New standard sizes wood?

Dave Trask

Member
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186
Location
Pa
I recently bought a couple of pine 2x6" from Home Depot for door
headers that I had already started with Lowes 2"x6" 's.
The HD 2"x6" did not match the Lowes ones? The Lowes 2"x6' was
1-1/2 x 5-1/2" which too me is a standard 2"x6" ...while the HD's 2"x6"
measured less than 1-7/16" x 5-3/8" width ?

Think I just got a bad batch or is HD selling wood at new standards now?

Another little annoying thing is the HD in my area sells 1"x2" or 1"x3" with rounded edges?
Lowes has square edges. I didnt notice the 1"x2" and 3"
had rounded edges until I got them home. -duh I should have noticed!-

To me .. If I wanted rounded edges I would put the round on myself.

Anyone else notice this? :huh:
 
Sounds like you got some bum lumber there in a way. I mean that is a little small, but you have to remember too this wood is designed for framing and home construction so an 1/8 or a 1/16 really does not matter much in that application.

If you have ever been in a sawmill you will quickly understand how these sizes get jogged around some. There is a sawmill near me that produces 675,000 board feet of lumber a day. I was awe-struct when I saw a log about 3 feet in diameter get passed through the headmill. This was 30 bandsaw blades set 1 inch apart. There was a loud whine, a crunch, and then 3 seconds later 30 boards scattering on the bed chain with another log coming right in behind it. These modern mills convert logs to lumber in seconds now...

As for strapping, that is another whole story. Strapping is merely converted waste into a usable product. Its crap wood to start off with and crap wood after its made. Now keep in mind 1 x 3 strapping is DIFFERENT from 1x3 boards. The latter is graded according to NEMA and other wood governing associations. Strapping is not graded in any way.

Now I can buy strapping from Ellsworth Building Supply and their strapping consists 1 x 3 boards, with sharp edges made out of White Pine. That is just what they have for strapping. Now if I go to Buxton Services, I can get strapping that is 1x 3 boards, but has rounded edges and is made out of Red, White or Black Spruce.

Personally I prefer the rounded edges when using the stuff, but that is just me. Still I am concerned about a trend starting where framing lumber gets "nominally sized" even more. What's next our boards being 5/8 of an inch thick instead of 3/4?
 
Of course there is nothing wrong with using strapping for a project either though...

Quite a few years ago now I conjured up this project, making the entire train-shaped toolbox out of strapping and a little plywood. As you can see in the picture I layered layer upon layer of strapping, off-setting the widths to get the shape that I wanted. The thing was bullet-proof when I was done and took a wazoo of screws and lumber to make. I think around 750linear feet of strapping if I remember right. I think the darn thing would float though if put into a take...and that is if it was full of tools even!! :)

TOOL_BOX_THEE_QUARTER_VIEW.JPG
 
Sorry, I was not meant too....

Strapping is generally regarded as a new England term though other regions may use it as well. Its just cheap wood used in construction. Its used a lot to "strap ceilings". That is where you nail it up on 16" or 2 foot centers and nail it across roof trusses or the stringers on the overhead floor. By shimming the strapping with wedges of wood you can get a perfectly flat ceiling for the drywall the screw to.

Being thrifty as us new Englanders are, we also use it for any number of things, from helping to hold framed up walls in plumb and level, to just odds and ends around the construction site. Often times you will see the stuff being used to hold the string lines around the four corners of a proposed home. I have several pieces nailed across my roof trusses to hold them 2 feet apart. Its just cheap, narrow boards (1 x 3) that are good for a number of things.

They normally sell them in 10 pack bundles and can be from 8 feet to 16 feet long. Bark, wanny edges, knots and the like are all through this type of wood. Its for construction use only.
 
strapping...also called furring strips around these parts.

As to the original topic.
Any 2x6's that I have used are always 1 1/2 x 5 1/2, I have noticed treated 2x6 are just a bit larger than those measurements. Generally for rough framing the little variation that you have noticed between the two borgs are accepted.....but not by me. I always buy from my local mom and pop lumber dealer and the sizes of material are consistant.
 
I worked part-time and on and off for my Uncle, a contractor like yourself Steve. We never paid much attention to variations in lumber sizes. Granted he always bought his lumber from a mom and pop operation too. About the first thing we did when putting up a wall was ask..

"Flush to the outside?"

On some buildings we would keep the studs flush with the plates on the outside, and some we kept flush to the inside, depending upon the siding and interior trim and whatnot. Most times it was to the outside.

As for BORG lumber, most contractors here in Maine don't use them. Not just HD but any big box stores like that. The ads on TV give you the impression thatcontractors go there, but that isn't so here in Maine.

Where I work a Lowes just opened up next to the machine shop. This is a relatively small town and already has 5 good sized, but Mom and Pop lumber dealers, and a HD to boot. With another lumber place, its just going to divide the same number of customers even more. As is, you can walk into HD on any day in that city and you can find ample parking, an empty store and no waiting in line. I can already see that something will have to close, and I can almost guarantee that it won't be any of the Mom and Pop places. That is not a slam against either big box store, just not enough customer base for the number of stores in the area.
 
Flush to the outside......good one.

I've often been accused of being a finish carpenter when it comes to rough framing. I guess when you are the guy (like me) that does everything from the first nail to the last in a house you tend to look ahead for potential problems, like trim, cabinets, doors etc and want it perfect. Sadly, that is my problem, I strive for perfection and starting off by eliminating materials that are inconsistant in size helps...it often makes the guys who are sorting and delivering materials to me take a little extra time and not send me junk.....cause they end up coming back out and picking it back up when I refuse it.

Can't say I havent used materials that are a little off when I have too, but at least I know how to fix the flaw later on.

