Building and Construction, Operations, V7I2

Measuring & Cutting

(Photo courtesy of All Size Shed Co.)

It’s no secret that the lumber market has been quite volatile lately.

Prices keep rising, and time from order to delivery keeps getting longer.

Because of this, shed manufacturers need to make sure every piece of lumber is measured and cut properly, reducing waste as much as possible. 

So, what can builders do to ensure accuracy and eliminate waste with their lumber?

Shed Builder Magazine connected with two manufacturers with different build models to find out how they measure and cut lumber: Jordan Crane, president of All Size Shed Co. in Wichita, Kansas, and Adam Nieder, manager of Ziggy’s Home Improvement Door/Shed Shop in Post Falls, Idaho.

Do you mostly build in a shop or on-site?

CRANE: Mostly on-site. 

NIEDER: Here at Ziggy’s we now build 100 percent in shop. Because of Covid, we shut down the on-site building of our sheds. Obviously, that made it difficult for people to purchase a shed who didn’t have access for our delivery truck, so we started offering sheds in kit form to try and accommodate everyone we could. 

We ran into a few hiccups but for the most part, it went fairly smoothly.

Do you pre-cut lumber or cut as you build?

CRANE: We sometimes buy studs pre-cut, but availability can be an issue. Often we will pre-cut for a larger out-of-town build, but it always seems to only save half as much time on-site as we spend prepping.

NIEDER: We actually do both. We mass cut a lot of our materials, like studs and trim, because they are always the same lengths and we use so many of them.  

We have uncut material that we cut as we build for different reasons such as customs or things that we don’t use often that don’t take a lot of time to cut as needed on the fly.

What method(s) do you use to measure and cut lumber (by hand, automation, etc.)? Why?

CRANE: We use a jig to hold our chop-saw that has all the measurements marked out on it. We clamp a stop on the mark and pull the lumber to butt up to the mark. 

NIEDER: Because we use so many items at the same lengths every day, we set up flip-down jigs that make cutting those items so much faster. We also have different cut areas for different materials. One saw and set of jigs for trims and one saw and jigs for lumber.  

The flip-down jigs have made cutting so much faster, and we regularly check the jigs for accuracy. We will still pull tapes on materials we don’t cut often.  And because we cut so much in bulk, we check measurements a lot so that we don’t end up with hundreds of boards at the wrong lengths.

How important is it for you to measure and cut lumber in such a way that doesn’t waste lumber? Why?

CRANE: The cost of waste is certainly a factor, but since most of our builds are on-site, the less we carry into a yard and then carry back out as waste, the better. 

NIEDER: It is extremely important to not waste lumber, especially with the way the lumber market is today. Building materials are rising in price exponentially and also are becoming harder and harder to get in a timely matter.  

With the rising costs of the materials, it has never been more important to utilize every inch of every board we have. It’s not only cost-effective for the operation, but also in maintaining a quality product at a decent price.  

There is not a lot of room today to waste materials because you don’t know when you might be able to restock.  

How do you ensure the accuracy of measurements and cuts?

CRANE: Having the jig ensures that every piece is cut as an exact replica.

NIEDER: We usually have a cut person who sets up the cuts in the most efficient way. We also have a few guys who act as quality control if you will. 

Multiple people, multiple times a day pull tapes on everything we cut just to ensure accuracy. We also like to teach and practice measuring twice and cutting once. It really has been a great motto to make sure we limit waste and utilize the whole length of product the best way we can.

How do you make sure that as much of each piece of lumber is used as possible?

CRANE: Over the years we have adapted our load lists to try and tweak if we notice that something is a bit shy or wasteful. 

Also, steering the customers away from sizes like a 12 by 14 toward a 10 by 16 or 12 by 16 minimizes a lot of flooring drops that can get overwhelming to work back in on other builds. 

NIEDER: We set up a cut chart of everything we use with all the lengths we use. We set up cut lists in a way that utilizes most of the product we are cutting regardless of the length of the material. 

We move around the items we cut depending on the length and the quantity needed. A lot of time we only throw away a few inches of the product.  

Before we cut anything in bulk, we sit down and put these cut lists together in such a way that optimizes the efficiency and use of the product. It really has cut down not only on waste of product, but also on waste of time.

What do you consider the most challenging part of measuring and cutting lumber accurately, with little to no waste? How do you overcome that challenge?

NIEDER: The most challenging part is the variances of the lumber we receive. For the most part, we almost always get the lengths we need, but sometimes the only materials we can get are in lengths we usually don’t use. That’s why our cut lists are so beneficial. They allow us to move the items around based on length to utilize the entire product.  

It’s also so important to have everyone on the same page so that any one of the employees can cut—and cut in the optimal way possible. Based on the materials coming in, we will have a meeting to discuss the product and put our heads together to maximize the results. 

Communication is key!

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