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Board Feet Calculator

Calculate board feet of lumber.

How it is calculated

A board foot is a volume of lumber equal to 144 cubic inches (1 in × 12 in × 12 in). The tool uses bd ft = thickness × width × length / 12 × quantity, with thickness and width in inches and length in feet. Dividing by 12 turns the length from feet into the 12-inch units of one board foot. The quantity multiplies the result, so enter 1 for a single board. All four values must be zero or more. The tool uses exactly the dimensions you type; it does not convert nominal sizes (such as a 2×6) to the smaller actual sizes.

Worked example

Ten boards, each 2 in thick, 6 in wide and 8 ft long. One board: 2 × 6 × 8 / 12 = 96 / 12 = 8 board feet. Ten boards: 8 × 10 = 80.00 bd ft. If lumber is priced at a given amount per board foot, multiply that price by 80 for the total cost.

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Common mistakes

  • Entering the length in inches instead of feet, which makes the result 12 times too large.
  • Using actual sizes where the seller counts nominal sizes, or the other way round; a nominal 2×6 measures about 1.5 × 5.5 in.
  • Forgetting the quantity field and pricing a single board.
  • Confusing board feet with linear feet or square feet; board feet measure volume.

About this calculator

This calculator finds board feet, the standard volume unit for lumber, using (thickness in inches × width in inches × length in feet) ÷ 12 per board, then multiplies by quantity to get a total — one board foot equals a piece of wood 1 inch thick, 12 inches wide and 1 foot long.

Lumber yards price rough-sawn hardwood by the board foot, so woodworkers and contractors use this calculator to estimate material cost and how much stock to buy before cutting a project's parts list.

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Comments (1)

  • Editorial team

    Lumber is sold by volume but cut with waste, so the figure here is the minimum, not the amount to buy. Woodworkers commonly add roughly 10 to 20 percent for defects, saw kerf and mistakes, and more for figured or knotty stock. For hardwood, remember that thickness is often quoted in quarters: 4/4 means 1 inch and 8/4 means 2 inches, so enter those as 1 and 2. What species and thickness are you pricing for your project?

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