WOOD SERIES : Wood Basics

What is a board foot?
The easiest way to grasp this industry convention is simply to understand that a board foot is a unit of volume equal to 144 cubic inches of wood. A board's three dimensions (thickness, width and length) in inches are multiplied together, then divided by 144 to arrive at board footage.

Ex: A board that is 84" long, 6" wide and 1" thick
84 x 6 x 1 = 504
504/144 = 3.5 board feet (bf)

The equivalent of 1 board foot....
24" x 6" x 1" = 1bf
12" x 6" x 2" = 1bf 

What does 4/4 and 8/4 etc mean?
This refers to the thickness of the board, measured in quarters of an inch.

Examples:
4/4 - 1" thick
5/4 - 1 1/4" thick
6/4 - 1 1/2" thick
8/4 - 2" thick
10/4 - 2 1/2" thick
12/4 - 3" thick
...