Finding lumber grades and using a lumber calculator

Lumber grades usually range from A to D, with A being the best of the lumber grades. The lumber grades you want to purchase depend on the particular job you are doing. If, for example, you are just building a sample of something to help you determine how a finished product would work and you don’t want to spend a lot of money, then you would buy the cheapest and worst lumber grades material - D grade. Another example of when you might purchase D-grade lumber is if you are putting up a fence around land in a remote area, just to lay claim to it.

Using a lumber calculator

When you visit a lumber store to purchase wood products, you need to have the measurements of the room you need the wood or hardwood for. Using a lumber calculator, you can easily determine how much material you need to buy. Hardwood and lumber is sold by the foot. A typical board is usually one inch thick, one foot wide and one foot long, or 144 cubic inches. Lumber thickness is expressed in quarters of an inch, beginning with 1 inch, so that 1 inch lumber is designated as 4/4, 1-1/2 inch lumber is 6/4, 2 inch lumber is 8/4, and so on. These units refer to nominal or roughsawn dimensions, not surfaced dimensions. A lumber calculator rounds the lumber thickness to the nearest ¼ inch. By entering your measurements, the calculator will determine the amount of lumber that you wll need.

Duties of a lumber grader

A lumber grader examines the lumber for knots, holes splits and other defects that may be in the wood naturally or may have occurred through the sawing or drying process. He/She measures the lumber using a variety of instruments to ensure that it has the desired width and thickness. A lumber grader classifies the lumber according to industry standards and stamps the grade on the lumber. In addition he/she is responsible for tallying the amount of lumber and maintaining the reports.

When you visit a lumber yard, you know that each piece of lumber has been inspected and graded. Therefore, you know that in keeping with standards set down by the industry the lumber you want has received the appropriate lumber grades.