A Two by Four by Any Other Name ...


  #1  
Old 03-08-13, 04:19 PM
L
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: US
Posts: 45
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
A Two by Four by Any Other Name ...

Previous owners cut down the top half of a wall between the kitchen and living room. I want to rebuild it, but the 2 x 4's I bought are narrower than what are currently in the wall. Are there different sizes or grades? My new ones measure 3 - 6/16. The existing studs are 3 - 1/2. What's up with that?
 
  #2  
Old 03-08-13, 04:30 PM
chandler's Avatar
Banned. Rule And/Or Policy Violation
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: USA
Posts: 36,607
Upvotes: 0
Received 9 Upvotes on 8 Posts
Gotta get that measurement on my ruler What is 6/16ths? They measure usually 3 1/2" wide, but can vary by 1/8th inch as yours do, which is not unsurmountable. If you are going to drywall over it, you will probably not notice the difference, and a good mud job will make the 1/16th difference dissapear (1/16th on either side of middle)./
 
  #3  
Old 03-08-13, 04:31 PM
L
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: US
Posts: 45
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
It's actually a quarter of an inch. When one side of wallboard is even, the other side has a pretty big ledge. I'm terrible with mud. I dunno how it would turn out with me doing it.
 
  #4  
Old 03-08-13, 04:46 PM
C
Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 83
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
It depends on whats already there. If there is 1/2" drywall below, you could center the wall on top and hang each side with 5/8" drywall. If that doesnt get you close, you could remove the bottom half and hang new DW on the whole wall. It would span any difference easy. Maybe line up 1 side and patch and rehang the whole other side??
 
  #5  
Old 03-08-13, 04:49 PM
C
Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 83
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Actually, you wouldnt even have to strip the whole wall. Just cut the old drywall down 6" or so then span it with the new DW. Make sure you use the same thickness or you'll end up with the same problem when you go to mud it
 
  #6  
Old 03-08-13, 05:02 PM
chandler's Avatar
Banned. Rule And/Or Policy Violation
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: USA
Posts: 36,607
Upvotes: 0
Received 9 Upvotes on 8 Posts
It's actually a quarter of an inch.
6/16ths is 3/8". So a board 3 3/8" is only 1/8" narrower than one measuring 3 1/2".

Again, don't space them to where the drywall is perfect on one side. Split the difference, and do as Chip said and use 5/8 sheetrock.
 
  #7  
Old 03-08-13, 05:03 PM
Halton's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Canada
Posts: 298
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
It's actually a quarter of an inch.

When one side of wallboard is even, the other side has a pretty big ledge

Likely the age of the house is dictating the difference in lumber size.

Simply put.....2x4's from a few decades ago were larger than they are today. If it is creating a problem......one option is to rip some new 2x6's down to the exact width of the old 2x4's

Also.....there may be a skim coat of plaster on the old drywall that may make it thicker than 1/2"


.
 
  #8  
Old 03-08-13, 05:56 PM
BridgeMan45's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: USA
Posts: 2,838
Upvotes: 0
Received 2 Upvotes on 2 Posts
Shim the thin stock, under the drywall placement, with whatever thickness is needed to make a reasonably smooth drywall surface at the junction points. And applying several coats of mud over the tape with a wider float will make it easy to transition across (and hide) any minor imperfections. A puny 4" putty knife won't do it--you need something much wider, something like a 12" or 14" steel trowel if you can't get a wide drywall float to behave.
 
  #9  
Old 03-08-13, 06:36 PM
L
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: US
Posts: 45
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
It is an old house Halton. It's not the drywall - the old studs are visible, and I measured those.
 
  #10  
Old 03-08-13, 06:40 PM
L
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: US
Posts: 45
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Great idea BridgeMan. I have some laminate flooring samples that are pretty close to the right thickness. I'll have to see if a drywall screw will go through one of those. If not, I'm sure I can find something else to shim with.

Thanks for all the ideas, everyone.
 
  #11  
Old 03-08-13, 06:46 PM
L
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: US
Posts: 45
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
I can't find a quote button. I'll take your word on the measurement Chandler. My measuring skills are on par with my drywall mudding skills. All I know is there's a big ledge on one side when the other is leveled.

The drywall is a good idea, but I already have the thinner stuff, bought from ReStore which is a used and leftover store which doesn't take returns. It benefits Habitat for Humanity, and I highly recommend it for anyone on a tight budget.
 
  #12  
Old 03-08-13, 09:15 PM
Nashkat1's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: USA
Posts: 7,458
Upvotes: 0
Received 6 Upvotes on 5 Posts
I can't find a quote button.
It's the "talk balloon" on the far right in the tool bar across the top of the dialogue box. After you copy the part you want to quote into the box, just highlight it and click on that icon.

I already have the thinner stuff, bought from ReStore which is a used and leftover store which doesn't take returns. It benefits Habitat for Humanity, and I highly recommend it for anyone on a tight budget.
I highly recommend those stores for everyone. The greenest building material is material that didn't have to be manufactured for your use!
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: