How to buy hardwood lumber at a lumber yard
Hardwood dealers don't sell boards like the 2x4s at a home center. They price by the board foot, describe thickness in quarters (4/4, 8/4), and sort boards by grade. Here's what those mean, straight from the industry rulebook and the USDA, so you can walk in with a cut list and know what to ask for.
1. Board feet: how hardwood is measured and priced
One board foot is 12" wide by 12" long by 1" thick, or 144 cubic inches (NHLA Rules, paragraph 16). The formula the American Hardwood Export Council gives is:
width (in) x length (ft) x thickness (in) / 12 = board feet
- A 4/4 board 7" wide and 8' long: 7 x 8 x 1 / 12 = 4.67 board feet.
- An 8/4 board 6" wide and 6' long: 6 x 6 x 2 / 12 = 6 board feet.
Your cost is the yard's price per board foot times that number. Three rules from the NHLA book catch people out:
- Measured before planing. "In surfaced lumber, board footage is measured before surfacing." A 4/4 board planed to 13/16" is still billed as 1" thick.
- Thin stock counts as 1". Standard thicknesses under 1" are measured as 1", so a 1/2" board costs the same per square foot of face as a 4/4 board.
- Random widths are rounded. Hardwood is usually sawn to random widths, and a board's surface measure is rounded to the nearest whole foot.
2. Quarters: 4/4, 5/4, 8/4 and what's left after planing
Rough hardwood thickness is written in quarter inches: 4/4 ("four-quarter") is 1", 8/4 is 2". Planing both faces (S2S) takes off 3/16" for stock 1-1/2" and thinner and 1/4" for 1-3/4" through 4" (NHLA paragraph 14; USDA Wood Handbook Table 6-4). Pick the rough thickness that planes down past your finished size.
| Rough (quarters) | Rough thickness | Standard S2S thickness | Common finished use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4/4 | 1" | 13/16" | 3/4" parts |
| 5/4 | 1-1/4" | 1-1/16" | 1" parts |
| 6/4 | 1-1/2" | 1-5/16" | 1-1/4" parts |
| 8/4 | 2" | 1-3/4" | table legs, thick tops |
| 10/4 | 2-1/2" | 2-1/4" | |
| 12/4 | 3" | 2-3/4" | turning, heavy legs |
| 16/4 | 4" | 3-3/4" | newel posts, turning blanks |
"Rough" means straight off the saw. S2S is surfaced (planed) two sides, and S4S is planed on both faces and both edges. Lengths run 4' to 16' in 1' steps (Wood Handbook). If you don't own a planer, ask whether the yard will surface boards for you and what it charges.
3. Grades: FAS, Selects, No. 1 Common, No. 2A
NHLA grades don't rate how pretty a board is. They rate how much of it can be cut into clear, defect-free pieces of a minimum size, based on its surface measure. The poorer face sets the grade, except for F1F and Selects.
| Grade | Smallest board | Clear wood required | Smallest clear cutting | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FAS | 6" x 8' | 83-1/3% (10/12) | 4" x 5' or 3" x 7' | Long, clear pieces: high-end furniture, trim, mouldings |
| F1F / Selects | Better face grades FAS | Better face FAS, poor face No. 1 Common | Same as FAS on the better face | Work where only one face shows |
| No. 1 Common | 3" x 4' | 66-2/3% (8/12) | 4" x 2' or 3" x 3' | "Cabinet grade": cabinet doors, shorter furniture parts |
| No. 2A Common | 3" x 4' | 50% (6/12) | 3" x 2' | Rustic or knotty work, small parts |
- Buy FAS when you need long clear parts, like tabletops, door stiles or long trim.
- No. 1 Common is often the value pick for cabinets and furniture with shorter parts. AHEC notes it's called "cabinet grade" in the US because it suits standard cabinet-door sizes.
- Lower grades suit knotty or rustic looks. Grade rules are summaries; species-specific exceptions live in the full NHLA rule book.
4. Check that it's dry enough to use indoors
The USDA Wood Handbook (Table 13-2) recommends interior woodwork, flooring, furniture and trim be installed at about 8% moisture content on average, 6% to 10% for individual pieces, in most of the US. It notes hardwood for furniture, cabinets and millwork is usually kiln-dried to 6% to 8%. Purdue Extension adds that air-dried lumber, around 15% to 20%, isn't suitable for indoor use until it's dried further. Ask whether boards are kiln-dried (KD), and bring a moisture meter if you have one.
5. What to bring to the yard
- A cut list with finished sizes, so you can choose the right rough thickness and add length for trimming checked ends.
- A tape measure, and a way to haul long stock. Ask whether the yard will cut boards down to fit your vehicle.
- The species and grade you want. Call ahead: stock changes and every card in this directory says so.
Yards in this directory that list planing or custom cutting
Listed here because the business says on its own site that it offers milling services. Confirm prices and turnaround by phone.
- Lumberjacks Hardwood Center (4123 Cromwell Road, Chattanooga, TN 37421): Kiln-dried hardwood, live-edge slabs, custom cuts, slab flattening, planing/S4S, kiln drying, pallets. Source.
See all lumber and wood suppliers or browse Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga.
Sources
- NHLA, Rules for the Measurement & Inspection of Hardwood & Cypress (paragraphs 13, 14 and 16)
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook, Chapter 6: Commercial Lumber (Table 6-4)
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook, Chapter 13: Drying and Control of Moisture Content (Table 13-2)
- American Hardwood Export Council, Grading sawn lumber: The Grades
- American Hardwood Export Council, Grading sawn lumber: Measurement
- Purdue Extension FNR-37, Wood and moisture