Also, because hardwoods only use BF to the closest foot, 1 BF is the size of a piece of hardwood lumber ranging from 6" to 18" wide and 12" (1 foot) long by 1.00 to 1.24 inches thick. In a custom built home, what is stopping you from building your own doorjambs? How do you figure board footage? Figure out what you need, find out what they are selling and tell them what you want. I don't understand the dimensions of lumber. Now look at a piece that is 1.24 inches thick x 6.49 inches wide and 12.99 feet long. This size is the size when the piece was graded, so if it dries out it will be a little smaller; if it gains moisture, a little bigger. I think if you search the archives, you will find a short paper that I wrote and we put here for people that are confused. Somewhere in the archives you can get board feet measurements of logs. Due to the lower cost and higher wood quality, Do-It-Yourself woodworkers and hobbyists prefer rough sawn pine for their projects. Eastern White Pine is a pliable softwood with a straight and even grain that takes staining well and bonds well with glue. @2021 Reliance Timber All Rights Reserved. Question Understanding basic lumber dimensions and how to calculate board footage. mean? And none of my customers have ever complained to me that how I'm measuring board foot is wrong. If I sell hardwood lumber to a customer, I measure the piece and sell it to him based on the actual size of the piece. We createmaster-quality timber for the finest homes using only the most beautiful natural materials. The color varies from light brown with a reddish tint to practically white. For example, a 2x4x8' is really 1.5" x 3.5" x 8.00'. Job Opportunities and Woodworking Services, Dust Collection, Safety and Plant Operation, Dry Kiln Schedules for Commercial Woods - Temperate and Tropical. Rough Sawn Pine is untreated timber cut into planks and is often stronger than other types of wood, but since we do not kiln-dry it, it contains a higher moisture content. Since we do not mill Rough Sawn Pine, this wood style provides a natural feel. The reason all the books say it must be done the other way is because they were not written for the little guys out there. So what if pre-hung doors are setup for an undersized wall? They are perfect for builders creating a rustic aesthetic. Forum Responses These are called log scales--3 different types. With unplaned hardwoods it can be quite a bit different. The system is set up for big business and volume purchases. 4/4 is 1" thick rough or milled. It allows the woodworker or builder to have enough wood for a reasonable margin of error while saving money. I tire of seeing people being beat up for wanting to use full dimension lumber. Those shavings are worth more than the cost to make them, or as in a lot of new mills, lumber is sawn very close to finish size--1 3/4 for a 2X and then dressed down to finish size. The price will be the same. Be it 1 1/8" thick x 7 1/4" wide by 8' long. The first one is 793 cubic inches, or 132 cubic inches per BF. Well, the facts are simple--more wood, more load carrying capacity, modern structural engineering has integrated these sizes into their tables, and it doesn't cause any loss of strength in the structure, because the structures are designed for the smaller lumber. Take a piece of lumber that is 1.00 inch thick x 5.51 inches wide x 12.00 feet long. The biggest reason for the large scale planing of lumber is to eliminate the poor accuracy of old sawmills, so why should small, accurate mills be penalized for this? Of course, you could add a little wane or a beaver tail to the end of the first piece and get even less than 132 cubic inches of wood per BF! That way it's the fairest to me and to him. It is ideal for a large spectrum of furniture-making. Rough Sawn Pine is often cheaper by volume than standard finished lumber because of its simple processing techniques. The new guys should learn what an actual board foot is before you start teaching them the exceptions, and how the definition of a board foot has been twisted to suit the preferences of giant corporations, and hungry wobbly circle saw blades. The calculations with softwoods and planed hardwoods are even worse, as softwoods are seldom sold rough, but are sold as planed lumber. A full dimensioned 2x4 has almost as much cross sectional area as a "dressed" 2x6. It does not have to do with scale, it has to do with the measure, which for hardwoods does not have fractions. It is 6BF. WOODWEB is a registered trademark of Woodweb.com. 4/4 and the others are thickness measured in quarter inch. A board foot is thickness X width X length divided by 144 = bf. I don't round up or down. Also, if you sell a dry, planed piece of hardwood lumber that is 1.00 x 11.51 x 10.5', this is actually considered as 5/4, so it is 12 BF (the first piece) and 13 BF the second piece, etc. For softwoods, the definition is for board feet measured to two decimals based on nominal size, not actual. Lumber is indeed sold by the board foot. The definition of board foot is quite tricky, as with hardwoods, the thickness is 1-1/8 inch (often) and not 1-inch (or 4/4). A lot of people crab about how you should cut your lumber to dressed sizes because it is so much more difficult to do the windows and doors in a home framed with full dimension lumber. By reducing the size of your cuts, you can use this lumber for picture frames, shelves, and other artistic pieces. Hardwoods are sold by the "whole number" or integer board foot and not fractions. The explanation for why we should accept "dressed" lumber it that it doesn't weaken it. So, 5.33 BF (softwoods use 2 decimals, hardwoods do not) is actually 504 cubic inches, or 95 cubic inches per BF. Reliance Timber Rough Sawn Pine is an excellent choice for interior pieces of a home or project, such as boards in the internal framing.
Our Rough Sawn Pine lumber is a rough sawn classic option for interior and exterior projects. Maybe I am measuring it wrong or figuring it wrong, or selling it wrong, but it works for my customers and me. The second one is 1254 cubic inches or 209 cubic inches per board foot. April 20, 2001. The way things are done on the small scale and the way they are done on the large scale are totally different. Rough Sawn Pine planks are typically thicker and heavier than standard surfaced wood choices, making them a good option when strength and sturdiness are crucial. Now it is a profit item. Incidentally, softwood pieces 1x12x10's are 0.75 x 11.25 x 10.0' actual size. It is also 6BF. But does it really matter with lumber if you sell a 2x4x8' by the piece, or convert to BF (5.33 BF), or sell it by the actual size (500 cubic inches or 8259 cubic cm)? But the BF stays the same 10 BF per piece. A board foot is 12 inches square by 1 inch thick or any other way you get 144 square inches. The natural look makes these planks perfect for outdoor furniture like picnic tables and chairs or even swing sets. Current terminology is all skewed way out of line. Actually, 4/4 goes from 1.00 to 1.24 inches thick.
5/4 is 1.25" and so on. Rough sawn pine, full dimension, color variation. Planing doesn't straighten lumber appreciably (not more than 1/2" in the length of the board (if you were to joint it, which most planers can't do). If having exposed beams to achieve that classic log cabin style is what youre looking for in your home, then rough sawn pine planks are for you. Comment from contributor A: Eastern White Pine can grow four feet in a single year in the right conditions, making it a sustainable choice when searching for rough-sawn pine options. 2022 Reliance Timber All Rights Reserved | Made with in Boone. The reason for it being that way is because it has been that way, but that doesn't make it right. If a customer asks for 100BF of lumber in 1"x12"x10' and we sell him 10 each 1 x 11.51 x 10'5", as soon as he pulls a tape over the lumber he is going to come back and demand he get what he asked for. What do 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4, etc. Well, every time I see an article about installing or trimming windows, they are having to build up the casing to make up for the difference between the stock 3 1/2" casing, and the 5 1/2" wall bay, so if you are doing this already, then what is another 1/2"?