A board is graded on both sides, and the worse side determines the final grade.
The best grade is called FAS. This stands for Firsts and Seconds.
These grades are the best you can get.
Firsts required 91 2/3 % clear area and Seconds required 81 2/3
%
FAS, which is both Firsts and Seconds combined, requires 83 1/3
% clear area.
The second best grade is called F1F, or FAS1F, (FAS 1
Face).
F1F is a bit better than Select and graded the same, except the minimum
board size is 6" wide and 8' long.
The next grade is Select, or SEL.
This is a combination of FAS on one face and #1 on the other face.
Select boards must be 4" wide and 6' long or bigger.
The better face still needs to grade 83 1/3 % clear for the given area of the
board,
but it does not have to be as large as FAS graded lumber
The next grade is #1 Common. This grade requires 66 2/3 % clear area on the worse face.
Then you have 2A, and 2B at 50 percent, and 3A,
and 3B at 33 1/3 %
Basically, the required clear area drops as you get down to a 3A board.
What Does 4/4 or 8/4 or 12/4 Mean?!
This is the thickness of the board. 4/4 means 1 inch or 4, 1/4's of
and inch, which equals a full 1 inch.
Example: 2/4 = 1/2", 3/4 = 3/4", 4/4 = 1", 5/4
= 1 1/4", 6/4 = 1 1/2", 8/4 = 2" and so on...
A 4/4 rough sawn board is a full 1 inch thick, or a 8/4 rough
cut board is a full 2 inches thick,
unlike a board bought at your local home improvement store that says it's 1
inch or 2 inches thick,
when it really measures,3/4 or 1 1/2 inch thick. The reason a rough cut board
it cut at it's true measurement is
so it can be milled (face planed/jointed) to the smooth desired finished thickness.
What is a bf?!
This means Board Foot. How do I calculate a bf?, fairly simple...
12" X 12" X 1"= 1 bf, That means, 12"wide
by 12"long by 1" thick is a bf (Board Foot)
Example: Let's say you want to buy a board 10'6" long by
8" wide and you want to know how much
that rough cut board will cost you... First, you break the 10'6" length
down into inches (126"),
multiply 126" x 8" and you get, 1008". Now you divide 1008"
by 144" (144" is the total inches in a bf)
and you get a total bf of 7. So the 10'6" by 8" board is a total of
7 bf. If the particular type board cost
$4.50 a bf, you multiply 7 x $4.50 = $31.50. That is your cost for that
board!
Your Hardwood Flooding is T&G w/relief?!
T&G simply means Tongue & Groove. The "exposure"
of a T&G board is the face of the flooring
once installed. So if the board has a 5 1/2" exposure, depending
on the size of the "tongue", the board is
probably 5 3/4" or 5 7/8" wide (counting the tongue length). Once
the flooring is installed the tongue of the
the board fits into the groove of the opposing board leaving the exposure.
Hardwood flooring with relief cuts is there so the board expands and
contracts better.
On the back of the board are a series of 3 or 4, 1/4" to 3/8" grooves
cut into the board.
This allows the board to "breathe" better, therefore expanding and
contracting more evenly
to help prevent bowing and warping.