Lumber Sizes

Ever notice that a 2x4 isn't really 2"x4"?  What's with that?   Fact is that the piece of wood started at 2"x4" but is called "rough sawn", that is it has unfinished faces.  The stick is then sent through a planer to smooth the faces and reduce serious splinter casualties.  About 1/4" is shaved off of each of the four faces resulting in a lesser dimension than you would expect.  Besides, who would want to say "one-and-a-half by three-and-a-half"?  Mind the twist at 2x8 and beyond...

Now pay attention as we mention dimension convention:

1x:

• 1x2 = .75" x 1.5"
• 1x3 = .75" x 2.5"
• 1x4 = .75" x 3.5"
• 1x6 = .75" x 5.5"
• 1x8 = .75" x 7.5"
• 1x10 = .75" x 9.5"
• 1x12 = .75" x 11.5"

(5/4 material is similar but is 1" thick)

2x:

• 2x2 = 1.5" x 1.5"
• 2x3 = 1.5" x 2.5"
• 2x4 = 1.5" x 3.5"
• 2x6 = 1.5" x 5.5"
• 2x8 = 1.5" x 7.25"
• 2x10 = 1.5" x 9.25"
• 2x12 = 1.5" x 11.25"
• 2x14 = 1.5" x 13.25" 

3x: (for those odd structural plates that engineers like to call out)

• 3x4 = 2.5" x 3.5"
• 3x6 = 2.5" x 5.5"

4x:

• 4x4 = 3.5" x 3.5"
• 4x6 = 3.5" x 5.5"
• 4x8 = 3.5" x 7.25"
• 4x10 = 3.5" x 9.25"
• 4x12 = 3.5" x 11.25"
• 4x14 = 3.5" x 13.25"

6x and beyond follows typical pattern as above.

And while we're at it, how about some typical engineered wood sizes.

I-joists are created by standing a piece of OSB or plywood upright and capping it with a 2x flange.  The result looks like a capital serif 'I' hence the name.

I-joist flange widths (varies by manufacturer):

• 1-3/4"
• 2"
• 2-5/16"
• 3-1/2"

I-joist heights (total height):

• 9-1/2"
• 11-7/8"
• 14"
• 16"
• 18"
• 20"
• 22"
• 24"

Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) beams are created by gluing several sheets of 7/8" thick plywood together.  Installation is by standing them on edge so that the profile looks similar to |||

LVL widths:

• 1-3/4" (2 layers)
• 2-5/8" (3 layers)
• 3-1/2" (4 layers)
• 5-1/4" (6 layers)
• 7" (8 layers)

LVL heights:

• Any height possible though generally intended to match I-joist material.  Can match dimensional as well.

Glu-lam beams are created by gluing and compressing several layers of post milled dimensional lumber together.  The whole beam is then planed again to create an even surface.  For this reason, glu-lam beams are slightly narrower than dimensional lumber.  *The industry has recently changed to also offer Gle-lams in full 5-1/2" widths as well.  Heights are always in multiples of 1-1/2" due to the size of the plies.  *The industry has recently changed to offer heights that are consistent with solid sawn and engineered lumber as well.  Due to general engineering practice the height should always exceed the width though rare exceptions always exist.

Glu-lam widths:

• 3-1/8"
• 3-1/2"
• 5-1/8"
• 5-1/2"
• 6-3/4"
• 7-1/4"
• 8-3/4"
• 9-1/4"
• 10-3/4"

Glu-lam heights:

• 6"
• 7.5"
• 9"
• 9.5"
• 10.5"
• 11.875"
• 12"
• 13.5"
• 14"
• 15"
• 16.5"
• 18"
• 19.5"
• 21"
• 22.5"
• 24"

Glu-lams can be used as posts as well.  A 3-1/8"x6" glu-lam post is sturdier than a 4"x6".

