Lumber

Lumber (or timber) is wood that has been cut for use in building.

Dimensional lumber
Dimensional lumber is a term used in North America for lumber that is finished/planed and cut to standardized width and depth specified in inches.

Softwoods
 Softwood Dimensional Lumber Sizes Nominal Actual Nominal Actual 1 × 2 ¾″ × 1½″ (19×38 mm) 2 × 2 1½″ × 1½″ (38×38 mm) 1 × 3 ¾″ × 2½″ (19×64 mm) 2 × 3 1½″ × 2½″ (38×64 mm) 1 × 4 ¾″ × 3½″ (19×89 mm) 2 × 4 1½″ × 3½″ (38×89 mm) 1 × 6 ¾″ × 5½″ (19×140 mm) 2 × 6 1½″ × 5½″ (38×140 mm) 1 × 8 ¾″ × 7¼″ (19×184 mm) 2 × 8 1½″ × 7¼″ (38×184 mm) 1 × 10 ¾″ × 9¼″ (19×235 Mm) 2 × 10 1½″ × 9¼″ (38×235 mm) 1 × 12 ¾″ × 11¼″ (19×286 mm) 2 × 12 1½″ × 11¼″ (38×286 mm) 3 × 4 2½″ × 3½″ (64×89 mm) 2 × 14 1½″ × 13¼″ (38×337 mm) 4 × 4 3½″ × 3½″ (89×89 mm) 6 × 6 5½″ × 5½″ (140×140 mm) 4 × 6 3½″ × 5½″ (89×140 mm) 8 × 8 7¼″ × 7¼″ (184×184 mm)

Examples of common sizes are 2×4 (also two-by-four and other variants), 2×6, and 4×4.  The length of a board is usually specified separately from the width and depth. It is thus possible to find 2×4s that are four, eight, or twelve feet in length. In the United States the standard lengths of lumber are 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24 feet.

Non-North American sizes
 Examples of Dimensional Lumber Sizes (Softwood and Hardwood) Inch name Sawed Swedish Australian 2 × 4 50 x 100 mm 45 × 95 mm 45 x 90 mm 1 × 3 25 × 75 mm 22 × 70 mm 19 x 70 mm 3 × 3 75 × 75 mm 70 × 70 mm 70 x 70 mm 2 × 7 50 × 175 mm 45 × 170 mm Not used 2 × 3 50 × 75 mm 45 × 70 mm 45 x 70 mm 1 × 4 25 × 100 mm 22 × 95 mm 19 x 90 mm 1 × 5 25 × 125 mm 22 × 120 mm 19 x 120 mm 2 × 5 50 × 125 mm 45 × 120 mm 45 x 120 mm

Outside North America sizes of timber vary slightly. Sizes are, in some cases, based on the imperial measurement and referred to as such; in other cases the sizes are too far removed from the imperial size to be referred to by imperial measurement. Lengths can be sold at every 300 mm (a metric approximation of 1'). Common sizes are similar to the North American equivalent; 2.4, 2.7, 3.0, 3.6, 4.2, 4.8, 5.4, 6.0.  But also in running lengths, where each plank in a given packet is different, from  2500mm to 5500mm, though shorter and longer may be present.

Hardwoods
 Hardwood Dimensional Lumber Sizes Nominal Surfaced 1 Side (S1S) Surfaced 2 sides (S2S) ⅜″ ¼″ 3/16″ ½″ ⅜″ 5/16″ ⅝″ ½″ 7/16″ ¾″ ⅝″ 9/16″ 1″ or 4/4 ⅞″ 13/16″ 1¼″ or 5/4 1⅛″ 1-1/16″ 1½″ or 6/4 1⅜″ 1-5/16″ 2″ or 8/4 1-13/16″ 1¾″ 3″ or 12/4 2-13/16″ 2¾″ 4″ or 16/4 3-13/16″ 3¾″

In North America sizes for dimensional lumber made from hardwoods varies from the sizes for softwoods. Boards are usually supplied in random widths and lengths of a specified thickness, and sold by the board-foot (144 cubic inches).

Engineered Lumber
Engineered lumber is lumber created by a manufacturer and designed for a certain structural purpose.

Related pages
 Forestry
 Wood
 Woodworking

 Other websites 
 Timber Development Association of NSW - Australia
 CPSC Test coatings to reduce arsenic emissions from pressure treated wood
 TRADA: Timber Research And Development Association 
 The Forest Products Laboratory. US main wood products research lab. Madison, WI (E) 
 International Wood Collectors Society
 Xiloteca Manuel Soler (One of the largest private collection of wood samples)

Category:Wood
Category:Forestry