LITIGATION NATION: Lowe’s pays $1.6M settlement over 2×4 labeling Read more at http:/

[purbeast0]

if they really want to get technical, the wood is called a "2 by 4". it's not called a "2 inches by 4 inches".

lowes should have gotten away safe on a technicality!

 

[Gooberlx2]

And there is your folly. You bought the "exact amount of wood" for a project, without having said wood and measuring.

Huh? How is being prepared a mistake? I measured shit out at my house, drew up plans, then went to Home Depot to buy the wood required for the project. I don't need a bunch of scrap, nor do I enjoy making multiple trips to the store, so why would I buy wood before measuring and drawing?

In any case, It only affected the width of the pickets, so I just needed to adjust the spacing.

 

[bradly1101]

I call it a fake story to get people (the right) riled up. Google "Lowe’s pays $1.6M settlement over 2×4 labeling" and you'll find nothing. Jeez, who falls for this stuff?

 

[Mai72]

I went into a Lowes a few years ago. I needed a 2x4 to finish a project. I couldn't find it, because it wasn't labeled correctly.

It ruined my life. It ruined my life.

 

[Humpy]

I don't know about that man. If you go look at older houses they actually really are 2x4's in them. Not smaller. A little different is fine but not an entire half inch.

I mean I know what a 2x4 is these days. But it's frustrating to go buy the other hundreds of woods out there and always have to bring a tape measure and check because none of the labels are the actual size. I don't think it's just the curing, they cut them smaller too. Probably try to save money. Probably some drying and tolerance is ok but I bet they cut them smaller and then blame it on drying and curing these days. And at some point I think code made it ok for 1 1/2 x 3 1/2 in houses but they kept calling them 2x4 anyway.

I'm just saying the actual size would be incredibly useful.

Sure, it would be useful for a lot of people and that's OK.

The point is that if the label says 1.5" x 3.5", depending on humidity, temperature, wood species, etc., each piece of wood may or may not match the label. A whole different set of people will be pissed off and the litigation starts all over because a precise measurement was labeled on an inprecise material.

 

[ethebubbeth]

They should fine drive manufacturers for the same thing.

Warning: The drive is advertised as 3TB because we convert units using powers of 10, not powers of 2 like we should. This will actually appear as 2.72TB to your operating system.

 

[phucheneh]

From comments:

Hammers (Common Name) *not made from actual ham*

Pretty much sums up the retardation of this.

 

[Humpy]

I call it a fake story to get people (the right) riled up. Google "Lowe’s pays $1.6M settlement over 2×4 labeling" and you'll find nothing. Jeez, who falls for this stuff?

I sure hope it's fake and gay.

 

[mikeford]

Lumber nothing, I bought a box of nails and it didn't contain a single penny! I was robbed!

That makes no cents.

 

[lxskllr]

For the 96 inch length to they measure on the inside of the bow or the outside?

The chord.

 

[master_shake_]

California is known to the state of California to cause brain damage and cancer.

how the fuck is this not common knowledge.

they haven't been 2x4's for 50 years!

 

[Fayd]

People who don't understand that the measurements don't match the labels are ignorant, not stupid. Insisting there's no difference between the two is stupid, however.

Why would anyone care what the wood's pre-curing dimensions are unless they're buying it pre-cured? The same goes for pre-cooked and cooked weights for food; the only reasons to use the former are: 1. to make it look like the customer is getting more than they really are, or 2. to cling to tradition with no regard for what actually makes sense.

My point was that calling those planks 2x4 is just as arbitrary as calling them standard boards. The common name has no bearing on the product you're actually buying.

except it does. a 2x4 stud of douglas fir you buy at the store has the particular dimensions: 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 92 5/8". Anyone who is expected to buy these should be expected to know the dimensions of the item they're buying. If they don't, they should be pointed at and mocked.

 

[HeXen]

They should fine drive manufacturers for the same thing.

Warning: The drive is advertised as 3TB because we convert units using powers of 10, not powers of 2 like we should. This will actually appear as 2.72TB to your operating system.

