When Did a 2x4 Become 1-1/2" x 3-1/2"?
Sunday July 12, 2009
I've long lamented how lumber sizes seem to be shrinking a little more every few years, but I had never encountered a history of why, and more importantly, when lumber sizes were reduced.
I recently came across a document produced by the U.S. Forest Service entitled History of Yard Lumber Size Standards (September 1964). While this document is over 40 years old, it shows an interesting history of when and why lumber was reduced from the common nomenclature (2x4, for instance) to the actual sizes used today.
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I recently came across a document produced by the U.S. Forest Service entitled History of Yard Lumber Size Standards (September 1964). While this document is over 40 years old, it shows an interesting history of when and why lumber was reduced from the common nomenclature (2x4, for instance) to the actual sizes used today.
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Comments
Very interesting article. You made a good find with this. The original portion of my house is built with 1 5/8 x 3 5/8 studs. Your find confirmed to me that my estimate was correct that it would have been built in the early 20’s.
I don’t think that a standard, or requirement, exists yet that lumber offered for sale to the end user be at or below a certain moisture content and between a certain minimum and maximum dimension per nominal size. I can go to my local lumber yard and buy 2×4 treated lumber that one can literally squeeze the moisture out of and is very close to 1 5/8 x 3 5/8 actual dimension at that moisture content.