Is this odd or was I just wrong all my life

[KSJeff]

I grabbed some 2x4x10 treated lumber for a sill plate on my concrete pad for the wife's shed. I had to cut two of them down for the shed and the other two ends were 120" so I just layed them out. My squaring was going poorly and I measured the full pieces and they were 121 inches and 121 1/2".

I've generally just assumed my 2x4x10's were 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 120.

Is treated lumber different generally? I don't use it much.

I thought I was losing my mind.

 

[Shootinok]

Dimensional lumber is always a bit long, unless for example, you buy 92-5/8” studs. They’re pre-cut to accommodate the head and sill plates for an 8’ wall.
Ends are rarely square so this gives you an opportunity to cut and still have the full dimension.

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[KSJeff]

So, I've been wrong my whole life.

I should stick to building cars instead of buildings. Thank you for the information.

 

[ford33]

Dimensional lumber lengths do vary but 1-1/2" longer than stated does seem odd. Maybe the mill was off that day. Nothing is perfect.

 

[kaymccampbell]

My treated supplier always makes them 1-1.5 inches too long. Regular KD is only .25-.5 long.

 

[firebirdparts]

Only studs are cut carefully to length. Everything else is approximate. 1" over is a lot here, but whatever.

 

[southalabama]

One of life’s mysteries.

Renovate an old house. Commercially produced lumber has changed dimensions over time. It’s gotten smaller.

 

[The Cobbler]

yes, they are normally not accurate length, but 1-1/2" over is a lot.
having said that when I was doing a lot of 4" colonial baseboard under contract we sometimes got them 16'2". normally they were 16' right on. we kept some of those bundles for one building where 1 wall was 16'1+/- it was nice to get them once in a while

 

[MushCreek]

Consider yourself lucky. I bought a pallet of 1X6 T&G pine 8 footers. Many of them were under length by a good 1/2", and not perfectly square. I thought about bringing them back, but they worked for my application.

 

[mike93lx]

Nearly every 8' 2x4 I have ever bought was right on 96". I wouldn't be surprised if they were a hair longer somethime though.

1.5" long is way past normal

 

[Gunfixr]

One of life’s mysteries.

Renovate an old house. Commercially produced lumber has changed dimensions over time. It’s gotten smaller.

I've worked on an old house, I know that pain...
You should try renovating a modular house.............
They must be mainlining heroin from a backpack tank, while drinking everclear all day every day when building those.

But yeah, I ran into the over length thing also, was a bit of a pain having to trim boards I thought I bought to size.

 

[Daniel Dudley]

Eight footers tend to be within an eighth. Longer lengths tend to be a quarter ta a half inch over. Not always, but usually.

Returned lumber and defective longer lengths are often cut down and stocked as shorter lengths. These tend to vary more.

 

[KSJeff]

Since I saw the response last night, I've been trying to remember if I ever had a wood project (I've built a few decks) where I needed an exact length of wood that matched the dimension I've bought. Other than studs, I don't think I have.

I'm pretty surprised it took me 50 years to run into this. After about 15 minutes of trying to make a stupid 10x10 square, I finally measured everything. Probably should have done that first.

Thanks again.

 

[CraigStu]

Last weekend I bought six 2x6x8ft. Every one was 3/8 too long. No big deal but I was kind of surprised like you. I would have thought if manufacturing this stuff, one would not want to give away 3/8 inch on every one sold.

 

[mike93lx]

Last weekend I bought six 2x6x8ft. Every one was 3/8 too long. No big deal but I was kind of surprised like you. I would have thought if manufacturing this stuff, one would not want to give away 3/8 inch on every one sold.

A 8 footer that is a little too long is saleable. One that is too short is not.

Same with food. They have to hit the listed weight or can get fined for it. Better to be over than short

 

[KSJeff]

Last weekend I bought six 2x6x8ft. Every one was 3/8 too long. No big deal but I was kind of surprised like you. I would have thought if manufacturing this stuff, one would not want to give away 3/8 inch on every one sold.

Me too. I just assumed it would be computer cut. I guess it makes sense to go a little long since wood can shrink. Maybe that's the reason.

 

[JRC3]

Yep, I've always found lumber to be long, and usually varying lengths from one piece to the other. This also applies to molding and trim type pieces too. You can buy a contractor pack of crown, base or casing and they will often be up to 1/2" difference in length.

Dimensional lumber can often vary in width and depth by an 1/8" too.

 

[mike93lx]

Me too. I just assumed it would be computer cut. I guess it makes sense to go a little long since wood can shrink. Maybe that's the reason.

Wood doesn't change size along grain. Cross grain is where humidity impacts it

 

[geneg]

We were building a house in the early 70's when standard dimensions for framing lumber changed from 5/8 to 1/2. Either had to measure or stack straight to sort them & get even wall & floor surfaces. The bins at the local lumber yard had 1-1/2 x 3-1/2 2x4s mixed with 1-5/8 x 3-5/8 2x4s. Since I was a kid, I got the job of sorting & loading them. I seem to remember that the truss manufacturers stayed with the lager sizes a bit longer.

On another topic- notice that plywood is now less in thickness and rectangular dimensions. A sheet of 1/2 plywood used to measure 1/2 x 48 x 96,

 

[JRC3]

We were building a house in the early 70's when standard dimensions for framing lumber changed from 5/8 to 1/2. Either had to measure or stack straight to sort them & get even wall & floor surfaces. The bins at the local lumber yard had 1-1/2 x 3-1/2 2x4s mixed with 1-5/8 x 3-5/8 2x4s. Since I was a kid, I got the job of sorting & loading them. I seem to remember that the truss manufacturers stayed with the lager sizes a bit longer.

