So I’m building my baffle wall and had ordered all materials based on recommendations on this forum. When the lumber came a few days ago I thought ‘hmm those are really big pieces of lumber...’

So today I learned that when you guys talk about 2x4, it’s is not actually 2” by 4”. and in calculating from inches to mm I had already rounded up to the nearest European lumber size..

Oh well... I’ll have a really really sturdy baffle wall now.

You'll have a nice sturdy wall to float out on if the Dyke lets go.........

I've been in the Lumber business for over 40 years, and we still explain, almost daily, that lumber size callouts are "nominal" sizes. We keep it simple by calling it a 2x4 rather than an 1-1/2"x3-1/2". Also easier to figure Board Footage (don't ask ).

What’s totally confusing to me is that the 4 is not even the double of a 2. So rotating two 2x4’s to match a 4x8 isn’t even going to be the same.



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Just when you think you have the U.S. system figured out that a 2x4 is really only 3 1/2 and 2x6 is 5 1/2, along comes a 2x12 guess what? 11 1/4. That and the fact that 1/2 inch plywood is never 1/2 inch.

Hehe I though that last remark was a joke. But then I read:

‘A 3/4" sheet of plywood is really 23/32" (and is now typically labeled as such). Similarly, 1/2" should be correctly labeled as 15/32" and 1/4" labeled as 7/32". However, everyone still refers to them as 3/4", 1/2", and 1/4".​‘

Mind boggling.


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