Lumber explained 👍 #framing #carpentry #learn #build

Lumber explained. Standard lumber comes in 2x dimensions. These here are the nominal size. This down here is the actual size. A 2x4 is actually only an inch and a half by 3 and 1/2 inches. A 2x6 is 5 and 1/2. Once you get into a 2x8, it changes from halves to quarters. So, this goes 5 and 1/4, 9 and 1/4, 11 and 1/4 for these three and these two are halves. Here's a diagram for lumber ID. SPIB is the grading authority. Number two is the grade, which goes from SS all the way down to three. Prime means that it's high quality within this number two grade. KD stands for kiln dried and the moisture was 19% or less. HT is for heat treated and this is to treat for pests that can be inside of the wood. Lumber grade goes from SS all the way to three. Number two is what you're going to see 95% of the time. The biggest thing you're going to see in quality is things like knot size, how straight your grain is. You can see how this piece has nice straight grain as where this piece has a lot more curve to it. The other quality issue is things like wane and where knots are located. If it has low knots, it's more likely to break on those knots. Here are your most common softwoods. You have SPF, which is spruce, pine, or fir. SYP, southern yellow pine. And hem-fir is hemlocks or firs. SPF is more common in the Midwest. It's really light and it's accessible. Hem-fir is available in the west and it's more of a medium weight. Southern yellow pine is from the south. This is commonly used for joists and is a lot more dense than both of these woods. Let me drive some nails and we'll see the difference.