Understanding Lumber Terminology
If you're lucky enough to have a hardwood lumberyard nearby, consider yourself fortunate. You might have access to a variety of wood species in different widths, lengths, and shapes, perhaps even live edge slabs! However, purchasing lumber can feel overwhelming if you're new to it or unfamiliar with some of the jargon. In today's post, I’ll share a few tips to help you get educated before heading to the lumberyard so you can better understand the questions you might be asked and what the folks there might expect from you.
Types of Lumber
When it comes to buying lumber, you have two main categories: rough-cut and dimensional. Rough-cut lumber is freshly milled wood that hasn't undergone any further processing—meaning it hasn't been smoothed or surfaced in any way. Rough-cut, or rough-sawn, lumber is quite raw and typically used by consumers who plan to dimension the boards themselves, either by hand or with machinery. Even with rough-cut lumber, you can sometimes find partially surfaced options, such as S1S (surfaced on one side) and S2S (surfaced on two sides). These terms mean exactly what they sound like: S1S is rough-cut lumber that has been planed on one side, while S2S indicates both the top and bottom faces have been surfaced. You can also often get boards surfaced on one or both edges (S3S or S4S). The more surfacing the lumberyard does, the higher the cost per linear foot will be. Many lumberyards will charge you an additional amount per linear foot for each additional surface, such as $.20 extra per linear foot for surfacing. Keep in mind that these boards may still vary in width, unlike dimensional lumber, which is uniform in size.
Dimensional lumber refers to wood that is pre-cut to standard, uniform widths and thicknesses—think of pine 2x4s or 2x6s. Dimensional lumber has been processed and surfaced to meet specific industry standards and is commonly found in construction-grade woods used for framing, like those available at big-box stores. On a cost basis, dimensional lumber tends to be pricier than rough-cut lumber per board foot. “What’s a board foot?†you might ask…
Measuring Rough-Cut Lumber
Rough-cut lumber is priced and sold based on something called a board foot, which is essentially the volume of a piece of wood calculated by multiplying its width, length, and thickness. There are plenty of online calculators to help with this, but you can easily do it yourself. For instance, let’s say you have a 1-inch-thick board that’s 6 inches wide and 72 inches long. Your calculation would be: (1 x 6 x 72) = 432 cubic inches. To convert that to board feet, simply divide by 144, leaving you with 3. So, that board equals 3 board feet.
We also need to touch on another important aspect: quarters. When you buy dimensional lumber, you probably already know that a "2x4" isn't actually 2 inches by 4 inches but rather 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches. Rough-cut lumber operates differently and is measured in quarters, which refer to the thickness of the rough, unfinished surface. For example, 4/4 lumber is 1 inch thick, 5/4 is 1.25 inches thick, and so on—6/4, 8/4, 12/4. This matters because that quarter-inch thickness is usually milled away to give you the final, finished dimension. For example, once you surface and mill a 4/4 piece of lumber, its optimal finished thickness will be .75 inches or 3/4 of an inch. If you’re building a table and want a top that’s 1 inch thick, you’d buy 5/4 lumber and mill it down to 1 inch.
Conclusion
Next time you’re sketching out your project and wondering, “How much lumber do I need?†you can break down the components into their “quartered parts.†Ask yourself, “How many pieces of my project are made from 4/4?†or “How much 8/4 lumber do I need?†Then, convert that into board feet to estimate your project's cost in terms of wood. This is incredibly helpful when someone asks, “Hey, how much would it cost for you to build me a Coffee Table?†Now you can work backward to that number. Hopefully, this guide has also helped you understand the terminology used at the lumberyard and how they calculate the cost of your lumber.
Any other tips or suggestions? Feel free to share them in the comments below!
A shoe rack is a storage unit designed for holding shoes. Shoe racks may be free-standing to place inside a closet or may be built into a closet organizer system. The right type of rack for you depends on the number of shoes you have to store and where in your home you want to store shoes.
Many people who have a large shoe collection have built-in racks in their bedroom closets. Each rack may hold several pairs of shoes. Some shoe racks are slanted wooden boards that have a strip running across the back to rest the heels of the shoes on so that the shoes are displayed for easy selection.
Other types of shoe holders are white metal stackable shelves that are either part of a closet shelving system or are a part of a free-standing rack. With the shelf type, you can just place pairs of shoes on the shelves side by side. Some kinds of shoe racks have curved wire loops that you place the shoes over.
A shoe rack is an alternative to shoe boxes. Clear acrylic shoe boxes that each hold one pair of shoes can be stacked anywhere and some people prefer to use these for shoes not worn too often. Shoe boxes may be stored up high in a closet, while the racks are usually on the floor or at eye level to allow easy access to the shoes.
Shoe racks can be added to entryway closets to avoid the clutter of shoes in the hallway near the front or back door of a home. Some people like to keep a small shoe rack near doors to hold shoes worn daily and/or guest's shoes. While the looped type can typically be only used to hold shoes, shoe shelves can be used to store practically anything from rolls of gift wrap to children's toys to extra pantry supplies. Free-standing racks usually fit into any type of closet and keep items organized and out of sight.
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