Calif judge tells Lowes quit playin w my wood

[BigK]

This is nothing more than a government shakedown. It is the only way to explain the abusdity of this case.

If I read the article right, the state gov't brought this case against them and they awarded the money to themselves. What a freakin' racket!! The expense to make these changes will be passed on to us, so we're actually paying this ridiculous settlement when we shop there.

Makes me wonder whose palms Home Depot had to grease to stay out of this
legal fiasco. Edited September 10, 2014 by BigK

[Dane]

At what point will this stupidity cause major retailers to just pull out of the state.

[Mike.357]

none of this is a surprise.  

 

but seriously when did a 2X4 stop being a 2X4.  Maybe this is the problem.

 

If you order a pool built to ten feet deep is it 9.5 feet deep?   Are car tires smaller than the posted size?  Is a gallon of milk less than a gallon?

Edited September 10, 2014 by Mike.357

[monkeylizard]

At what point will this stupidity cause major retailers to just pull out of the state.

 

 

Never. Way too much money to be made there. Keep in mind that California's economy by itself would rank it as #8 ion the world if it were its own county. No major retailer would leave that kind of market over a $1.6 million slap.

Edited September 10, 2014 by monkeylizard

[monkeylizard]

but seriously when did a 2X4 stop being a 2X4. 

 

 

1961. The original true 2"x4" measurements were for green wood. The boards shrank as they dried, so you never really got 2"x4" for finished products. Different species and conditions of wood shrink differently, so the final product was inconsistent. The current standards call for 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" for the finished dry product. The mills today know how much each species will shrink based on its current moisture content, so they cut the green wood as large as they need to so that the dried product ends up at that 1.5"x3.5" size. Over time the dimensions have changed, but the current ones were settled in 1961 by the Committee on Grade Simplification and Standardization.

 

You can still get true 2"x4" green lumber. You just won't find it outside of a real lumber yard.

 

This worthless information was brought to you today by the letters J and Q and by the number 9.*

 

 

 

 

 

*Also known as Wikipedia.

Edited September 10, 2014 by monkeylizard

[Mike.357]

well thanks,  but I wanted info brought by the letters M and T and the number 6

 

;)

[monkeylizard]

Come back on Thursday. They're sponsoring that episode.

[Mike.357]

Come back on Thursday. They're sponsoring that episode.

 

I look forward to the response.

[rugerla1]

Speaking of ridiculous California laws: I was in San Diego last week for my brother's retirement from the Navy. I saw something on the news about no more plastic grocery bags. I was like WTH? My brother said that a law was being put before the governor (with huge support) to ban plastic bags and then charge for paper. SMH! Tree huggers didn't want trees being used for paper bags and loved plastic since it's recyclable, now the plastic might harm <insert crybaby reason of your choice>. I don't know about you, but we reuse plastic bags over and over in my house, and at work. They keep the meat separate from other food items, wet cartons from dry, etc. Also the reusable bags you can purchase need to be washed out and you won't always know how many you'll need each trip, so not the perfect solution either. And imagine carrying a weeks worth of groceries in paper bags in the way you can with plastic. Well, most of us remember doing it when that's all we had. 

But typical Cali-uncommon-sense.

[Mike.357]

paper bags are good for the economy.  Sustained growth and all.

[Spots]

If you don't know that a 2 x 4 is 1.5" by 3.5" or that an 8" block is 15 5/8 by 7 5/8, you should probably leave it to a professional. This is a bogus suit from a money hungry state. What complete bullshit. And mike, car tires is a bad example. You take 5 different companies 31 x 10.50's and they will all measure different when mounted on identical rims with identical pressures. Also, good luck with pressure treated lumber. It might leave the store at 1 5/8 or 1 3/4 thick and shrink to size or smaller. Also, how will they now reference 5/4 deck boards? This is just as bad as people who have never shot a firearm making gun laws.

[enfield]

Next Wal-Mart will be sued, and will have to advertise .38 Special as .357 Short.