Doesn't that depend on the file system used? I thought for example that ext was different in formatted size than NTFS? But I'm fairly sure that HD's mention unformatted size. At least the last one I purchased said 3TB unformatted.

 

[jlee]

I..don't even...

WTF, California. $1.6mil because the courts are too stupid to understand how lumber has been measured for decades?

 

[jlee]

Doesn't that depend on the file system used? I thought for example that ext was different in formatted size than NTFS?

Generally 1024KB=1MB but when they advertise hard drive sizes, the math used is 1000KB=1MB.

 

[highland145]

Well, shit, how many acres is that? I'm suing.




Sounds like some DA was pissed at Lowes and not HD. Be nice to know the back story and who gets the $$.

 

[ethebubbeth]

Generally 1024KB=1MB but when they advertise hard drive sizes, the math used is 1000KB=1MB.

That's correct, the advertise by converting in powers of ten (decimal) but it should be in powers of 2 (binary) the way most systems will work with the drive.

 

[DrPizza]

except it does. a 2x4 stud of douglas fir you buy at the store has the particular dimensions: 1 1/2" x 3 1/2" x 92 5/8". Anyone who is expected to buy these should be expected to know the dimensions of the item they're buying. If they don't, they should be pointed at and mocked.

If it's a fake story, the only reason it's believable is because it's California. Hear that Californians? The rest of the country thinks you guys are a bunch of...

 

[highland145]

...puds.

 

[iGas]

I don't know about that man. If you go look at older houses they actually really are 2x4's in them. Not smaller. A little different is fine but not an entire half inch.

I mean I know what a 2x4 is these days. But it's frustrating to go buy the other hundreds of woods out there and always have to bring a tape measure and check because none of the labels are the actual size. I don't think it's just the curing, they cut them smaller too. Probably try to save money. Probably some drying and tolerance is ok but I bet they cut them smaller and then blame it on drying and curing these days. And at some point I think code made it ok for 1 1/2 x 3 1/2 in houses but they kept calling them 2x4 anyway.

I'm just saying the actual size would be incredibly useful.

Most if not all local jurisdictions required graded and stamped lumber as per building code, and the process of getting the stamp alone would cost the same as pre stamped kiln dry lumber that are dimensional stable as well as dried to the correct level of moisture.

Rough sawn lumber was common before building code came into play, and it tend to warp & twist if the lumber was too green, hence it is difficult to keep the structural dimensional stable. And, rough sawn measurement is true dimension because it is not planed and dried. While kiln dried lumber measurement are measured nominally due to the finishing (plane) and drying process.

 

[alkemyst]

Because, we'd have to give arbitrary names to every size of lumber then. What would we call a 1x1, 4x4, 6x6, etc?

The reason it isn't called the "actual dimensions" is because after being cut into 2x4 lengths, the curing processes compacts the wood, reducing the size.

People who don't understand this, are stupid.

People who don't understand that the measurements don't match the labels are ignorant, not stupid. Insisting there's no difference between the two is stupid, however.

Why would anyone care what the wood's pre-curing dimensions are unless they're buying it pre-cured? The same goes for pre-cooked and cooked weights for food; the only reasons to use the former are: 1. to make it look like the customer is getting more than they really are, or 2. to cling to tradition with no regard for what actually makes sense.

My point was that calling those planks 2x4 is just as arbitrary as calling them standard boards. The common name has no bearing on the product you're actually buying.

It's not curing, it's finishing.

 

[Anubis]

seriously i knew a 2x4 was 1.5x3.5 when i was like 5

 

[alkemyst]

seriously i knew a 2x4 was 1.5x3.5 when i was like 5

QFT, but why at 5?

 

[Anubis]

QFT, but why at 5?

my parents built a house

 

[bradly1101]

I sure hope it's fake and gay.

This is a weapon the right uses to try to create a fervor over "frivolous lawsuits," which really don't exist; judges throw them out before they get that far. What they're really after is getting lawsuits thrown out that protect consumers from profits run amok with dangerous products. They want those profits protected at all costs, even if it causes damage to the consumer.