Even though these slats were suppose to be only  54" long  they were  56" long and I had to cut off 2"  on all the boards.  No big deal I have a table saw to do that but it was just the principle  of  the thing. If I order  54" long ( which is what I ordered ) then in  except  it to be that  dimension. It did work out great for me after all. Well made pine boards ( 3/4"  thick and 3" wide ) to support a mattress or box spring.  Great price and worked well for me.