Hardwood lumber is sold in thickness increments expressed in 'quarters', ranging from 4/4 through 16/4. For example a 4/4 board, spoken as "four - quarter", is actually 1/16" thicker than the nominal thickness when rough sawn and kiln-dried.

The following chart displays the equivalent dimensions of the most common commercially available thicknesses.

Tallying is calculated based on the nominal thickness of the board. i.e. a 4/4 board is counted as being 1" thick and an 8/4 board is counted as 2" thick).

Size	Rough (KD)	Nominal	Finished
4/4	1-1/16"	1"	13/16"
5/4	1-5/16"	1-1/4"	1-1/16"
6/4	1-9/16"	1-1/2"	1-5/16"
8/4	2-1/16"	2"	1-13/16"

Lumber that has been dried by exposure to air, usually in a yard, shed or pre-dryer, without artificial heat.

A board foot is a volume measurement. Linear dimensions of the board are simply a function that provide the formula for calculation. Equal to 1/12th of a cubic foot, the board foot takes into account the actual thickness of the board.

A Net Board Foot contains the cubic equivalent of 1 square foot of lumber - AFTER kiln drying and prior to any machining.

Here is the formula: nominal thickness (in inches) x width x length (in feet) divided by 12 = net board feet.

Hardwood lumber is sold in thickness increments expressed in 'quarters', ranging from 4/4 through 12/4. For example a 4/4 board, spoken as "four - quarter", is actually 1/16" thicker than the nominal thickness when rough sawn and kiln-dried.

In each dimension, the actual thickness allows for machining and finishing to a standard thickness. This allows the wood worker to plane the lumber down to a usable finished thickness close to the nominal thickness (i.e. a 4/4 board would finish to 13/16" thickness). The extra thickness also provides enough thickness to allow board straightening and grain selection.

Tallying is calculated based on the nominal thickness of the board. (i.e. a 4/4 board is counted as being 1" thick). At TinyTIMBERS, we typically trim our lumber 2" to 6" additional over the stated length. This is not included in the tally (i.e. a 9'6" board is sold as a 9' board).

Hardwoods that are measured prior to kiln drying are considered Gross or Green Tallied. Depending on the specie, lumber will shrink an average of 7% or more during the drying process. Many lumber wholesalers will tally your board feet on a Gross measure. This means that you are receiving an average of only 93 board feet on a 100 board foot order. In order to make accurate comparisons, always verify whether your lumber supplier is selling by a Gross or Net (actual) tally.

TinyTIMBERS grades and measures your lumber AFTER kiln drying or on a NET Tally basis. You will receive exactly the same measure of board feet you have paid for. Another great value!

4/4 example: 1"x10"x12' = 120 ÷12 = 10.00 NET bf ÷ .93 = 10.75 GROSS bf	6/4 example: 1½"x10"x12'= 180 ÷12 = 15.00 NET bf ÷ .93 = 16.13 GROSS bf	8/4 example: 2"x10"x12'= 240 ÷12 = 20.00 NET bf ÷ .93 = 21.51 GROSS bf

A specific sized area or cutting of lumber having one clear face.

Concerning NHLA Rules, a cutting unit is 1" x 12" or a "Foot Long Hotdog" or it's equivalent of 12 square inches.

Wood weight per, unit volume. Durability, hardness, and toughness usually increase with density (the weight of one cubic foot of a lumber product.)

Lumber cut, or S4S, to predetermined specific width (sometimes also to length). 1" x 4", 2" x 4", 2" x 6", 4" x 4" - 8, etc. (Note: both hardwood and softwood dimensional lumber are piece tallied and not measured with a board rule.)

Log buyers use the Doyle log rule. It tells how many board feet of usable lumber is in a log of given diameter and length. It assumes a saw with a 1/4-inch kerf and a log with no defects. A band saw mill will yield 5-10 percent or more. The log diameter is measured on the small end inside the bark. As an example, an 8-foot log, 12 inches in diameter will yield 32 board feet. This should allow you to figure out how to read the scale. (click here for printable scale)

A board 1 foot in length, regardless of width or thickness.

One Thousand board feet.

The fact that hardwoods are almost always offered in a random width and length assortment can present something of a mystery. Hardwood lumber is cut to yield the highest grade and maximum of usable material while minimizing waste. Both widths and lengths are, therefore, random and even the best grades allow occasional defects.

In hardwoods, refers to the relative density. The ratio of the weight of a body to the weight of an equal volume of water; relative density.

An area 12" x 12", or the equivalent of 144 square inches without regard to thickness.

A cutting free from rot, pith, shake and wane. It will admit sound knots, bird pecks. stain streaks or pin, shot and spot worm holes.

Measuring method used for hardwood grade inspection. Same as square footage, expressed as a whole number. Fractions of measurement over and under a half foot are expressed as whole number respectively....i.e., a Surface Measure of 6.75 feet is rounded up to 7' SM. 5.25 feet is rounded down to 5' SM. Surface measure is always a whole number.