Standard Lengths & Widths
The timber industry goes back many hundreds of years and some the historic methods of sales and sawmilling are still used today. A mixture of imperial & metric sizes and volumes are commonplace.
Softwood Timber
In most cases the metric system is used
| Thickness ( shown as 1st dimension) x width in millimetres | eg 47 x 100mm 63 x 250mm |
| Standard thicknesses | 12mm, 16mm, 19mm 22mm, 25mm ,32mm, 36mm , 38mm, 47mm, 50mm, 63mm, 75mm, 100mm , 125mm , 150mm, 175mm, 200mm, 225mm, 250mm, 300mm |
| Standard widths | 25mm ,32mm, 36mm , 38mm, 47mm, 50mm, 63mm, 75mm, 100mm , 125mm , 150mm, 175mm, 200mm, 225mm, 250mm, 300mm |
| Length of timber (muliples of 300mm or 0.3m) | 0.3m , 0.6m, 0.9m, 1.2m, 1.5m, 1.8m, 2.1m, 2.4m, 2.7m, 3.0m , 3.3m, 3.6m, 4.2m, 4.5m, 4.8m, 5.1m, 5.4m, 6.0m, 6.6m, 7.2m, 7.8m, 8.4m |
| Weights (grams or kilograms) | Dry softwoods approx 550kg/m3 Wet (unseasoned) 600-650kg/m3 |
Hardwood Timber
Both metric & imperial systems used
| Thicknesses | 19mm, 25mm, 32mm, 38mm, 50mm , 52mm , 63mm 75mm, 80mm, 100mm , 125mm, 150mm, 225mm, 250mm, 300mm |
| Standard thicknesses | 12mm, 16mm, 19mm 22mm, 25mm ,32mm, 36mm , 38mm, 47mm, 50mm, 63mm, 75mm, 100mm , 125mm , 150mm, 175mm, 200mm, 225mm, 250mm, 300mm |
| Widths - Usually random *Tip: allow 25-40% waste when estimating | Random up to 150mm , Random 150mm & wider, Random 225mm & wider |
| Fixed widths (dimensioned stock) | Popular dimensioned stock sizes are 25x100nn, 25x150mm, 50x100mm, 50x150mm & 100x100mm |
| Weights (grams or kilograms) | Dry softwoods approx 550kg/m3 Wet (unseasoned) 600-650kg/m3 |
Sheet Materials
Imperial sizes converted to metric
| Thicknesses | From 1.5mm to 50mm |
| Standard sizes | 2440 x 1220mm, 3050 x 1220mm, 3050 x 1525mm |
| Weights (grams or kilograms) | From 500kg/m3 to 800kg/m3 |