2x4 actual size

Lee has over two decades of hands-on experience remodeling, fixing, and improving homes, and has been providing home improvement advice for over 13 years.

Chris Baylor is a woodworking expert and writer with over a decade of hands-on commercial carpentry experience. He has studied under master carpenters and also designs wooden tools and furniture, sharing tutorials on websites including Woodworkers Workshop and Homemade Tools. Many beginning woodworkers and DIYers are understandably confused by the way lumber products are sized. It can lead to considerable confusion if you are expecting a 2 x 4 stud to actually measure 2 inches by 4 inches, or if you expect your 1 x 6 board to actually have those measurements. You've just run into the reality of actual lumber sizes as compared to the nominal sizes—the sizes by which they are identified in the store. The measurements by which lumber is sold is virtually never the same as the actual dimensions of the boards when you measure them. So what exactly is going on here?

2x4 actual size

The most well-known piece of lumber is the 2x4, pronounced two-by-four. Many of you know this, but why is this a thing? But there is a reason. Put simply, the discrepancy in sizing comes from the need for the lumber industry to stay competitive with other market alternatives during times of scarcity. Before mass production of lumber and wood started around , trees were cut and made to order for carpenters. Sizes always varied, which left final sizing measurements up to the builders on site. Trees were grown and used locally and many people in the industry viewed lumber and forests as an unlimited resource in the U. But as the population in the United States grew, so did building. Prime forestland was concentrated around major U. But these forests around these cities were becoming clear. With resources in these areas becoming scarce, other areas of the country saw this as an opportunity to enter the market. The advent of the railroad made it possible for other cities to ship lumber to different parts of the country. Competition occurred among regions, or more specifically, among species. According to the U. Thus, the density and moisture of wood began to have a big impact on forestry economics.

Trees were grown and used locally and many people in the industry viewed lumber and forests as an unlimited resource in the U. Help make Archtoolbox better for everyone.

Dimensional lumber is cut to a specific length, width, and depth. However, there is a difference between the nominal size what the lumber is referred to and the actual size. The tables below provide both the nominal and actual lumber dimensions for many common North American lumber sizes. Softwood lumber is generally used for framing walls and floors. Softwood lumber comes in a number of standard lengths as listed in the table below. According to NIST Publication P20 , actual lengths must be at least equal to the nominal length, but can be up to 3" longer than the nominal length. Hardwood lumber is sized based on how many sides are surfaced.

When we first started with woodworking projects, we were confused on what the actual sizing of lumber was. Now that we have taken on several diy wood projects, we have accumulated a lot of scrap wood. It was intimidating being in the home improvement store with huge pieces of lumber and barely any woodworking experience. As I started to take on more home DIY projects and other woodworking projects, I learned the actual size of lumber. I made this easy scrap wood desk using 2x4s, plywood, and corner modeling. I had extra 4x4s on hand, so I went a little overboard with the legs on this table. We made this small coffee table to fit perfectly in between our sectional sofa. The great thing about these snowmen is that they stand on their own because the 2x4s are solid pieces of wood. Why spend the money if you have wood laying around your garage anyway!

2x4 actual size

Chris Baylor is a woodworking expert and writer with over a decade of hands-on commercial carpentry experience. He has studied under master carpenters and also designs wooden tools and furniture, sharing tutorials on websites including Woodworkers Workshop and Homemade Tools. Many beginning woodworkers and DIYers are understandably confused by the way lumber products are sized. It can lead to considerable confusion if you are expecting a 2 x 4 stud to actually measure 2 inches by 4 inches, or if you expect your 1 x 6 board to actually have those measurements. You've just run into the reality of actual lumber sizes as compared to the nominal sizes—the sizes by which they are identified in the store.

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Once you understand precisely how all these materials are sized, you can design your projects appropriately. Related Topics. Nominal vs. During this period, the building industry sought to control costs and minimize waste by developing standard sizes and grades for building timber. Once the drying is complete, the boards are then planed to a standard size. Create profiles for personalised advertising. People in the forest industry were under immense pressure to figure out how to become more efficient and compete. In This Article Expand. Checking your house after a long winter. Before mass production of lumber and wood started around , trees were cut and made to order for carpenters.

It is typically made from pine, spruce, or fir, and is available in a variety of sizes. The most common sizes are 2x4, 2x6, and 2x8, but 2x2, 2x10, and 2x12 are also available.

A board measured after it's been dried and surfaced has an actual, or final size. Preventing and removing ice dams. So what actually is the size of a 2x4? Nominal and actual dimensions differ. Wood was no longer cut from trees and shipped directly to a job site. You may accept or manage your choices by clicking below, including your right to object where legitimate interest is used, or at any time in the privacy policy page. During this process, it shrinks as the moisture in the wood is removed and the wood cells shrink. A wide range of depths are available, far too many to list here, so please contact your local manufacturer for more information on their offerings - in general depths start at 6" and go up to 30" and beyond. Today, we still follow this standard and it is widely accepted in the building industry. Surfaced refers to a finishing process that smooths the lumber to remove all saw marks. Use limited data to select content. You've just run into the reality of actual lumber sizes as compared to the nominal sizes—the sizes by which they are identified in the store. Dimensional Lumber Basics. Read on to learn more about how dimensional lumber sizes work.