Sawn Timber 50 × 50 mm (2 × 2)

What it is

Kitovu has square sawn timber of 50 × 50 mm, known on Tanzanian sites as 2 by 2 (mbao 2x2), in stock in Zanzibar at TZS 10,000 a piece. It is the light section: battens for ceiling boards and for fixing roof sheets, frames for partitions, bracing and pegs, and small strips in formwork.

What is not confirmed yet

Three things decide what a piece is worth, and Kitovu has not yet recorded them: its length, its wood and whether it is treated against termites. A buyer comparing prices needs the length first. Zanzibaba Timber, a seller on the island, lists 2 × 2 pine in 12 ft and 18 ft pieces, and the price of the two differs by almost half, so ask Kitovu which length the TZS 10,000 piece is.

At 50 × 50 mm, a metre of timber holds 0.0025 m³ of wood, half as much as the same length of 50 × 100 mm (our calculation). That is why it is used where the timber only has to hold a board or a sheet in place, not to carry a floor or a roof.

For the heavier section, see Sawn Timber 50 × 100 mm (2 × 4). Prices that other sellers publish for timber of each size are on the Swahili page bei ya mbao.

How it is used

Ceilings. Gypsum and PVC ceiling boards are fixed to a grid of battens hung from the roof timbers. With timber battens, 2 × 2 is a common size for that grid; the spacing comes from the board maker, because each board needs support at its edges and across its width. The PVC ceiling and gypsum board pages cover the boards themselves.

Roof battens. Under roofing sheets on a light roof, battens across the rafters carry the sheets at the purlin spacing the sheet maker gives. The section of the battens follows the roof design.

Formwork. Around formwork, 2 × 2 is used for edge strips on slabs, for small stiffeners on the back of 12 mm shuttering plywood panels, for kickers at the foot of wall forms and for pegs and short braces. It is not a joist size: decks and wall faces are carried on 50 × 100 mm timber.

Counting battens

For a ceiling grid, count the rows in each direction (our calculations):

Counting battens

Room	Grid	Battens, rows × rows
3 × 4 m	600 mm	6 rows across, 8 along
4 × 5 m	600 mm	8 rows across, 10 along

How many pieces each row takes depends on the piece length, which Kitovu will confirm on WhatsApp.

Storing

Stack the battens flat and straight on bearers, out of the rain; thin sections twist faster than heavy ones when they dry unevenly in the sun.