Travelogue

For Istockhouseplans, it's fun to know that you've made an impact.  In our last post we shared a great kudos email we received that encouraged us to keep it up.  It got us to thinking, where all have we been?  So we pulled up prior invoices and found as many sites as possible.  While not quite everything is available, we added as much as we could to a Google map to see where we've been built.  So far:

2 countries,
9 states,
1 province.

From the frigid north to the humid south and sea to shining sea our plans have inspired their own building.  If you'd like to see the map for yourself, check out our mapplet on the website.  Most pins are in the general area that the house was built since we don't always know the exact address.  You might note other plan names and wonder why they're not for sale on the main site.  Most of the time it was a custom design that we have kept proprietary to the commission.  Other times it may be that we haven't finished the plan for national sale yet.

If you have built one of our plans and you're not on the map, or you would like to give us a more specific location, we'll gladly move the pin to get a more exact representation.  To those of you who have built our plans, thanks for your support.  For those of you only browsing, consider those that have gone before you.  We hope to fill every state some day with at least one pushpin.  Be that pushpin!

Release the Houses!

In a flurry of activity and a flood of ink, we finished drafting up not one, not two, not five, but three new houseplans. All are live on our site as I type. "And what are these new, beautiful works of art" you may ask? Without further ado (okay, let's have some drum roll...)

The Richmond B. A longstanding gap has been filled. The Richmond A and C were separated by a void that is now filled. The C had been used to denote the Colonial version while the B had been reserved for the pronounced bay window version. The Richmond B is a reworking of the Richmond, but down to 18' wide and a full 24" deep bay in the dining room. Heck, the dining room IS the bay window. Due to the skinnying factor, minor modifications were made in the kitchen, flex room, and upstairs bedrooms. The upstairs auxiliary bath is no longer directly accessible from the hall but is now a private shared bath for the two bedrooms. The master suite dropped in size as well. Square footage went from 1606 down to 1470. All part of our master plan for minimalization. In fact, 2010 may be the year of all sub-1500sf plans.

The second plan to be released is the Hamblet. No, not a Shakespearean spelling error. The Hamblet is named for a short 5 block street in Northeast Portland, Oregon that is filled with at least a dozen examples of classic homes. We think the Hamblet would fit right in. The only problem we foresee is that the Hamblet is a mere 1374 square feet. Hamblet Street would be prone to double that. With 3 beds, bath and a half, formal dining and living, we think it would still appeal to the aesthetic.

Finally, in an odd turn of events, the Carver B entered the scene. First off, please be aware that if you have a building code in your jurisdiction, the Carver B version may not be for you. We attempted to take all the glory of the Carver and Carver A and make it into a 2 bedroom house - a 300sf 2 bedroom house. To accomplish this we had to ignore the 70sf bedroom rule. The "master" (sarcastic air quotes) bedroom is a whopping 63sf. Yes, you can shoehorn a queen bed in there. Maybe a highboy with 1' deep drawers underneath. The second "bedroom" is a 36sf (including closet) bunk room. There is enough space to walk in, turn around, get undressed, and climb into bed. On top of all that (quite literally) is a 70sf loft that can sleep another two folks adequately. We imagine the Carver B to be a bunkhouse where outdoor activities are more likely.

For all these plans and more, visit our website, drop us an email, or stalk us as we're out and about.

Advanced Placement

Energy Trust of Oregon in their never ending quest for energy efficiency in that great state recently introduced their new incentive path for homes. Called Advanced Performance, this path breaks the bar in many ways. Most of us are used to designing and building 2x6 walls. This is going to be a bit of a challenge now. And we're not going to get to do post and beam floors anymore. Here are the specs:

• Framed floors: R-38 joisted (P&B results in leaky floors and/or saggy insulation)
• Slab floors: R-15 full slab with perimeter break
• Walls: U-0.025. This means R-40 assembly, not just R-40 insulation. Either thicker walls or better insulation is required
• Windows: 15% of floor area, U-0.22 weighted average
• Doors: R-5
• Ceiling: U-0.016. Like the walls, this means R-60 assembly, not insulation
• Heating: 8.5 HSPF/13 SEER or better ductless inverter driven heat pump
• Ventilation: HRV/ERV with 70% sensible recovery efficiency
• Tightness: 2.5 ACH50 or better
• Lighting: 90% CFL
• Incentive: $4,000 plus state and federal tax credits
  

This isn't your Father's energy efficiency path. This is some serious action going on. We at Istockhouseplans are rather excited about this path and would love to help your home achieve it. If you'd like to build any of our plans to this standard, we would be happy to modify it for free. That's right. As a program ally of Energy Trust of Oregon, we'd be so excited to see a home like this get built that we'll do what we can to make it happen. Contact us if you'd like to learn more.

