Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

WE gotta save trees every 1/32" counts.

clint f. Loc: Priest Lake Idaho, Spokane Wa

How else is the business going to survive if the customer isn’t a source of their financial resource? It’s a business.

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

I think business can increase price, or decrease size. It's a judgement call their marketing departments have to make because the consumer is NOT an unlimited resource. If costs go up for any reason, that cost has to be passed on to the consumer. The best way to pass on that cost is a marketing choice. If the consumer were an "unlimited resource", they would charge whatever made themselves happy.

If I were selling to an "unlimited resource," $200 for a 2x4 would make me happy. Free would make me happy as a consumer.

The point most recognize is lumber retailers do NOT size lumber simply to increase profit. Lumber sizes conform to building standards that require consistency. If the industry required 2x4's to to have different standard dimensions, the suppliers would give it to them, and charge accordingly. Wood is sold by the linear or board foot, and as long as there is competition, you will pay based on supply and demand.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

No they didn't. 1 US gallon equals 3785.41ml or 3.7 liters.

JimBart Loc: Western Michigan

Just like buying cereal and other pre packaged products…. Keep the same size package but package less including canned foods

Doc Barry Loc: Huntsville, Alabama USA

Hi Jerry,

You reminded me that the Yellow Pine Manufacturers Assoc. in 1906 established that a rough pine 2x4 was to be cut to 2" by 4" and the finish board was to be 1-5/8" by 3-5/8". Around 1971 or 1972, a change in the standard occurred to remove 1/8" from both dimensions. So the old 2x4 became 1.5" by 3.5".

Why on earth do I recall this trivia? It was at that time I was having a new house built (my first one) and the builder was doing everything fine ... until he ran out of 2x4s for the framing. He went to another lumber yard and found some more. When I finished work that day and went by the construction site for my daily inspection, I noticed that the many of the studs were too small with respect to the top and base plates. The builder told me about the change in lumber source. I said fine, but remove all framing having different size lumber and rebuild. He refused. The next morning I took my trusty 10 lb sledge hammer and knocked out the offending studs. When he saw what I had done he was rather angry, but after understanding I would continue to remove offending boards, we came to an understanding. Remarkably he found a yard in a nearby town that had the "old size" lumber. So why did I care that they were different? Simple because the sheetrock would bow and have a poor look. All ended well.

chasgroh Loc: Buena Park, CA

Jerry, ply has been that way for a long time...years. *Cabinet* grade ply is still 3/4. I have router bits at 23/32 and 15/32...2x lumber has been 1 1/2" thick since I started paying attention; like, when I started carpentering in the mid 70's. <shrug> it definitely is what it is...and things change...and I'll build with what I can get! ;0)

rplain1 Loc: Dayton, Oh.

Sorry - meant 1/2 gallon. But 1.75 liters is still less.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

Depending on the whiskey and whether it is exported you may find it was cheaper to to make 1.75 liter bottles only rather than 1/2 as many 1.75s and 1/2 gals. And what an ideal opportunity to reduce the size of the US version for probably the same price. After all the US is the poster boy for a capitalist society and how to make more for less.

rplain1 Loc: Dayton, Oh.

You are right about that - now all alcohol (except beer) comes in liters - imported or not.

fetzler Loc: North West PA

This is VERY OLD news. Lumber drys or is dried and shrinks after manufacture.

whfowle Loc: Tampa first, now Albuquerque

Downsizing is nearly everywhere. I think it is Blue Bunny ice cream. Their plastic container is a half oval so the base is narrower than the top while keeping the width almost the same size, which you see from the front. But the thickness is about half a standard 1/2 gallon block of ice cream, if there is such a thing anymore!

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Everything in this entire thread is old news.
What's your point?

Even so, some are still surprised that a 2x4 is not really 2"x4" and they incorrectly think it is just a sneaky way for those selling them to make more profit. Was not all that long ago someone sued HD for falsely advertising 1.5"x3.5" lumber as 2x4's. They of course lost when the judge told them this was very old news and the industry standard since "forever."

2Dragons Loc: The Back of Beyond

If you buy "rough cut" lumber a 2x4 is actually 2"X4". And, it is a lot cheaper. We built a 28'X48' combination garage/barn, a 28'X28' garage, and a 20'x20' shop with rough cut hemlock and it cost us less than half the price of milled lumber.

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

That's because it costs cash to kiln dry lumber and mill it to standard dimensions. People have been building stuff with green, rough cut lumber for 1000's of years. Most builders find it is much better to pay for kiln dried lumber milled to standard sizes. Moreover, green lumber rough cut to 2x4 won't stay there for long. The size will immediately change to almost random dimensions after cutting, not to mention serious twisting, cracking and checking over time. Jerry thinks 1/32" is a problem. He'd love using green, rough cut lumber I bet...