My dad said to me years ago...."A good carpenter knows how to hide the flaws"....flush to the outside is a good example.
 
I enjoyed working with my Uncle. At the time I would fill in as he needed me as I was working the weekend shift. (3 12 hour days Friday through Sunday leaving a typical work week open for anything). I learned a lot from him even though we never seemed to work on anything super glamorous or anything...just homes and stuff. But when he said "let me show you a trick..." you listened.

He's retired now, so that gig is over, plus I work real work weeks (4 10 hr days Monday-Thursday). I still enjoy building though. Maybe someday I will get sick of metal work and move to wood? :dunno:
 
I strive for perfection and starting off by eliminating materials that are inconsistant in size helps...it often makes the guys who are sorting and delivering materials to me take a little extra time and not send me junk.....cause they end up coming back out and picking it back up when I refuse it.

I can understand that, but my local dealer and I have the opposite relationship. I absolutely hate pile-pickers as I call them and just take whats on top. I can deal with just about any lumber issue so its just roll with what they give me and move on. Bow, twist, knots...I can deal with all that easily so I don't fret over that stuff. Sometimes I will deliberately ask for the picked over garbage if I know what I am building is going to require short lengths or building something that does not really need perfect lumber. This helps him clean up his lumber yard and really helps him out. Sometimes though I need perfect lumber and when I do ask for it, I get it with no questions asked.

All and all I got a great relationship with my lumber supplier. Of all the deliveries I have had for this new addition, never once did I have to wait for anything. They arrive within a few hours after I place my order. One thing I learned early on in life is that if you make life easy for the next guy...no matter who it is...you will be repaid at some point. I think that is why I never have to wait. I am understanding on most things,and he is too.

Works for me...:thumb:
 
strapping...also called furring strips around these parts.

As to the original topic.
Any 2x6's that I have used are always 1 1/2 x 5 1/2, I have noticed treated 2x6 are just a bit larger than those measurements. Generally for rough framing the little variation that you have noticed between the two borgs are accepted.....but not by me. I always buy from my local mom and pop lumber dealer and the sizes of material are consistant.

Per-Zackerly what he said.... I buy a piece here and there for quick projects or projects that don't need care, from the BORG or Racing team sponsors but when I do something of importance, where size and material counts, I frequent local Lumber Yards. (But even they have admitted to lesser quality ti compete with the "Big Boys".
 
On some buildings we would keep the studs flush with the plates on the outside, and some we kept flush to the inside, depending upon the siding and interior trim and whatnot. Most times it was to the outside.
I'll bet that made you real popular with the drywall crew. :p:rofl::doh::D

I guess it makes sense in areas that use lath&plaster (and/or strip siding) a lot, but not out here in the land of drywall and stucco. Of course the guys that built my house probably thought "flush" was a word used exclusively by plumbers..."square" and "flat" weren't in their vocabulary either.:eek:
 
Pile pickers....

My son worked for a borg his Senior year in High school as a co op.

They told him to put a certain ratio of junk wood in with the good as it is common practice. Seldom any one would complain and they get away with selling junk at quality prices.

My local mom and pop do not have a problem with "pile pickers" if they have crap in the bins they sell it as a economy (probably get a rebate from supplier) or send it back. They have never had a problem with any contractor sorting what they need.....maybe that is why they have been in business since 1904.

I rarely sort, I just call in the order and the guys know not to pull any shenanigans with me, cause I will call and have them pick it back up....I've done it before.

I told the owner once "Bob, how does any of the Home Depot's, Menard's, Lowes places expect us to build a quality house, plumb, level, square with crooked, warped, twisted lumber"? He absolutely agreed.

Guess I am fortunate to have such a long established, mom and pop lumber yard who caters to the contractors.
 
I'll bet that made you real popular with the drywall crew. :p:rofl::doh::D

I'm not saying the lumber was that far out, but I have never built a building yet where every stud was perfectly 1½ x 5½ either. For the most part we keep the studs perfectly flush with the outside of the bottom plate, that way you can run your sheathing over it.

The way we do it is run the sheathing from below ground level with pressure treated lumber, 18-24 inches above grade. That puts the pressure treated sheathing a foot or two onto the studs. From there we run OSB or plywood up to the eve.

Tupperware siding (vinyl) will cover just about anything, but if you use clapboards or shingles, you will see any variation in the studs as a slight wave to the wall. Keeping things flush here makes sense. Letting the variations in the studs run in and out on the inside is not such a big deal because drywall is far more forgiving. Most of the time the variations in stud width is less than 1/8th anyway...with most of the variations coming from planer snipe at the end of the studs. (Funny how the big mills have a problem in that area too:) )

Since we cannot seem to get perfect studs, we choose the outside to be perfectly flush and let the inside run in and out. An 1/8th inch ± does not seem to cause much grief.

You can see in this photo (barely) how I ran the pressure treated plywood up onto the wall studs to help protect the wall from water at ground level.

Sheathing-small.JPG
 
I'll bet that made you real popular with the drywall crew. :p:rofl::doh::D
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I'll blabber in here. As was commented, not ever have I seen EXACT measurements, Moisture can really change a bit. But you go with where the need fits. For Brick Veneer you align to the inside wall as the brick doesn't touch the studs anyway. But waves on an outside wall with Clabboard siding are more evident than waves on the inside as you are closer to the wall and furnishings distract from line of sight. Shingle houses are like Brick in that they seldom translate the waves due to their own configuration.

Are inside walls straight? Just apply a toe strip and answer that yourself. Lucky if the floor meets the basemold all the way across or wall is anywhere near straight. (although I have seen straight walls in houses built cheaper than high dollar houses.) Depends on the detail the contractor (nae, the framer) puts into the job.
 
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