Keep in mind that, at this time in America’s history, most houses, barns, and other buildings were made by hand-fitting the lumber piece-by-piece, which was extremely time-consuming but made the buildings much more durable and strong. In most cases, the lumber that they produced was cut to the sizes that builders in the specific area were using and asking for, and so they were different from one lumber yard to the next.

There were lumber mills all across the United States producing lumber for towns and cities from coast to coast. It was at this time that the lumber used in construction was almost all produced in lumber yards and sawmills that were very close to the town where they would be used. We won’t go back that far but instead to the middle of the 19th century. Of course, wood has been used for centuries all over the world in the construction of homes and other buildings. The history of how lumber sizes were determined is quite fascinating if you go back far enough. Nominal vs Actual Lumber Size Nominal Size – Actual Size In the construction industry, the actual dimensions don’t actually matter anymore because everything has been sized to fit the new, smaller pieces of lumber that are today being produced.

Once the lumber is planned to actual size, then the edges are rounded to reduce injury.Īll other dimensional lumber, from 1×2 boards all the way up to 2×12 boards, are planed as well, and thus are smaller than the name they are given suggests. By planning the lumber on all four sides, the original 2×4 is now reduced to 1 ½ inches by 3 1/2 inches. The simple reason why 2×4 is not 2 inches by 4 inches is that lumber mills trim off rough or warped surfaces of a 2×4 to give it a more polished and finished look. Are lumber companies trying to fool us into thinking we’re buying more lumber than we actually are? Have you ever purchased a 2×4 piece of lumber at the hardware store and started working on the project to realize that the 2×4 is not 2 inches by 4 inches.

2x4 actual size