Lumber Weight

How much does Hem-Fir (Western Hemlock) lumber weigh?

A Hem-Fir 2×4, 8 ft weighs 9.2 lb (4.2 kg) at 12% moisture content, kiln-dried.

31.5 lb/ft³ · 5.33 bd ft ·

Hem-Fir (Western Hemlock) is a softwood with a basic specific gravity of 0.42 (ovendry mass over green volume, USDA Wood Handbook Table 5-3b) — 31.5 lb/ft³ once dried to 12% moisture content. Its Janka side hardness is 540 lbf, the 24th hardest of the 46 species on this site. Green, freshly cut moisture content runs 85% in the heartwood to 170% in the sapwood. Total shrinkage from green to ovendry runs about 12.4% by volume.

Hem-Fir (Western Hemlock) weight by size

Hem-Fir (Western Hemlock), one piece, 8 ft at 12% MC unless noted
SizeActual (dry)8 ft, 12% MCPer footGreen range
1×2 3/4″ × 1-1/2″ 2.0 lb 0.25 lb/ft 3.3–4.8 lb
1×3 3/4″ × 2-1/2″ 3.3 lb 0.41 lb/ft 5.4–7.9 lb
1×4 3/4″ × 3-1/2″ 4.6 lb 0.57 lb/ft 7.5–10.9 lb
1×6 3/4″ × 5-1/2″ 7.2 lb 0.90 lb/ft 11.8–17.3 lb
1×8 3/4″ × 7-1/4″ 9.5 lb 1.19 lb/ft 15.8–23.0 lb
1×10 3/4″ × 9-1/4″ 12.1 lb 1.52 lb/ft 20.0–29.2 lb
1×12 3/4″ × 11-1/4″ 14.8 lb 1.84 lb/ft 24.2–35.3 lb
2×2 1-1/2″ × 1-1/2″ 3.9 lb 0.49 lb/ft 6.6–9.6 lb
2×3 1-1/2″ × 2-1/2″ 6.6 lb 0.82 lb/ft 10.8–15.7 lb
2×4 1-1/2″ × 3-1/2″ 9.2 lb 1.15 lb/ft 15.0–21.9 lb
2×6 1-1/2″ × 5-1/2″ 14.4 lb 1.80 lb/ft 23.7–34.6 lb
2×8 1-1/2″ × 7-1/4″ 19.0 lb 2.38 lb/ft 31.6–46.1 lb
2×10 1-1/2″ × 9-1/4″ 24.3 lb 3.03 lb/ft 40.0–58.4 lb
2×12 1-1/2″ × 11-1/4″ 29.5 lb 3.69 lb/ft 48.4–70.7 lb
4×4 3-1/2″ × 3-1/2″ 21.4 lb 2.68 lb/ft 34.2–49.9 lb

Board-to-board variation of ±10-15% is normal even within one species and size. How these numbers are computed.

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