I noticed that Home Depot is stocking 2x3 studs these days. I have used them for a small garden shed and they are much easier/lighter to handle and still give the strength for most places. I'm just wondering why these haven't been produced longer? The price is about 25-35% less than 2x4's.
2x3 vs 2x4
Jun 20, 2006
12 Replies
They've always been out there..just not in demand
2x3's have been around a long time.... they don't have the structural strength of a 2x4, and require 12" c/c spacing when used in bearing wall partitions.... that means 25% more studs than if you used 2x4s (plus the additional labor cost of setting 25% more studs!), so much for cost savings! In my area, for the past 25-years or more, it has been typical to use 2x6 studs for exterior walls because of the additional insulation space available.
Mort
Fred wrote:
Major utility has been in furring out basement walls for insulation, with some non-load-bearing use--just pulled down the plaster in the bathroom on a late '60s house and found that the studs on the non-load-bearing wall were 2x3 while the ones on the adjacent load-bearing wall were 2x4.
And by all means check your local codes before using the 2x3s. mahalo, jo4hn
Gosh!
Heh ... yeah, go figure. A 2x3 (1.5x2.5) is 28% less than a 2x4 (1.5x3.5). The pre-cut rough dimension is 25% less.
Knowing Home Depot, it wouldn't have surprised me though to see the 2x3s only 10% less!
Jack
Tim W wrote:
They have been around for 50+ years that I know of, maybe longer. I used them to frame out my basement to add insulation. Since they were not structural, they worked very well for that.
They've been commonly available for as lon as I can remember, and I'm talking about long before HD even existed.
In addition, my 35 year old house has rafters made from 2 x 5s. I have never seen such any where else.
Did lumber even exist in the pre-borgian era...?
Wonders never cease...
John
Wait a few years, they will be calling them 2x4s.
And they'll probably try to explain it away as an extra level of dressing.
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