A Simple Explanation on How to Purchase and Measure Lumber

Greetings Customers & Friends,

Some of the specialty lumber that we sell here at Parkerville can be expensive, so understandably when you shop here or elsewhere, you want to understand what you are buying and how to measure or tally the boards. I hope this brief explanation helps you to understand some of the terminology in the lumber industry, and that it helps you to understand how to tally your lumber.

Lumber is tallied and sold by the “board foot”. One board foot = 144 cubic inches of wood.

So, a simple calculation of a board is – thickness in inches, x width in inches x length in inches divided by 144 = the board footage in that board.

So, an example could be that you are purchasing a 1” thick x 8” wide x 10’ (120”) long board. Your calculation would look like this: 1 x 8 x 120 = 960 cubic inches, div. by 144 = 6.66 board feet.

In most cases this would round up to 7 board feet because with most species of lumber we round up or down to the nearest board foot. On some rare, higher priced woods, we may sell to the exact cubic inch, as that is how we purchase those items.

We stock many of our hardwoods in a variety of common thicknesses, from 1” in the rough, to 4” in the rough. We typically have the lumber skim planed, hit or miss (1/32” off each face) at the mill before arriving at our facility, giving our customers a better look at the grain and color of the material. The finished thicknesses I have listed below are what the grade of the lumber specifies the lumber has to clean up at, (4/4 or 1” lumber in the rough, has to clean up at a minimum of ¾” ). We can generally keep the lumber a little thicker if you desire. This also allows you to glue up panels and bring them back in to be resurfaced, and still finishing at ¾” or a bit thicker. Because of our in-house milling capabilities, we can provide these services that other lumber yards and box stores cannot.

Lumber thickness terminology uses fractions:

4/4 lumber, referred to as “four quarter” stock. This is milled to a finished ¾.”

5/4 lumber referred to as “five quarter” stock. This is milled to a finished 1”.

6/4 lumber referred to as “six quarter” stock. This is milled to a finished 1 ¼”.

8/4 lumber referred to as “eight quarter” stock. This is milled to a finished 1 ¾”

10/4 lumber referred to as “ten quarter” stock. This is milled to a finished 2 ¼”

12/4 lumber referred to as “twelve quarter” stock. This is milled to a finished 2 ¾”

16/4 lumber referred to as “sixteen quarter” stock. This is milled to a finished 3 ¾”.

Example – Remember from high school, if you have an improper fraction where the numerator is equal to or greater than the denominator, you divide the numerator by the denominator, so 16/4 wood you divide the 4 into the 16 and that equals the 4” thickness.

As with most things, it is not always as simple as this. Here are a few explanations / clarifications:

• We purchase most of our lumber random width and random length. Most of it is 6” and wider, and 8’ and longer. The board is tallied after it has been dried and before any milling has been done.
• Most of the lumber in our racks has been straight line ripped, so when tallying your board you must add ½” to the width to compensate for this. The correct tally is marked on the ends of the boards.
• Some of our lumber in our racks is already milled on all surfaces. This can be referred to as S4S (surfaced 4 sides) or D4S (dressed 4 sides). This is how most typical lumber yards or box stores sell their lumber. This is commonly sold by the lineal foot rather than the board foot. Because this wood has been already milled, a 1” x 6” board is milled to a finished ¾” x 5 ½” x whatever the length may be.

When buying wood, try to select flat, straight lumber that is appropriate for your specific project. Take the time to carefully select and layout your project. You want to minimize your waste but do not be too stingy. Depending on the project, a 20% waste factor is about the minimum you should consider. If you must go back and buy more wood to finish your project, that newer wood will most likely be from a different batch so the grain and color of the material could be different from your first purchase. Most species of lumber grow throughout a wide range in different states and in different environments. It is common for some of our customers to spend a couple of hours here selecting their materials.

If your boards are not flat, it is best to face joint one face with a jointer before planning. Your jointer must be wider than your lumber to achieve this so this is where bigger equipment comes in handy. Our old work horse jointer is 22” wide so we can manage wide planks. Once you have one flat face you can send it through the planer, flat side down. A planer alone will not make your boards flat. Also, remember that if you mill your own lumber by putting it through a planer, try to take equal cuts from both faces of the board. All wood has some moister and by taking off equal amounts from both faces, you will maintain a balance which will help the board to remain flat and not cup.

For those less experienced, this can still sound complicated. We have skilled staff here to assist you every step of the way. We will be happy to review this information with you in person at any time. We are sensitive to the cost of some of our lumber and want you to understand and learn how to maximize your purchases here at Parkerville and elsewhere.

I want to remind you that our downtown wood warehouse is open this Saturday at 49 Brainard Place in Manchester from 8-2. Fifty-four days till Christmas Eve.

I hope to see you there, and at our main shop at 580 Parker St.

Sincerely,

David Harris, President

Parkerville Wood Products, Inc.