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Lumber and Materials List
Manufactured lumber
As dimension lumber becomes less readily available, more manufactured lumber products are being used by builders. These include common items like ply wood and oriented strand board (OSB) and newer products like wooden I-beam joists, such as TJI joists (Trus Joist Corp., P. O. Box 60, Boise, Idaho, 83707). These joists are made with a plywood web glued into flanges in a top and bottom chord (see the drawing on p. 42) . They come in various depths and have knockouts in the web through which elec trical conduit or water pipes can be run. Wooden I-j Oists are lightweight, easy to handle and can span up to 60 ft., making it possible to create very large rooms. Another advantage is that they are always straight, which means that the floors will be flat and level. Regular joists shrink faster than beams and can cause a floor to develop humps and squeaks.
A disadvantage of using wooden I-beam joists is that joist layout has to be done with more care. It is necessary to know the exact location of plumbing and heating runs, stairwells, and so on. These joists are engineered units, and any cuts or notches in them can seriously weaken their structural capacity. Companies that supply these joists also supply the
Once your lumber list has been processed, the lumberyard will deliver the order in individual loads called lifts.
hangers, hardware and information on installation, which is much like that of standard 2x jOists.
Engineered beams, often made from laminated veneer lumber (LVL), come in several widths and depths up to 60 ft. long. They are available in 3�-in. widths, which means they can be used for headers in a 2x4 wall; they can easily be furred out 2 in. more for a 2x6 wall. Beams and headers that are made from laminated and glued lumber have been available for years and won't twist and split like some species of solid-stock lumber.
Estimating tools
To begin making up a lumber list, you will need a couple of basic estimating tools and a set of plans (see pp. 1 4- 1 8) . A scale tape or an architect's scale will allow you to translate scaled dimensions on the plans to real dimensions. A pocket calculator is in dispensable for keeping your math honest. The Scale Master (Calculated Industries, 22 720 Savi Ranch Parkway, Yorba Linda, Calif. 9268 7) is a new tool that makes scaling plans even simpler. It is a hand held digital gadget that quickly measures the length of any line no matter what the scale. The same com pany offers another useful tool, a pocket calculator that gives calculations in feet and inches, such as 10 ft. 6 in. instead of 10.5 ft.
Sills
Make the lumber list in exactly the order in which it will be used; the lumber company will put the first item on top of the load when they deliver. Most of ten on a house with a crawl space or basement, the first pieces of lumber you'll need are the sill plates. SpeCify on the list that this lumber must be pressure treated. Pressure-treated lumber is treated with sub stances that repel termites and inhibit dry rot, a fun gus growth that can rapidly destroy wood. Working from the plans, measure the length of the founda tion walls that will be covered by sills, add 5% ex tra, then divide by 1 6, which is the standard length of sills used by many builders, to determine the number of pieces needed.
Posts and girders
The size of girders (often 4x6) and posts (often 4x4) will be given on the plans. Measure the lengths of all girders and then write the lengths with colored pen on the plans. Girders are often laid out with a post every 6 ft., so 1 2-ft. and 1 8-ft. lengths are com mon. Girders must be sized so that they break over a pier post so the ends can be properly supported. Writing the lengths on plans with a colored pen now will make installing them go faster when you are actually building.
If you are building over a basement, the support ing posts are usually 8 ft. long. Simply count the number you need and order them in 8-ft. or 1 6-ft. lengths. When building over a crawl space, each post will be around 1 6 in. long. Count the number needed, one for each pier, multiply by 16 in. and di vide by 1 2 to get the number of lineal feet required. Post material can be ordered in random lengths.
Joists
Floor joists must be the proper length to span the building or lap on a girder. Check all lengths and mark them on the plans. If the joists are to be spaced 1 6 in. on center, the easiest way to estimate the number needed is to order one per foot. The ex tras will be used for rim joists, double joists under parallel walls, and blocks at the lap. Some builders, especially on larger jobs, will measure the lineal length of the rim joists and blocks and, as a cost saver, order these from #3 lumber instead of #2 or better.
Floor sheathing
Floors are often sheathed with tongue-and-groove plywood or OSB. Determine the number of square feet in the floor by multiplying the length of the building by the width, subtracting or adding for any offsets. Divide this figure by 32, which is the num ber of square feet in a 4x8 sheet, and add 5%. Check the plans and/or code for thickness and grade.
Plates
Before calculating the lumber needed for wall plates, check the plans to see which walls are 2x6 and which 2x4. Each should be marked on the plans with a different colored pen to make it easier to
work accurately. Then measure all the walls. If you are building on a wood floor (Le., over a basement or crawl space), each wall will have three plates one on the bottom and two on the top. So simply take your measurement of wall length and triple it. If you're building on a concrete slab, double the fig ure, keeping in mind that the bottom plate on a slab must be pressure treated. To be safe, you should add 10% to 1 5% to the figure you arrive at. You should not have to specify lengths for the plates. It is fairly standard practice for lumber companies to ship longer, random lengths for plate stock.
Studs
Estimating the number of studs needed is easy. For 1 6-in. -on-center walls, simply figure one stud for each lineal foot of wall. The extras will make up cor ners, partition intersections, trimmers and Cripples. For example, if you need 350 ft. of sill stock, order 350 studs for walls. When studs are 24 in. on cen ter, order one for every 2 ft. of wall and add 15% for extras. A standard stud length for many parts of the country is 92% in., and these studs can be delivered precut. Studs are cut this length because with three Il1z-in. plates, the wall will be 96% in. high once it is framed. This leaves room for liz-in. drywall on the ceiling and 8-ft. high drywall on the walls.
Headers and cripples
Calculating the lumber needed for door and win dow headers takes a little more time and care. Each opening has a length and a header size listed on the plans. Order 4 ft. of stock for a 3-ft. opening, 5 ft. for a 4-ft. opening, and so on. Note by each length the size of the stock needed, like 4x4 or 4x6. Put a check on the plans at each opening as it is finished so you don't aCCidentally count it twice. Then add up the footage needed for each header size and or der it in longer lengths. Longer headers, such as those used for a garage door, will of course require heavier stock. Some door headers may be in non bearing walls and can simply be flat 2x4s, so no ex tra material needs to be ordered for them.
Some builders standardize the header size, at times making headers larger than required so that most of the top cripples can be cut the same length. Most window openings in the average house are un-