Standard wood beam sizes. You can also use the wood beam calculator from the american wood council website to determine maximum rafter and joist lengths. One board foot is equal to 144 cubic inches of wood. Specifically it is lumber cut for industrial or wood packaging use. Instead suppliers generally sell hardwoods in a unit of volume known as the board foot.
Hardwoods are rarely sold in standard dimensions the way softwoods are. Mechanical tolerance variations of lumber. Thickness and width dimensions mean the nominal sizes of the timber at a moisture content of 20the standard measurements of sawn dimensioned and all round planed timber. The tables below provide both the nominal and actual sizes so many common north american lumber sizes.
All data is in imperial units inches. Go to our sa sawmill directory to enquire or request a quote directly from these sawmills. Dimensions mean nominal sizes with the moisture content of the sawn timber at 20the most common lengths vary between 27 m and 54 m in steps of 300 mm. The following data is standard reference and size data for commercially available lumber within the usa.
Dimension lumber can be purchased as dry or. Dimensional lumber is cut to a specific length width and depth. Use the span tables below to determine allowable lengths of joists and rafters based on size and standard design loads. However there is a difference between the nominal size what the lumber is referred to and the actual size.
Other lengths and modules must be agreed separately. Voluntary product standard ps 20 05 american softwood lumber standard. In other words a board that is 1 inch thick and 12 inches wide and long contains one board foot of hardwood lumber. Sawmilling south africa ssa has over 60 sawmills as members.
Commercial lumber sizes chart table. Traditionally this material was sold in sawn sizes such as 4 x 2 or 47mm x 100mm now days the uk market is used to offering this material regularised ie it has smooth planed eased edges making it easier to work with and these sizes are slightly under the sawn sizes as. Re sawing is the splitting of 1 inch through 12 inch hardwood or softwood lumber into two or more thinner.