From: one-if-by-land@concord.com   
      
   "Kris Krieger"  wrote in message   
   news:ZvWdnW7r4uB2eKzVnZ2dnUVZ_uydnZ2d@earthlink.com...   
   > "Don"  wrote in   
   > news:g0sn8g0sl7@news1.newsguy.com:   
   >   
   >>   
   >> "Kris Krieger"  wrote in message   
   >> news:v7WdncbhC8hyUqzVnZ2dnUVZ_r6rnZ2d@earthlink.com...   
   >>> "Don"  wrote in   
   >>> news:g0mjqh0a1n@news4.newsguy.com:   
   >>>   
   >>>> "Kris Krieger"> wrote   
   >>>>> "Don"> wrote in   
   >>>>>> Yeah, but they didn't have to deal with *nominal* dimensions so   
   >>>>>> things were actually the size they were rather than the size they   
   >>>>>> used to be. IOW, a 2 x 4 was really 2x4 and not 1.5x3.5.   
   >>>>>> (who gives a shit if the 2x4 wasn't *sanded*?)   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> Oh yeah, the Fake Dimensions.  Yeesh :p .  So sanding is the excuse   
   >>>>> for the reduction...?  Even if that were true, why does it matter,   
   >>>>> if something is a structural unit that's going to be covered?   
   >>>>> Doesn't the removal of material make the item less strong...?  IMO,   
   >>>>> things ought to be called what they are.  But then, that seems to   
   >>>>> be symptomatic of the last 2 decades orso - meanings/words have   
   >>>>> become elastic, things to be bent willy-nilly merely for the sake   
   >>>>> of insignificant convenience.  Ah, the 2X4 as a symbol of   
   >>>>> sociocultural malaise...    
   >>>>   
   >>>> I believe kiln drying has the most impact on the shrinkage in   
   >>>> standard lumber today.   
   >>>> Sanding plays apart but only minimally.   
   >>>> I don't recall the exact numbers but raw lumber when first harvested   
   >>>> has something like 20-30% water retention and after kiln drying it   
   >>>> is around 6%. Pressure treated wood though is reinjected with a salt   
   >>>> solution and the end result is the lumber becomes almost the size it   
   >>>> originally was, and very heavy.   
   >>>   
   >>> Oh, OK - I'd thought the sizes were off because of trimming.  I stand   
   >>> corrected, thanks ;)  I know about shrinkage when dealing with wood   
   >>> for things like furniture and other smaller-scale proejcts, but just   
   >>> assumed (erroniuosly, it turns out) that Lumber was differnt.  It's   
   >>> always helpful to know the facts ;)   
   >>>   
   >>> I definitely did not know that about pressure-treated wood.  I   
   >>> thought they coated it with somethign but the salt bit is   
   >>> interesting.   
   >>>   
   >>> Tangentially, I'll haev to google "how long does PT wood last if in   
   >>> contact with the ground", now that you've mentioned PT wood (I have a   
   >>> 2' wide perimeter of stones underlaid with fiberglass landscape   
   >>> fabric around the whole house and pool decking, to make insect   
   >>> control easier, but right now, all that's holding it up is that   
   >>> plastic 'lawn edging' stuff,a nd I'm trying to decide whetehr I want   
   >>> to make the maintenence even easier by putting something around the   
   >>> stone, since the lawn doods always end up knocking the stones in to   
   >>> the lawn).   
   >>>   
   >>>   
   >>>   
   >>>> I've seen PT wood laying on the concrete slab in puddles of its own   
   >>>> liquid, mostly water.   
   >>>> PT wood can easily weigh twice as much as kiln dried wood.   
   >>>> A problem I've seen is where the kiln dried studs join to the PT   
   >>>> bottom plates.   
   >>>> The studs are 1/4" narrower than the plate and this causes an offset   
   >>>> on the interior of the building, which can be reflected in the   
   >>>> drywall being bent out of shape along the bottom of the wall.   
   >>>> This is hidden by the baseboard.   
   >>>   
   >>> I didn't know that - well that explains that.  And why baseboards   
   >>> often don't seem to be flush at both the top and the botton.   
   >>> Interesting.   
   >>>   
   >>>> When building my garage I considered ripping the bottom plates on   
   >>>> the tablesaw to match the studs but 16' PT boards are a bear to   
   >>>> manipulate that way and very slow to cut so I bypassed the whole   
   >>>> thing.   
   >>>   
   >>> Which of course leads one to ask, How'd ya do it?"  ;)   
   >>   
   >> The bottom plate protrudes into the rooms and someday I'll deal with   
   >> the baseboard issue.   
   >   
   > Doesn't that comprimise the insulation of the room?   
      
   Nah, the cavities are stuffed full and there's Tyvek on the outside.   
      
      
   >> Believe it or not I still don't have the drywall done in my office.   
   >> Its all installed and mudded but there's some serious sanding to do   
   >> and I hate sanding!!!!!   
   >   
   > Isn't that why there is Faux Texturing?     
      
   My brother is sending me a hopper for the texturing, he has 2 of them.   
   Now I gotta find a compressor.   
   (my big compressor was stolen from my storage unit 6 months after we moved   
   here )   
      
      
   >   
   >> When I finish the bathroom remodel (no, THAT'S not done either!) I'll   
   >> be back to working on the office.   
   >> Unless my wife commands me to build her wrap around deck on the south   
   >> side of the house first.   
   >   
   > Oh jeez, you do BIG projects!  I figure the glass (and maybe some   
   > associated woodwork and concrete-molding) will be enough for me.  Well,   
   > in addition to diggin in the yard and installing the rest of the stone   
   > borders.  I'm more of a landscape type than a building type ;)   
      
   Oh we've got THAT stuff going on too!   
   Have a couple big ones coming up and the vegetable garden is currently   
   starting to take root.   
   Right now I'm shopping for a tiller.   
      
      
   >   
   >> I know one thing though, I WILL have my garage insulated and   
   >> (interior-plywood) sheathed before the next winter comes.   
   >> No way I'm dealing with a cold assed garage for another winter season.   
   >> BTW, the baseboard should be held completely vertical, plumb, and then   
   >> the gap at the top should be caulked.   
   >   
   > They seem to have doen it right in this house at least - all the   
   > baseboards, and pretty much anywhere that any sort of framing or other   
   > non-wall element meets the wall, is all caulked, with the caulk overall   
   > smoothed properly.  SO I give them credit for that.  The house in   
   > Massachusetts had no caulking, just paint, and the baseboards quickly   
   > started to "bow out" and develop gaps.  Cheesy workmanship.   
   >   
   > Have you ever seen metal baseboards, or metal-cald-woods ones?  THat's an   
   > idea that's skittered around in my head off and on for a while, but I   
   > don't recall seeing it anywhere (aside from metal-framed heavy-duty   
   > industrial-type doors).  I'm trying to picture how brushed stainless (or   
   > other metal) might look, whetehr it'd be interesting or whether it'd just   
   > look cheesy.   
      
   Never saw the stuff but a lead might be the metal picture frame material   
   I've seen around.   
   Careful though, if you hit it with the vacuum cleaner it'll dent/scratch.   
   I'm wondering how such a thing would attach to the wall?   
   Maybe some sort of clip on the back that would attach to another clip on the   
   wall behind the baseboard making it invisible.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)