Standard Timber Lengths
Subject: Why a 2-foot change just doubled the quote
Preview: The pricing math nobody explains until after you’ve picked your size.
Hi [First Name],
Here is something that catches people off guard about timber pricing: lumber does not come in continuous sizes. It comes in standard lengths — 8′, 10′, 12′, 14′, 16′, 18′, 20′. Period.
The Math Nobody Shows You
What You Need vs. What You Buy
A beam that needs to be 16′2″ cannot use a 16-foot timber. It has to come from a 20-foot timber. That extra 3′10″? Waste. Usually unusable. And you are paying for every inch of it.
Now multiply that across every beam, every rafter, every post, every shade plank in a structure. Four material systems, all compounding at once. That is where the real number lives.
A 16×16 pergola can cost almost exactly what a 14×16 costs — if the design lines up with standard lumber. But step up just two feet to a 16×18, and the price can jump significantly. Four material systems compounding waste, all at once.
Need a beam deeper than 16″? That is custom-milled or glulam — add 25–60% to that member. This is why per-square-foot pricing is a rough approximation at best. The real number depends on how cleanly your design aligns with the lumber that actually exists.
The real cost lives in how cleanly your design aligns with the lumber that actually exists — not in the square footage of the finished structure.
The question to ask any builder: “Will my design use standard stock lengths, or am I paying for offcut waste? Are any members custom-milled?”
Our design process starts here. Before we talk about style, finish, or features, we make sure your dimensions work with the material — not against it. Reply with your project details and I will walk you through it.
To great outdoor living,
[Name]
Western Timber Frame
[Phone] | [Email] | westerntimberframe.com
Western Timber Frame, Inc.
2026 U.S. Small Business Administration
Utah Manufacturing Small Business of the Year
