Was a 2 x 4 ever actually 2 x 4? If so, when did the dimensions change?

Answer 1

Yes, if you watch "This Old House" on public TV you will sometimes see Tommy or Norm find old studs that are 2X4. Modern boards are smaller because of the sanding which grinds them down, in part. Also cut smaller to save lumber (money).

Answer 2

I recall my grandfather talking about his grandfather hand sawing timber into 2x4s. When the industrial age (manufacturing in early 1900's) became a reality in the U.S., 2x4's were still rough sawn at approximately 2x4 inches, but now by machines. As an improvement to handling them on the job, they eventually became planed (smoothed) from the original rough sawn 2x4 stock. This created a 3 3/4 x 1 1/4 inch 2x4. As building codes were established, they specified the minimum number of 2x4's that could be used in a wall and other applications. Then, as mechanical engineering improved in the residential building trades, actual load brearing tests revealed that less lumber could be used (conservation of lumber) and the existing building codes could still be met. So now we have roughly a 3.5 x 1.5 inch 2x4 (or smaller at some home improvement stores). Yes, just like everywhere else, those engineers under the orders of the accountants conserved raw material to increase profit and the availablility of a fixed resource.

Answer 3

Just remember that there is a great difference between "It could be" and "It is be." Of course it is possible that anything could be true without us knowing it. But there a gazzilion infinite possibilities that could be true -- most of which we will never think of. I mean, it's possible that there are three of your without you knowing it -- but without some evidence it would be a pretty goofy idea to entinertain. Incidentally, we hear weird ideas all the time. People are always trying to come up with something that will get them fame or some new grand unifying theory -- even if it means growing in dimiensions heretofor unseen. As to whether a 2 dimensional object could exist in a 3d world -- I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but even a zero sized point has a position along 3 axis as well as an age. But really, there are so many fields of true solid science that is fascinating and very useful, wasting braincells on ideas like this doesn't make sense :-)

Answer 4

That is the size of the piece of wood that is smoothed down to make the finished structural piece. That smoothing cuts off the rough outer edges and results in the reduced dimensions you see.

Think of it as like a quarter-pounder at McDonalds. A quarter-pound is what it started out as but by the time it is ready for use it is smaller than that.

Answer 5

A 2X4 is still a 2X4. If you order wood rough cut you get actual dimensions. When you get them planed and dried you get nominal cuts. I do not know when sales of planed lumber occurred.

Answer 6

It still is, if rough-hewn. The 2x4's you're used to seeing are (theoretically) milled down from a rough-hewn 2x4 into the size you see.

Answer 7

HA HA. I don't know but I have wondered this myself every time someone says it.