LUMBER

WOOD

Wood is that fibrous substance which composes the trunk and the branches
of a tree that lies between the pith and the bark. The versatility of using wood
in every construction has lifted it to its present importance and high demand in
almost all types of construction.
PITH BARK

Even with the introduction of new materials and methods of construction,

wood is evidently much in use. Wood, because of its strength, light in weight,
durability and ease of fastening become one of the most important building
materials.
 DIFINITION OF TERMS
LUMBER
Is the term applied to wood after it has been sawed or sliced into boards, planks,
timber etc.
ROUGH LUMBER
Is the term applied to unplaned or undressed lumber. In short, those lumber
with rough surfaces.
𝐒𝟐𝐒 AND 𝐒𝟒𝐒
Are dressed lumber wherein the number connotes the smooth sides. For
instance, S2s means lumber having two smooth sides and S4s with four sides.

SLAB
Is a kind of rough lumber cut tangent to the annual rings running through the
full length of the log containing at least one flat surface.
SURFACE/ DRESSED LUMBER
Is a planed lumber having at least one smooth side.
TIMBER
Is a piece of lumber five inches or larger in its smallest dimension.
BOARD
Is a piece of lumber less that 4 cm thick with at least 10 cm wide.
PLANK
Is a wide piece of lumber from 4 to 5 inches thick.
FLITCH
Is a thick piece of lumber
 FINE GRAINED
When the annual rings are small, the grain or marking which separates the
adjacent rings is said to be fine grained. When large, it is called Coarse Grained.

STRAIGHT GRAINED
Is a term used when the direction of the fibers are nearly parallel with the side
and edges of the board.
CROOKED/CROSS GRAINED
Is a lumber taken from a crooked tree.
CROSS SECTION OF A TREE
PARTIAL DETAIL DRAWING OF THE FLOOR AND ROOF
FRAMING
FLOOR AND ROOF BEAMS OR PLATES
Estimate number of pieces required by counting directly from the floor and
roof framing plans. The length of floor and roof beams or plates should be taken
from the outside-to-outside measurements of their supports.
FLOOR JOIST AND BRIDGING
Estimate the number of pieces needed by directly counting from the floor
framing plans. The length will be the outside-to-outside distance of supporting
girders, beams or plates.
FASCIA BOARDS
Count the number required directly from the roof framing plans. The length
of the fascia boards along the gutters is equal to the over-an measurement of the
building, plus the widths of the roof overhanging on both sides, if any. The length
of the fascia boards at roof gable ends is the same as that of the rafters or truss top
chords.
PURLINS
Count the number required directly from the roof framing plans, details of
rafters or trusses. The length of purlins to be selected should be such that splices
should occur on top of rafters or truss top chords and not between them.
CLEATS
These are the short pieces of wood that secure the purlins to the rafters or top
chord of trusses. The number of cleats in a gable or lean-to roof is equal to the
number of purlins, times the number of rafters or top chords.
 PARTIAL VIEW OF ROOF FRAMING

FORMULA:
TOTAL NO. OF CLEATS = (NO. OF PURLINS) x (NO. OF RAFTERS/TOP CHORDS)

IMPORTANT NOTE
The length of each cleat is the same as the combined depths of the purlin and
the rafters or top chord being connected.
LUMBER COMMERCIAL SIZE AND LENGTH
 UNIT MEASURE OF LUMBER
Board Foot is the unit of measure used in computing the volume of lumber. Despite
the adoption of the metric system (SI), board foot for lumber is still is use for
convenience and practical use. One board foot simply mean, one square foot by one-
inch thick lumber or an equivalent of 144 cubic inches. The width and thickness of
commercial lumber are expressed in inches while the length is in feet of even
numbers.
Board Foot is found by dividing the product of the thickness, the width ,and the
length by 12.

FORMULA WHERE,
𝑡 = in Inches
𝑡 𝑊 𝐿 𝑁 𝑊 = in Inches
𝐵. 𝐹. =
12 𝐿 = in Feet
𝑁 = quantity
𝐵. 𝐹. = in board foot/feet
Problem 1
Find the total board feet of 5 pieces of 2” x 6” x 14 feet lumber.

Solution 2 6 14

5 𝑡 𝑊 𝐿
𝐵. 𝐹. = = 70 𝑏𝑟. 𝑓𝑡.
12
 BOARD FOOT PER ROUND LOG OR A STANDING TREE
Finding the board foot of a commercial size lumber size lumber is as simple as
the above illustration. But the question is how to find the net board foot or a round
log or a standing tree knowing its diameter and height? This question can be
answered using the following formula:
WHERE,
𝐷−4 2 𝐿
BOARD FOOT VOLUME = 𝐷 = the smaller diameter of the
16 log in inches
𝐿 = length of the log in feet
4 = Constant reduction factor
Problem 2
Determine the total board foot lumber which could be derived from a round log 28
inches diameter by 6.00 meters (20’) long as shown in the figure.

20′ Solution 28 20
𝐷−4 2 𝐿
𝐵. 𝐹. 𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 =
16
28"
= 720 𝑏𝑟. 𝑓𝑡.
 MANNER IN PAYING IN SAWING OR SLICING LUMBER
ADOPTED METHODS
1. BY BOARD FOOT
2. BY METER LENGTH
The board foot method is simply computing the total board foot of
sawed lumber then multiplied by the agreed price per board foot. On the other
hand, the meter length method is multiplying the width in inches by the length
in meter times the agreed unit price per meter run.

Problem 3
How much will it cost to slice a 6’’ x 6’’ x 3.0 meters wood to produce a 2 x 6
lumber if the unit price is P2.00 per board foot.

Solution
By Board Foot Method:
6 9.84 ≈ 10
2
3
𝑡 𝑊 𝐿 𝑁
𝐵. 𝐹. = = 30 𝑏𝑑. 𝑓𝑡.
3𝑚 12
30 2.0
6"
𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡 = 𝐵. 𝐹. 𝑈𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝐶𝑜𝑠𝑡 = 60 𝑃𝐻𝑃.

6"
 WOOD POST

BOLTS
Two pieces of bolts with washers are needed to secure each post to the W.I.
Straps. Add four pieces more for every splicing of posts. The length of each bolt
should be at least 25mm longer than the side of the post it bores through to give
allowance for the thickness of the washers and nut. The W.I. straps are usually
made flush with sides of the post.
 WOOD POST

Important Note
When the posts required exceed the maximum length of lumber available,
which is usually 6.00 meters (20’), estimate for shorter posts to be spliced
together to the required length. The combined length of the short posts before
splicing should be 0.90 meter longer than the required length of the whole post
to give allowance for the allowance for the overlap at the splice/joint.
WROUGHT IRON STRAPS
Each wood post is anchored to the concrete
pier by at least one pair of wrought iron (W.I.)
straps and bolts. The straps are commonly available
in the following sizes:
6 x 38 x 508 mm (1/4” x 1-1/2” x 20”)
6 x 50 x 508 mm (1/4” x 2” x 20”)
4 x 38 x 508 mm (3/16” x 1-1/2” x 20”)
4 x 50 x 508 mm (3/16” x 2” x 20”)
6 x 38 x 609 mm (1/2” x 1-1/2” x 24”)
6 x 50 x 609 mm (1/2” x 2” x 24”)
4 x 38 x 609 mm (3/16” x 1-1/2” x 24”)
4 x 50 x 609 mm (3/16” x 2” x 24”)