Sawyer Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 This is something that is really a big thing here at our office but I have seen it done other ways. When drafting do you use wall dimensions of 2x4 or 1 1/2 x 3 1/2 (nominal or actual)? We use actual but I have worked at other offices that use nominal and we often get work from other offices that use nominal. Just kind of curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtutaj Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 I have always used actual.. gets you into less trouble. The couple of firms that I worked for that used nominal, I ended up converting them over.. The could never understand why their sq. ft. was always off.. I wonder why? Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Homeless Guy Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 i don't know about our firm, since i have never drafted for them, but what advantage would you have by using the nominal dimension instead of the actual dimension? a half an inch by itself can be a lot of error, much less a half inch mulitplied several times. ..also, can anyone tell me why there are nominal dimensions, and actual dimensions? i don't know, i am just curious. *edit ..i know back in the day that 2x4's were 2x4's, but why did they become smaller? ...were the old ones overdesigned? ...to save cost? ...?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onslaught Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 In reality, 2 x 4 is really 1-1/2" x 3-1/2". One firm I worked with actually draws 1-1/2" x 3-1/2" specially on the details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazdaz Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 For cost savings. That extra 1/2" multiplied a few times can make a few extra pieces out of a tree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sawyer Posted February 5, 2004 Author Share Posted February 5, 2004 Yeah actually older (pre 1940's) houses had real 2x4 construction. One house I lived in had exposed redwood members in the garage and they were full size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Matthews Posted February 6, 2004 Share Posted February 6, 2004 The resoan behind nominal and actual is due to the process of milling the lumber. They cut the lumber at nominal sizes, however, after it goes through the drying process, it shrinks a tad. In respect to drawing nominal vs actual; a contractor will kill you if you tell them they have to be within a half of an inch on a wall, nonetheless a quarter of an inch. Its like drawing block wall. You show a CMU wall at 8in x 16in. But the actual measurement is like 7 7/8 x 15 3/4. Once they put the grout in, it makes up for the 1/4in. difference. Hope it helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now