Calculate board feet for hardwood lumber. Enter the thickness, width, and length to get board feet per board and the total.
Board Feet
— bf
Total board feet.Usage Tip
Quarter notation gives thickness in quarter-inches: 4/4 = 1″, 6/4 = 1.5″, 8/4 = 2″. Buy 15 to 20% extra hardwood for knots, checks, and planing loss.
THE MATH
Board feet = Thickness (in) × Width (in) × Length (ft) ÷ 12
(same as T × W × L ÷ 144 with length in inches)
Total = board feet × quantity
(same as T × W × L ÷ 144 with length in inches)
Total = board feet × quantity
A board foot is a volume unit for lumber: 144 cubic inches, the same as a 1″ × 12″ × 12″ board. Hardwood is usually priced per board foot.
Use nominal dimensions (a 4/4 board counts as 1″ thick) since that is how lumber is sold.
Use nominal dimensions (a 4/4 board counts as 1″ thick) since that is how lumber is sold.
Hardwood is sold by the board foot; softwood and dimensional lumber are usually sold by the piece or linear foot instead.
Lumber is priced on nominal (rough) thickness — a 4/4 board is 1″ for pricing even though it planes down to about 13/16″.
Round board-foot counts up and add waste for defects, planing, and trimming — rough lumber rarely yields 100%.
Lumber is priced on nominal (rough) thickness — a 4/4 board is 1″ for pricing even though it planes down to about 13/16″.
Round board-foot counts up and add waste for defects, planing, and trimming — rough lumber rarely yields 100%.