The Different Grades of Lumber

Which Grade of Lumber Do You Need?

When you’re remodeling your house, you find out for the first time that lumber comes in different grades of quality. This is a hard thing to navigate, as many people don’t know how the quality of the wood is going to affect the quality of the overall remodel. The truth is, knowing the grades of lumber could save you a ton of money, or save you from a shoddy job. Either way, it’s something that you’re going to want to know about going into the remodel. Here are the different grades of lumber for your remodel and what they could end up doing for your home.

Select Lumber

Select lumber is the kind of lumber that you make a table out of. It’s the kind that you varnish because of how pristine it is. It’s the kind of wood that you’re making a real effort to protect to make sure that it stays looking as good as it does when you first got it. Grade A select lumber is almost completely blemish free, making it the most sought after type of lumber, while Grade B will only have a few blemishes. You don’t want to go down to grades C or D, as that’s when the wood starts getting to be pretty poor quality for the purposes of making a piece out of it. If you do end up going lower, you’re probably not going to want for that wood to be exposed. Wood that’s grade C or D should always be painted to cover up the natural blemishes that exist in the wood. If painted, these grades could actually look nice, but you’re not going to want to use it for an exposed surface piece.

Common Lumber

Common lumber is the type that you’re going to use during construction, and is usually known for being slightly lower quality. This is the type of wood that you’re not going to see, but is just as strong a s the rest of the wood in your home, it’s just not as pretty to look at. These come in grades 1-3 (don’t go below 3 for the most part. Number one has absolutely no knotholes, number two has slightly more knots and blemishes, while number three contains just a few knotholes and blemishes. These three grades are usually the ones that you’re going to find at a lumber yard, as most construction teams don’t want to go below that grade.

Knowing Your Lumber

Now whether you need to make a table, or build a house, you’re going to know the grade and type of lumber you need to get the job done correctly. For exposed wood, you’re going to need grade A select lumber, while for painted wood you can usually go down to grade C. For common lumber, you want to stay in the first three grades and only use that wood for general construction, as it’s not quality enough to create a piece out of. By knowing your wood, your next remodel is going to look great!