About Lumber Standard Lengths
Lumber of all types comes from trees. When the trees are harvested from a forest, they are generally cut to length before being shipped to the sawmill. Hardwoods, which are classified as any tree that looses its leaves in autumn, and Softwoods, which fall into any other tree type category, are all cut to a standard width and length. These standards ensure that the final consumer is guaranteed a consistent wood product regardless of what part of the United States it is purchased from. Does this Spark an idea?
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History
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The expansion of this country during the post civil war era, more especially the railroad, called for a consistency of timbers. These timbers were used for the wooden ties that held the steel tracks together as well as bridges. These bridges were all constructed from large timbers. The timbers came from trees that were sawn at large sawmills. The designers of these bridges, engineers, needed a consistent size of timbers that could be used for construction.
Significance
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Standard lumber lengths were also easy to ship on rail cars, as the load could be easily calculated from the mill. The owners of the mill could order the correct number of railroad cars for any shipment to be sent west during the expansion of this country.
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Function
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As this country expanded, homes were needed. These homes could be easily and quickly erected if there were a consistent size to the wood materials. Eight foot ceilings soon became the norm as the material was cut to 8-foot lengths. Victorian style homes, with the high ceilings between 10 and 12 feet, became the next standard. Soon 4-foot increments were cut at the mill.
Types
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Standard lumber lengths in Hardwoods now range from 4-foot lengths to 16 feet. All in graduation of 1-foot increments. Softwoods, mostly pine construction material, are in graduated 2-foot increments. They begin with 8 feet and run in length to 24 feet. Usual to all modern framing is the common stud length. This was created to take into account for modern framing techniques. The modern stud length is 92 5/8 inches long.
Effects
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The standard length of the common stud takes into account the plates to which it is nailed. Drywall, at a ½-inch thick, is now applied to the framing. This allows for the final ceiling to floor height, to be a finished 8 feet.
Considerations
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Most proper, standard lengths of lumber are cut just a bit longer. This extra length, generally from 3/8 to 5/8 inches, allows for proper squaring of the board. Only common studs are required to be exactly squared on both ends of the framing board. Squaring of the ends, requires that the angle to the length is exactly 90 degrees.
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