On another topic- notice that plywood is now less in thickness and rectangular dimensions. A sheet of 1/2 plywood used to measure 1/2 x 48 x 96,

They did this to us with toilet paper a few years back. All the manufactures followed suit and we lost 1/4" on something that should be as wide as possible.

 

[geneg]

Kind of off topic, but similar vein- pound of coffee is now 12 or 13 oz. Half gallon ice cream is now 1-1/2 pints, could go on forever-- we continue to pay more for less!

 

[Meursault74]

Kind of off topic, but similar vein- pound of coffee is now 12 or 13 oz. Half gallon ice cream is now 1-1/2 pints, could go on forever-- we continue to pay more for less!

I know what you are saying, but it should be stated that a can of coffee used to contain a pound of coffee. Now the same size of can contains less than 16 oz

I have some old cans of coffee for holding various nuts bolts etc that say 16 oz, they are the same size as the ones today that would be filled with significantly less. It makes sense for the manufacturer to put less coffee in and charge the same, than to raise prices for the same amount of coffee. You just have to read the labels and be a savvy consumer to know what you are purchasing.

 

[MushCreek]

We were building a house in the early 70's when standard dimensions for framing lumber changed from 5/8 to 1/2. Either had to measure or stack straight to sort them & get even wall & floor surfaces. The bins at the local lumber yard had 1-1/2 x 3-1/2 2x4s mixed with 1-5/8 x 3-5/8 2x4s. Since I was a kid, I got the job of sorting & loading them. I seem to remember that the truss manufacturers stayed with the lager sizes a bit longer.

On another topic- notice that plywood is now less in thickness and rectangular dimensions. A sheet of 1/2 plywood used to measure 1/2 x 48 x 96,

I got messed up bad when I built the loft for my barn. It is exactly 28 X 32, but the tongue & groove Advantech only nets 47-1/2" wide. On 28', you end up 3-1/2" short. You can't very well have a 3-1/2" strip, so I shifted it over to have a 25-3/4" wide strip on each side, essentially scrapping 4 sheets of material to achieve this.

 

[Mr_fixit]

I'll bet it shrinks in length after it dries.

 

[manwithtools]

I'll bet it shrinks in length after it dries.

Negative on that, natural wood only changes dimensionaly due to moisture content perpendicular to the grain, not parallel.

 

[firebirdparts]

Here's a sad, and not really related story.

I built a new deck last summer, two levels. I built the lower level first. The lumber was so out of dimension, that I graded it and then I installed the joists from biggest on one end of the deck down to smallest on the other end. Still sucked, because the band joist is all one width of course.

So I decided to rip all the joists for the upper level. Smallest was X-1/8", which is pretty small. Anyway, I ripped them. Built the upper level, crowned every board, you could eyeball down through there and it was dead level perfect. So a few days later I'm putting the floor down and it's all over the place. Some of the joists heaved a half inch after I did that.

 

[mark#3]

Ya, we get less substance but it costs more, the companies make alot money!

 

[CraigStu]

The one that really bothers me is the plywood. I have always been pretty good w/ dimensions but since I don't work w/ it every day it takes me a while to figure out what 23/32 is. I have an idea what I can do w/ 1/2" or 5/8" plywood but 23/32. And lately I have been seeing some in x/64 sizes. Jeeeezzz!

 

[KSJeff]

Well, just to finish this up. My concrete pad is a parallelogram. My sill plates are siliconed and wedge anchored down (in a square) and my walls are all built. Tonight, we raise the walls and there is a wind warning today.

Lowe's Rainier shed btw.

 

[Gunfixr]

Kind of off topic, but similar vein- pound of coffee is now 12 or 13 oz. Half gallon ice cream is now 1-1/2 pints, could go on forever-- we continue to pay more for less!

Yeah, that was how they originally told us all that they didn't raise prices.
They just reduced the volume. Some even will put it in the same package for just a bit, so you won't notice.
But, it's become a pattern, reduced volume at same price, then raise price, then rinse and repeat.......

 

[p00p]

So, I've been wrong my whole life.

I should stick to building cars instead of buildings. Thank you for the information.

pretty much the reason I try not to get into much woodworking projects. Annoys the **** out of me.

Building cars is much more soothing.

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

Nearly every 8' 2x4 I have ever bought was right on 96".

"2X4" or "stud"? There is a difference!

 

[mike93lx]

"2X4" or "stud"? There is a difference!

2x4. Studs are shorter

 

[PCMusicGuy]

Every industry does this. I remember a few years ago when M&M's changed their large bags to contain 2 oz. less but still charged the same price.

 

[JRC3]

Dukes Mayo keeps it real. Not only is it the best mayo ever made...But they boast the fact that they don't cheat you on the "quart" they sell you.

 

[PugetDude]

2x lumber marked as STUD is going to be spot-on in length. It's part of the grading process- it's ready to go into a wall without any further trimming.

Construction grade lumber is usualy a bit over the length specified, never under.

 

[rangerfredbob]

Lumber math is weird... I'm used to metal math where everything is what it says it is... building my shop last year I had to get used to construction math, it's very much different...

 

[niget2002]

Lumber math is weird... I'm used to metal math where everything is what it says it is... building my shop last year I had to get used to construction math, it's very much different...

It's very hard to be specific about something that shrinks and grows with humidity and as it dries.

But yes. I find it annoying that a 1x2 isn't 1"x2". It makes the math harder when designing things. It's also why I've started buying more raw lumber and finishing it myself when making furniture. I can make the sticks whatever I want them to be.

I still have to deal with the weird plywood thicknesses, though


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[chris142]

So, I've been wrong my whole life.

I should stick to building cars instead of buildings. Thank you for the information.

Makes 2 of us. I am terrible with wood. So bad that I don't even try anymore.