When talking to contractors or calling a lumber yard, often you hear terms that you've never heard before or might not understand. Bookmark this page. It will help communicate better and avoid misunderstandings. 

• Board foot-a unit of volume for timber equal to 144 cubic inches,  twelve inches by twelve inches by one inch thick.

​This is where some people get confused and rightfully so. The explanation seem simple enough but most lumber you buy at the lumber yard or big box stores doesn't measure in even inches. For example, a 2x4 measures 1-1/5" x 3-1/5".  Why is that? Well, its because, it was 2" x 4" when it first came off the log at the mill. Then, it was dried which usually leaves it around 3-7/8" by 1-7/8" and then it's milled to a guaranteed mill size that comes out to the 1-1/2" by 3-1/2" you buy.
Standards have changed over the decades and it gets even more confusing. For example(s), all framing lumber is 1.5" thick but 2x4's are 3 1/2" wide and 2x6's are 5 1/2" wide while 2x8s are 7 1/4" wide, 2x10's are 9 1/4" wide and 2x12's are 11.5" wide.
The reason for this is standards for grading lumber for strength and quality have changed too. When logs come into the mill they are graded on scales according to how may knots they have, what kind of knots they have and straightness of the log. This is part science and part art and you have to train for along time to be lumber grader at a mill. Even after all of that is done the lumber is graded again as it comes off the mill and even after it's milled and dried to ensure quality standards are met for strength. A log can look really good as a log but once you start cutting into it you can find defects including invisible defects like stresses in the wood that can cause it to crack and warp and bow.
So, even though the pieces you buy these days seem to have a lot of wood missing, they are as string or better than the full dimensions we used to buy because they've been scanned with a keen eye for their quality. More is not necessarily better.
Finish lumber sizes are the same when you buy it from a store. I start all of my projects with lumber "in the rough" direct from thew mill because boats and custom work often require unique sizes to create art that os furniture, trim or a boat. Also, even the best lumber properly graded will change shape and get damaged in storage and shipping. rough lumber "waits" for you to turn it into something beautiful. Large mills that have the space and can afford it will often just buy logs and let them sit there until they are needed and custom mill the sizes they need for a "one of" project

• What does "Select" mean?

​Select means what it sounds like.  It's wood that has been selected as the very best in grain, straightness, strength and overall appearance for finish lumber with no knots or defects. This lumber is premium priced too. After that in the finish lumber category there is #1, #2 and sometimes #3 is available. Depending on where you shop these grades can vary a lot.  Some places you go have #2 that looks every bit as good as premium so, its good to know your lumber yard and the quality standards they set for themselves.

• Finish lumber dimensions

​-This applies to framing lumber as well. Lumber thickness is measured in 1/4" increments. So, a 1" thick board is called 4/4" at the mill and just like dimensional/framing lumber mentioned above, after it''s milled and dried you wind up with 3/4" thick material from a 4/4"(four quarter) board.
-Another "form" of finished lumber is 5/4". To make 5/4" lumber the mill starts with 6/4" off the log, dries and mills it and when all is said and done you have 5/4" lumber.
-Some of the better lumber yards will have or can order 6/4" finished and 8/4" finished kiln dried lumber for special projects. 6/4" or 1 1/2"thick finished lumber starts with 8/4" green lumber off the log. 8/4" starts with 9 or 10 quarter green lumber depending on the quality of the logs they have on hand. 

So, confused yet? I hope not. Here's some more interesting stuff.

