Lumber Expansion/Contraction Calculator
 
 
Select lumber species:
How was the lumber sawn?:
 
Lumber width (inches):
Give me my expansion result to the nearest: 1⁄ 
Or
Lumber width (cm):
 
Starting moisture content (%):
Final moisture content (%):
 
 
Fill in blanks above
  
     
  1Equilibrium moisture content of wood, exposed to outdoor atmosphere in different US states at different times of the year:  
State   City   Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec  
 
  If you are unsure of what your starting and final moisture content will be (dependent on location), you can use a difference of 10% for a worst-case-scenario. i.e. 4% --> 14%  
     
 
References:
  
  1 Forest Products Laboratory. 1999. Wood handbook—Wood as an engineering material.U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory.