# 1890-1910 Prototypical Lumber Dimensions



## gilv (Mar 31, 2009)

Sorry for the newbie question, I have seen plenty of plans for buildings but not much data on lumber dimension and materials used in the late 1890s early 1900s. I am building a 1:20.3 narrow gauge railroad. Still in the early planning stages, gathering data.


Also, I live in central TX and plan to leave buildings outside all year long. Are redwood and cedar good candies for my buildings/structures.


Gil V.


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## Wesley Furman (Jan 2, 2008)

Gil, 
Welcome to MLS. 
During the period you are planning to model lumber was not transported very far. So the size of the material was pretty much left up to the mill and the local users. A great deal of fitting was expected by the carpenters. Rough dimensional lumber was just that a 4x4 was a 4x4. Finished lumber dimensions varied by region but commonly 1/8” was needed to dress the sides of the lumber. 
You can use anything you want with 2” thick being the most structural lumber used and 
1” for surfacing stock. 
Standardized lumber didn’t really start until 1924 due to the increase of transportation and competition between mills and the rules keep changing until 1964. 
Here is a great read if you want to find more information. http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/misc/miscpub_6409.pdf 

I use Redwood and Cedar whenever possible. 
Enjoy, Wesley


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

Just to add to Wesley's post.... 

Much lumber was also cut to order which meant that sizes actually used on structures could vary a bit from each other. Lumber cut here in the Port Orford, Oregon area was transported by ship, mostly to San Francisco, during the 1880-1910 era you mention as there was no outside rail link and roads were very rudimentary with many rivers and creeks even lacking bridges. 

I use cedar for the siding and detail on my structures as well as to construct ladder roadbed. It holds up very well. Redwood wood be an excellent choice also but it is quite a bit more expensive up here and not as readily available. I am told that cyprus works quite well in the damp areas of the deep south as well but I've never used it or seen it out here.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

I am building a 1:20.3 narrow gauge railroad


_*Now we know what happens when you pay attention to the ".3" !*_


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## gilv (Mar 31, 2009)

Thanks for the info and comments. 

Gil V.


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## altterrain (Jan 2, 2008)

If you are planning board and batten type buildings, 10 - 12 inch wide boards with 3 inch wide battens would be pretty typical. Anything narrower than that can start to look pretty busy when you scale it down. 
Its a good idea not to let cedar wood structures have direct ground contact. It will rot much faster if you do. I will use either a stone or PT lumber base to keep them off the ground. 

-Brian


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## Tenn Steam (Jan 3, 2008)

When I owned a house built during that era, the timbers were big. Walls were post and beam with true 1 by boards laid over it in a weather board fashion. the floor joist were probably 12X6. Flooring was about 1 3/4 T & G laid on the joist without subfloor. Some boards were uneven as they may have been cut with a pit saw. 
The floor to ceiling distance varied by several inches and the lights on either side of the front door were about an inch or so different. 
I am certain this is a lot more than you wanted to know.Send pictures of the finished product.

Bob


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## gilv (Mar 31, 2009)

Bob and Brian 

Thanks for the info. Bob all info is good. 

I am inspired by the two Bay engine house posted here by Larry Mosher. He described the posts as being 12"x12" and the overall dimensions but nothing else. Being that I am a complete novice in modeling and have zero construction experience I need as much help with lumber dimensions as I can get. 

I would not even begin to guess at the roof tresses' lumber dimensions. 

Again thanks for all the input, help and advice.

Gil V.


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## gilv (Mar 31, 2009)

So 1x's would be ok for walls (sorry Brian I don't intend to do board and batten) and 2x for flooring would be ok? 

So what about the trusses for the roof? 

Gil V.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

The trusses depend on the lenght to span, 2x6 for 20', 2x8 for longer..... my aproximations. Use whole numbers for the wood ie; 2x 4 not 1 3/4 x 3 1/2. Nobody should notice! 

Let your wood dry, the battens covered shrinkage.


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## gilv (Mar 31, 2009)

"shrinkage...there is shrinkage?" 
(Elaine in Sinefield) 

Thanks total for your advice. 

Brian, hard to find 1X10 or 1x12 for exterior wall,max I can find is 1x6. 1x3 for batten is available. 

I am thinking of using 2x8 for floor (less boards) 

Will defiantly keep redwood off the ground (per Brian's advice) 

Gil V.


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## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Gil

Maybe the following book published in 1893, can be of some assistance. While oriented toward a cross-section of railroad practice at the time it should provide you a fair idea of what was available, or at least what was specified. In each section covering a specific type of structure it calls out the various types of timber/lumber that was used for the various parts of each structure type. This also includes masonary work, foundation, roofing materials, and paint etc.

The following is a link to a digitized document in PDF format (26.5MB in size), that you can download a copy of, for free (download link located in upper-right corner), and have as a ready reference.

*Buildings & Structures of American Railroads*
*A Reference Book*
*Published 1893*


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## gilv (Mar 31, 2009)

Thanks Steve. Link and information on the book were very helpful. 

Gil V.


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## Como (Apr 17, 2009)

In Colorado very few NG buildings were built during this period, no money. The only one that comes to immediately to mind is the Depot at Buena Vista, 1891. 

But if you are modelling this period then many of the building would pre date this period. 

I have been told that for shakes Alaskan Yellow Cedar is very good, so may be a good bet for buildings as well.


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## Schlosser (Jan 2, 2008)

Around 1969 I bought a house built around 1900. When I tried to "improve" the bathroom, moving the door to a different wall, I found the 2 by 4s were really 2 inches by 4 inches. They weren't planed at all, rough cut to the standard dimensions. 

Luckily, I could use half inch ply wood to shim the new studs out to the house standard. The lath on the walls, no gypsum board at that time, was not anchored to a stud at the corners. It was left floating as was the lath from the adjoining wall. No wonder every room had a crack at the corner! 

Unluckily, when I went to install a new "throne", I found it was attached to the cast iron soil pipe with a lead elbow. Crash course in using lead wool ensued. 

Art


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## paintjockey (Jan 3, 2008)

I just gutted part of my house which was built in 1886. The walls are framed with true 2x4 the roof is framed with true 2x6 and the corner posts are true 4x4. My barn is framed with true 2x6 all around and the 1st floor beams are true 4x12 and the flooring is 2x10.


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## Guest (Apr 27, 2009)

i got an additional question: 
what were the (max) lengths of lumber in that time?


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