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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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