On Apr 17, 2014, at 4:55 AM, Scott Garrison wrote:
> 
> But never having thought about it  - only built many structures to this
> requirement - it begs the question where did 16" come from? Why not 12"? I
> understand that railroad tracks in 2014 are sized to Roman chariots of
> likely 500 BC - so that's where that standard came from. But if we framed
> to 12, 18, or 24 inch all engineered beams and calculations would have
> easily accommodated - spans et al would simply be different and plywood
> might be sized differently though 48 x 96 is still easily and completely
> divisible by all but 18.
> 
> Completely useless question but I find myself intrigued nonetheless by the
> answer. And it isn't just "Because"

My thinking is that sheet goods are made 4 feet wide, and 3 times 16 is 48. Thus
the sheet goods do not require trimming to fit framing on 16" centers.