3 ms·

And 2x4s? (I hear you call them 4×2s over there...)

by b112 4y ago

anonymous_sorry 4y ago
"two-by-four" is used colloquially in the UK for stuff with that approximate cross section, but wood is generally sold with millimetre measurements.
- simondotau 4y ago
  It’s not even approximate. A typical two by four is around 1.5 by 3.5 inches, which is a full third less material than lumber which literally measures 2 by 4.
  - formerly_proven 4y ago
    IIRC this is because "two by four" refers to the size of the rough-sawn stock, but you buy milled 2x4s, so the difference is simply what's removed in milling. You can get these odd formats (stuff like "78x34 mm") in hardware stores here, too, it's just that they're not used for construction, because construction lumber is "hard metric", i.e. nice round numbers like 40x60 mm etc.
xnorswap 4y ago
While there's an equivalent size, those are (legally speaking) sold by the mm. For example: https://www.builderdepot.co.uk/timber-sheets/carcassing-timber/ts_size--4-x-2-1 https://www.builderdepot.co.uk/timber-sheets/carcassing-timb... Note the listing is primarily in mm with the imperial measure along side. So of course the actual size is still equivalent to the old imperial size because of the history, from a legal perspective it's metric.
- b112 4y ago
  Right, the size cannot easily change I suppose, for how could you repair older houses/etc? Or use older building plans? We (Canada) partially transitioned too, but didn't complete the building supplies part of it. So food is all metric, roads, speed limits, distances, weights, yet wood is imperial, and tools are metric and imperial. This makes sense, because with the US so close, and the largest trading partner, imperial cannot fully vanish in some repects, until they get rid of it too.
simondotau 4y ago
“Two by four” is a category descriptor, not a measurement. Such products do not have dimensions which equal 2 and 4 in either imperial or metric units.
xxs 4y ago
2x4 is a name of lumber that's not 2 by 4 inches at all.

And 2x4s? (I hear you call them 4×2s over there...)

by b112 4y ago

And 2x4s? (I hear you call them 4×2s over there...)

"two-by-four" is used colloquially in the UK for stuff with that approximate cross section, but wood is generally sold with millimetre measurements.

simondotau 4y ago
It’s not even approximate. A typical two by four is around 1.5 by 3.5 inches, which is a full third less material than lumber which literally measures 2 by 4.
- formerly_proven 4y ago
  IIRC this is because "two by four" refers to the size of the rough-sawn stock, but you buy milled 2x4s, so the difference is simply what's removed in milling. You can get these odd formats (stuff like "78x34 mm") in hardware stores here, too, it's just that they're not used for construction, because construction lumber is "hard metric", i.e. nice round numbers like 40x60 mm etc.

xnorswap 4y ago

While there's an equivalent size, those are (legally speaking) sold by the mm. For example: https://www.builderdepot.co.uk/timber-sheets/carcassing-timber/ts_size--4-x-2-1 https://www.builderdepot.co.uk/timber-sheets/carcassing-timb... Note the listing is primarily in mm with the imperial measure along side. So of course the actual size is still equivalent to the old imperial size because of the history, from a legal perspective it's metric.

b112 4y ago
Right, the size cannot easily change I suppose, for how could you repair older houses/etc? Or use older building plans? We (Canada) partially transitioned too, but didn't complete the building supplies part of it. So food is all metric, roads, speed limits, distances, weights, yet wood is imperial, and tools are metric and imperial. This makes sense, because with the US so close, and the largest trading partner, imperial cannot fully vanish in some repects, until they get rid of it too.

simondotau 4y ago

“Two by four” is a category descriptor, not a measurement. Such products do not have dimensions which equal 2 and 4 in either imperial or metric units.

xxs 4y ago

2x4 is a name of lumber that's not 2 by 4 inches at all.