[Dane]

[quote name="monkeylizard" post="1188348" timestamp="1410319717"]Never. Way too much money to be made there. Keep in mind that California's economy by itself would rank it as #8 ion the world if it were its own county. No major retailer would leave that kind of market over a $1.6 million slap.[/quote] It's not just this law. Compiled with everything else the cost of doing business in Cali is substantially higher than any other state.

[A.J. Holst]

Why do you think carpet is now sold by the square root instead of yards? The population was too stupid to do the conversion. If you're too stupid to figure out how lumber has been measured and sold for years, Maybe you are too stupid to operate a hammer.

"Those folks at lowes home depot been screwing us for years...I paid for 2x4. I got 1.5 x 3.5 I should have been charged less..."

[DaveTN]

This is nothing more than a government shakedown.

Says it all right there and it should not be allowed to happen.

[Grand Torino]

I really don't understand why companies that bump heads with all those insane Kalifornicate laws just don't pull up stakes and move out...

[Garufa]

I really don't understand why companies that bump heads with all those insane Kalifornicate laws just don't pull up stakes and move out...

 

See post #29.

[Jonnin]

I have no real problem with having an actual dimensions line added.  I have a serious problem with having to pay tons of money for using the accepted name of the product which has been called that by everyone since like 300 years ago or something.   

 

Bullet ppl better wise up and stop calling them things 38s etc....

[monkeylizard]

TBH, I didn't know that a 2x4 wasn't 2"x4" until I was in my late 20's. My dad was career military, so we always rented houses or lived on base and moved every 3 years. There was no construction work of any kind in my youth (or walls any color besides white). If I had measured a gap that was 2" wide and I needed a board to fill it I would have expected a 2x4 to do exactly that, not be 1/2" too narrow.

 

Now that I know, it's second nature, but I only learned that because my father-in-law is Bob Villa's long lost brother. If I didn't get to learn construction stuff from him, I'd probably have gone my whole life thinking that a 2x4 was 2"x4".

 

Home Depot and Lowes have a LOT of novice customers. It's not just for the pros. I don't mind Cali making them add the actual dimensions to the labelling. It's akin to a truth-in-advertising issue. I seem to recall seeing the actual dimensions in smaller print on the tags in the lumber yard at my Home Depot, but I can't be sure of that.  The $1.6m fine is B.S.

Edited September 10, 2014 by monkeylizard

[tnguy]

none of this is a surprise.  

 

but seriously when did a 2X4 stop being a 2X4.  Maybe this is the problem.

 

If you order a pool built to ten feet deep is it 9.5 feet deep?   Are car tires smaller than the posted size?  Is a gallon of milk less than a gallon?

 

The TV picture used to be less than the advertised size of the set. (I think it still is in some cases but not to the same degree)

[Omega]

none of this is a surprise.  

 

but seriously when did a 2X4 stop being a 2X4.  Maybe this is the problem.

 

If you order a pool built to ten feet deep is it 9.5 feet deep?   Are car tires smaller than the posted size?  Is a gallon of milk less than a gallon?

I think it starts as a 2x4 rough sawn but shrinks as it gets sanded and dried, that is why rough sewn lumber is, usually, actual dimensions (or close to) and store bought is smaller. 

[bersaguy]

Well, you have to take into consideration that near the end of the age of Aquarius and the dying of the flower children era most all of the Fired Drug Brain LSD Acid heads remained in California and set up house keeping and many of them are now the elected officials running the state. You also have Tinsel Town and all those wonderful people in Hollywood that are all much better than the rest of the little people and they should be pampered by the lower class. With all the wealth in California I cannot understand why the state is always broke. My brother lived out there for almost 6 months and his reason for moving to Texas was he never met anyone in California with walking a round sense................JHHO.

[Ugly]

It doesn't matter about the size of the 2x4, lowes didn't start the trend of them having different dimensions.

There is something fishy here!

[npgunner]

What I've gotten from this thread is ... Many people over estimate the size of their wood ... And The size of you're wood shouldn't be an issue if you know what you're doing with it ...

[monkeylizard]

Don't forget that wood shrinks with age.