Manufacturing And Materials Codexery

Lumber

Processed wood for construction and finishing, with standard sizes and grades.

Last updated

Lumber

Stephen Ondich · CC BY-SA 4.0

After processing, wood can be supplied with a rough-sawn finish or with one or more faces smoothed.[1] In Canada and the US, the term "lumber" refers to milled boards, whereas "timber" denotes trees that are still standing or have been cut down.[2] Furniture-making and other products that need cutting and shaping use rough lumber as their starting material.[1]

Quick Facts

Field
Construction material, wood processing
Known for
Primary material for building framing and finishing; standardized dimensional lumber
Common species
Softwood (pine, fir, spruce, cedar, hemlock) and hardwood
Typical max length
24 feet (7.32 m) for North American softwoods
Standard sizes
2×4, 2×6, 4×4, and others; nominal dimensions larger than actual finished dimensions

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

In 1420, the Portuguese colonized Madeira and cleared forests, processing felled trees at sawmills for shipment.[3] Cornelis Corneliszoon invented the first wind-powered sawmill in 1593, making log-to-plank conversion thirty times faster.[4] Finished lumber is supplied in standard sizes, primarily for construction, using softwoods like pine, fir, and spruce.[5] Today, standards specify final dimensions, and mills cut logs smaller than nominal to use logs more efficiently.[6]

The American Lumber Standard of 1924 began setting national U.S. specifications for lumber dimensions, grade, and moisture content.[7] Softwood species account for 80% of all lumber production, making it the more common type.[5] In the past, nominal sizes matched the dimensions of green, rough boards, which then became smaller after drying and planing.[6] Recycled plastic combined with new plastic stock can be used to manufacture structural lumber.[8]

What the research sources say

The Centre for Wood Science & Technology notes that TR26 is a structural timber grade in common UK use for trussed rafters.[9] TR26 is defined by bending strength, bending stiffness, and density, with a characteristic bending strength of 28.3 N/mm².[9] British Columbia's forest sector produces lumber, pellets, and mass timber from sustainably-managed forests, according to the Naturally:wood resource.[10] Tree height and girth restrict the maximum length of a dimensional lumber unit, which is generally 24 ft.[11]

Compared to typical wood building materials, engineered wood products provide greater structural strength and more flexibility.[11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Lumber" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Southern Pine Cost Estimates", patscolor.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Lumber" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Conceptual Reference Database for Building Envelope Research" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Lumber" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cartwright, "The Portuguese Colonization of Madeira", World History Encyclopedia, 21 May 2021 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Lumber" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "A Brief History of Wood-Splitting Technology, Part 3: The Wind-Powered Sawmill That Changed Dutch History"; "Cornelis Corneliszoon van Uitgeest (1550–1607), inventor of the wind powered saw mill", Industrial Heritage Park De Hoop (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Lumber" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Hardwood vs Softwood – Difference and Comparison", Diffen (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Lumber" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "American Softwood Lumber Standard", Roof Online (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Lumber" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "American Lumber Standard Committee: History", www.alsc.org (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Lumber" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Recycling and Deregulation: Opportunities for Market Development" Resource Recycling, September 1996; "ASTM D6108 – 09 Standard Test Method for Compressive Properties of Plastic Lumber and Shapes" ASTM Committee D20.20 on Plastic Lumber; "SAFPLANK Interlocking Decking System" Strongwell.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. "What is TR26?", Centre for Wood Science & Technology, 1 December 2015. facts only, no text reused. blogs.napier.ac.uk
  10. "Naturally:wood". facts only, no text reused. naturallywood.com
  11. Wikipedia, "Lumber" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Naturally:wood" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Lumber (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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