Board Foot Calculator
Board feet and cost for a lumber list, plus cubic metres and cubic feet.
About this tool
Add each size of board as thickness ร width in inches, length in feet (or inches) and quantity. The calculator shows the board feet for each line, the total, the cost at your price per board foot, and the volume in cubic metres and cubic feet. Add or remove lines to build a full cut list.
What a board foot is
A board foot is a volume of wood 1 inch thick, 12 inches wide and 1 foot long, which is 144 cubic inches. For any board, board feet = thickness (in) ร width (in) ร length (ft) รท 12. A 2 ร 4 eight feet long is 5.33 board feet, so ten of them are 53.33. Twenty 1 ร 6 boards 10 feet long add 100 more, for a total of 153.33 board feet, which costs 536.67 at 3.50 per board foot. That is about 0.36 mยณ. Hardwood is sold by the board foot, often by rough thickness in quarters, where 4/4 is 1 inch and 8/4 is 2 inches. Softwood dimensional lumber is usually priced per piece or per linear foot, but its board feet are still worked out from the nominal size, not the smaller actual size after planing. Honest limits: add 15โ20% to a cut list for knots, splits and offcuts, and check whether your yard quotes rough or surfaced sizes. The unit converter switches units, the volume calculator handles other shapes and the fence calculator counts boards for a fence.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate board feet?
Thickness in inches ร width in inches ร length in feet รท 12. A 2 ร 4 ร 8 ft board is 5.33 board feet.
How many board feet are in a cubic foot?
Twelve. One board foot is 144 cubic inches and a cubic foot is 1,728.
Do I use nominal or actual sizes?
Lumber yards calculate board feet from nominal sizes, so a 2 ร 4 counts as 2 ร 4 even though it measures about 1.5 ร 3.5 in.
Is my data saved?
No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing is stored or sent.