lumber.
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