Board Foot Calculator
Hardwood and a lot of lumber is priced by the board foot. Enter the board size and the number of boards to get the total and the cost.
Total 80.00 BF
- Per board
- 8.000 BF
- Cost
- —
What is a board foot?
A board foot is 144 cubic inches of wood, the same as a board 1 in thick, 12 in wide and 1 ft long.
Board feet = thickness (in) × width (in) × length (ft) ÷ 12
| Board | Board feet |
|---|---|
| 1 × 6 × 8 ft | 4.00 |
| 2 × 4 × 8 ft | 5.33 |
| 2 × 6 × 10 ft | 10.00 |
| 2 × 10 × 12 ft | 20.00 |
| 4 × 4 × 8 ft | 10.67 |
| 8/4 × 8 in × 8 ft hardwood | 10.67 |
Nominal or actual size?
Board feet are counted from the nominal size. A 2×4 is sold as 2 × 4 in even though it measures 1½ × 3½ in after drying and planing. Rough hardwood is sold by quarters of an inch: 4/4 is 1 in, 5/4 is 1¼ in and 8/4 is 2 in, measured before surfacing. Widths of random-width hardwood are measured on each board.
Buy 15–30 % more hardwood than the project's net board feet to cover defects, saw kerf and grain matching.