Here's some landscaping and excavation information.
​So, you've had a an excavation project done on your property and your estimate talked about how many cubic yards of material will be removed and brought in. Let's start with what a cubic yard is.
  A cubic yard is a volume 3' x 3' x 3' = 27 cubic feet. Dump bodies on trucks are described by how many yards of material they can carry but the truck overall is rated by the weight it can carry and that weight limit is structured around its ability to break more than the actual load the springs and frame can carry.
​  So, you get a bill for aggregate i.e. crushed stone, washed stone, sand etc and you're being charged by the ton! That's because a yard of one type of material has a different weight than another and the loaders that place the material in the truck have no idea how many yards of material you are getting even though their buckets ar measured by the yard as well.  The only way too determine how much you're getting is to weight in empty at the gravel pit on the scale and get weighed full on the way out and you get charged for the difference which is the weight of the material in the truck.
​When pulling material out of the ground to make a hole for a foundation, septic tank etc . You can measure the length, width and depth of the hole but that material expands when you dig it out so you wind up with more than you estimated with your black box measurement. Clay can expand as much as 40% when excavated and it's no longer compacted.
  So, why does this matter? First of all you might want to know why you talked about yardage and then got billed for tonnage. Second, when excavating, unless its vital that all the old material be removed from the set, its cheaper to leave it on site for later use  or you can just spread it out as fill and plant grass on it providing your excavator separated the topsoil from the mix before hand and made a separate pile of it away from the site which is best practice. 
​If you're leaving it on site you want to make sure ahead of time that there's enough room for it and if there's not, make sure moving the material around the site or off site is included in the estimate. Oops can cost you money!

Common Nail Sizing ChartHere is the nail size chart for common nails:

• 2d, 15 gauge: 15-gauge shank, 0.072-inch shank diameter, 1-inch shank length and 3/16-inch head diameter
• 2d, 14 gauge: 14-gauge shank, 0.083-inch shank diameter, 1-inch shank length and 13/64-inch head diameter
• 3d: 14-gauge shank, 0.083-inch shank diameter, 1.25-inch shank length and 13/64-inch head diameter
• 4d: 12-gauge shank, 0.109-inch shank diameter, 1.5-inch shank length and 1/4-inch head diameter
• 5d: 12-gauge shank, 0.109-inch shank diameter, 1.75-inch shank length and 1/4-inch head diameter
• 6d: 11-gauge shank, 0.12-inch shank diameter, 2-inch shank length and 17/64-inch head diameter
• 8d: 10-gauge shank, 0.134-inch shank diameter, 2.5-inch shank length and 9/32-inch head diameter
• 10d: 9-gauge shank, 0.148-inch shank diameter, 3-inch shank length and 5/16-inch head diameter
• 12d: 9-gauge shank, 0.148-inch shank diameter, 3.25-inch shank length and 5/16-inch head diameter
• 16d: 8-gauge shank, 0.165-inch shank diameter, 3.5-inch shank length and 11/32-inch head diameter
• 20d: 6-gauge shank, 0.203-inch shank diameter, 4-inch shank length and 13/32-inch head diameter
• 30d: 5-gauge shank, 0.220-inch shank diameter, 4.5-inch shank length and 7/16-inch head diameter
• 40d: 4-gauge shank, 0.238-inch shank diameter, 5-inch shank length and 15/32-inch head diameter
• 60d: 4-gauge shank, 0.238-inch shank diameter, 6-inch shank length and 17/32-inch head diameter

Box Nail Size Chart
This box nail length chart can help you determine the best size of box nail for your application:

• 3d: 14 1/2-gauge shank, 0.076-inch shank diameter and 1.25-inch shank length
• 4d: 14-gauge shank, 0.080-inch shank diameter and 1.5-inch shank length
• 5d: 14-gauge shank, 0.080-inch shank diameter and 1.75-inch shank length
• 6d: 12 1/2-gauge shank, 0.098-inch shank diameter and 2-inch shank length
• 7d: 12 1/2-gauge shank, 0.098-inch shank diameter and 2.25-inch shank length
• 8d: 11 1/2-gauge shank, 0.113-inch shank diameter and 2.5-inch shank length
• 10d: 10 1/2-gauge shank, 0.128-inch shank diameter and 3-inch shank length
• 16d: 10-gauge shank, 0.135-inch shank diameter and 3.5-inch shank length
• 20d: 9-gauge shank, 0.148-inch shank diameter and 4-inch shank length