Where I come from, square feet and feet squared mean two different things.
500' X 500' is 500 feet squared, 25' X 20' is 500 square feet. 10^2 is 100,
not the sum of 2 X 5, but I may be more of a math nerd than a contractor, so
perhaps ft^2 does equate to sqft 'round here.

"Robert Bonomi" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Rumpy wrote:
There seems to be some, but not a lot of ipe data already on this
newsgroup. I'm preparing to have a ~500 ft^2 deck replaced using 1x6
ipe (the old deck was 2x6 cedar). Because there is almost no local
experience using ipe I've had to spec out everything myself to decking
contractors. I think I have most of the topics covered (anchorseal, ss
fasteners, carbide teeth on saws). I'd really appreciate if anyone
could provide their suggestions on:

500 Feet squared is 500' X 500', that is one big deck. Do you mean 500
sqft?

25 ft * 20 ft == 25*20 ft*ft == 500 ft^2

ft^2 _is_ "square foot"

ft^3 is "cubic foot"

But, I figure you know all that, and are just jerking his chain.