Home Depot, Menards face lawsuits over lumber size

[Ub2]

I'm no newbie when it comes to carpentry having been in the wood/workshop since 11 or 12 but I could never wrap my head around this 1.5 by 3.5 being a 2 by 4. Never had a reasonable answer. but yes, it's the way it's always been.

When I built my pergola from rough cut cedar, I wanted the four main beams to be 6" x 6" by 8'. What I got was two correct, and the others were 5.5" x 5.5" x 8'. I didn't notice this until the beams were being drilled and anchored into a metal saddle. Must be tough to be off by 1/2 an inch. It was not what I ordered and paid for. Sometimes you need specific dimensions in order to have your wood fit or match correctly for your application.

I was told that rough cut wood should be very close to the correct dimensions, otherwise it could be off by about 1/2 an inch for sanded smooth wood.

If you ordered 6x6 rough, your order should have not included dressed/milled 6x6s, also it appears that you had someone else construct your pergola, and they should have alerted you to the discrepancy and not proceeded the build until your order was corrected and shipped with the right beams.

All lumber starts out rough cut, then milled/planed to construction specs. That is why the dimensions are less than the rough cut. This is known as nominal sizing. This is part of the building industry lexicon.

Quite often rough cut lumber can be priced lower, as milled/planed lumber requires additional steps.

The term s4s means smooth 4 sides, 3s etc., for dressed wood/lumber.

At one time most if not all construction using wood framing used rough lumber. Because of the variances they started to use milled, but the description of a 2x4, 4x4 etc. stayed.

You will always get milled nominal sized lumber within spec, unless you specify you want rough cut, which be closer to the actual size.

Rough cut lumber is mainly used for its rustic aesthetics, generally for outdoor use, plus it holds stains and paints better and withstands weathering better that milled/planned/dressed lumber, also rough cut lumber dimensions can vary from one end of the board to the other, and one board from another.

Another example would be when purchasing tongue and groove fence boards, they can be rough one side or smooth on both. The actual sizing is generally 5 1/2 wide x 5/8ths to /3/4 inch thick, with 5 1/4 face of coverage . . . still called a 1x6.

When wood workers purchase wood they generally buy by the board foot, if I remember correctly is calculated at 12x12x1 inch.

Masonry products, tiles, brick, etc.; pipe, steel, flooring, windows, fasteners to name a few, all have a nominal contingent to them. That is why the actual sizing may, and quite often differs from the product description.

It is up to the individual to educate themselves before they embark on a project. Most big box retailers are happy to give advice, but it is not their job to train unskilled end users.

Most of us that have been around awhile know these things, whether or not it was our profession or ambitious weekend projects.

[Jlabute]

I built the pergola myself :-) completely unaided by those who usually touch wood :-) I ordered all rough cut wood. The four 6 x 6 beams were my main concern and two of them were not quite up to par. All 4 beams looked the same in terms of cut, none of them were dressed. It was a special order I put in through Home Hardware store on Springfield. I would call it sloppy work perhaps, or maybe when the first two were cut they discovered their error and mad it 6" instead of 5.5".
Yup, at the time I discovered the small discrepancy I thought to myself "CRAP" but too much work to return the wood and wait for new wood.

[Ub2]

I built the pergola myself :-) completely unaided by those who usually touch wood :-) I ordered all rough cut wood. The four 6 x 6 beams were my main concern and two of them were not quite up to par. All 4 beams looked the same in terms of cut, none of them were dressed. It was a special order I put in through Home Hardware store on Springfield. I would call it sloppy work perhaps, or maybe when the first two were cut they discovered their error and mad it 6" instead of 5.5".
Yup, at the time I discovered the small discrepancy I thought to myself "CRAP" but too much work to return the wood and wait for new wood.

I would agree, the mill did get a little too sloppy, because 4 of them were close to the same, there is no excuse for the other 2 not to be. I thought 2 of them were dressed, my mistake.

I can empathize being into a project too far advanced to turn back, which is a real bugger.

I also apologize if I misread your post, I got the impression someone else as drilling and mounting your posts and beams.

By the way, I hope you didn't think my last two comments at the end of my post were in any way directed at you, they were made as a generalization in reference to the original topic of the thread.

Having said that, I bet your pergola still turned out pretty good.

[Jlabute]

Yes, the pergola looks great if I do say so, lol. The two beams that are 1/2 inch less square Are really not noticeable once the whole thing is together. It was my very first big project. I had a neighbour in metal fabrication create some steel angle supports with built in hooks to hang plants. All together $700 for wood, $200 for steel work, $200 for stain and black paint, plus concrete and saddle anchors and lots of google time... came in less pricey than having someone do it.

In retrospect, I would measure every piece of wood before it gets delivered.

[What_the]

Thanks for the info Ub2. That makes sense. The reasonable answer I've lied awake at night thinking about lol ;)
Or while stacking dressed lumber from the planer at work.

As for the people in the op, I knew this at 13, 30 years ago. Dummies. Lexicon in the building industry is different for sure.

[Ub2]

Yes, the pergola looks great if I do say so, lol. The two beams that are 1/2 inch less square Are really not noticeable once the whole thing is together. It was my very first big project. I had a neighbour in metal fabrication create some steel angle supports with built in hooks to hang plants. All together $700 for wood, $200 for steel work, $200 for stain and black paint, plus concrete and saddle anchors and lots of google time... came in less pricey than having someone do it.

In retrospect, I would measure every piece of wood before it gets delivered.

Glad it worked out for you.

Thanks for the info Ub2. That makes sense. The reasonable answer I've lied awake at night thinking about lol ;)
Or while stacking dressed lumber from the planer at work.

As for the people in the op, I knew this at 13, 30 years ago. Dummies. Lexicon in the building industry is different for sure.

Well, I did go on about it, but hey -- your welcome.

[What_the]

It's better to go on, than go on without fact.

Cheers

[zzontar]

You'd figure that even with old technology they'd be able to cut a board that was 2" X 4", but instead everyone had to accept the fact that lumber industries either couldn't cut wood that size, or couldn't accurately measure wood that was 1.5" X 3.5"... and everyone accepted it. I'm just glad when you buy a car that gets 30 mi/gallon it doesn't actually get 25, and a size 10 shoe size is actually size 8, a months rent is only 25 days, 30" blinds are only 25", etc. What blows me away is that there are obviously many people who would also accept that.

[bob vernon]

2 x 4s are called that because they really are 2 inches by 4 inches.............. when they are first cut. They are rough. After going through a planer to smooth them, they become slightly smaller. If you're building and don't mind or need the smooth boards, you can go to a small local mill, and buy boards that are the full 2 x 4 inches that are rough cut.