Where Energy Efficiency Counts

Think you know how to save energy? Test yourself. Are the following measures efficient? (Is the payback period or energy savings worth the cost?):

Yearly furnace tune-ups: Y N
Properly sized furnace: Y N
Sealing basement ducts: Y N
Underfloor insulation: Y N
Caulking & weatherstripping: Y N
Window replacement: Y N
Tankless gas water heaters: Y N
Attic cooling: Y N

Did you answer no to any of the questions?

You get 1 point for every 'no' and zero points for every 'yes'. We were a little blown away too. Michael Blasnik with the Department of Energy has found that these measures on average are worthless and merely feel good. You can read his article to get a complete explanation of why these measures don't add up as well as a few more.

We at istockhouseplans were a little disappointed to see real world results on the tankless gas heater. Maybe electric is still okay? We've been promoting these in our homes and not setting aside a specific space for a tank water heater. Most of our homes do have enough space to put a water heater tank, either in a large closet, under stairs, or in the laundry room. Next time we'll review a couple of tank heaters that we've found to be very efficient.

Also check out our istock4kids page where we've put two more puzzles to delight and entertain.

Golden Post

Hey how about that, we've hit 50 posts! Since June 26, 2007 we've been telling you all about our wacky ideas for building better houses. Can you believe we've been talking about 24" o.c. framing or adding exterior foam lo these 2 years now? Crazy! Ducts in the house? Ludicrous!

Not so crazy actually. All across the country, more and more builders are waking up and realizing that they are building the worst houses they possibly can without going to jail. This is called a code home. Much of this change comes from consumers realizing that there are better homes out there and that they don't have to settle for the Cheap Charlie, Get 'Em Up by Friday contractor 'specials'. Much of it has to do with the terrible housing market right now that has forced builders to either step up or go out of business. If Centex and Pulte are having issues, how are you doing Joe Q. Builder?

Just waking up? About to go out of business? Contact Istockhouseplans today and let us help you gain an edge. A razor sharp, honed, hair-splitting edge.

What's inside?

You may not have had a chance to view the website yet, so we'll give you a quick overview. There are currently 24 plans available. Twelve are single family homes, 4 are multi-family, 2 are mini accessory dwellings (ADU), 6 are garages. Of the single family homes, only 3 have attached garages. Two of the multi-family are garaged. Two of the garage plans have bonus space, one of which is a 500sf apartment.

Plans are varied between 2 full stories and 1-1/2 stories. One and a half stories tend to have a lower street profile. Most plans are in the 1800-2000 square foot range, though there are some that duck down to 1368. The ADU units are in the 500-600 square foot range.

Most of the plans have classic external features. These include large barge boards on gable ends, generous overhangs (18-24" is typical), interesting use of materials, exposed rafter tails, full chimneys (even if they are false) and wrapped porch columns.

Inside we have made use of several classic examples. Represented are exposed beam ceilings, tapered columns, built-ins (benches, shelves and a vanity), arched openings, and even a secret passageway or two.

For all their throwback appearance, most plans are modern in their flow. We have used a general formula, that is: front entry porch; bedroom and bath on the first floor; formal dining next to the kitchen; bedroom and bath upstairs (formal master); laundry upstairs.

Why the statistics? Hopefully they'll interest you enough to check out the site. Or they'll bore you to death and you'll just go straight to our site in order to avoid another second of excruciating numbers and facts.

Either way, we all win.