Board Feet Chart and Calculator
Board feet is used as a volume measurement of lumber.
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One board foot of lumber is one square foot that is one inch thick. Board foot is a volume measurement used for lumber, where
- 1 board foot = 144 in3 = 1⁄12 ft3 = 2360 cm3 = 2.360 liters = 0.002360 m3
Board feet can be calculated as
BF = t wft L
= t win L / 12 (1)
where
BF = board feet
wft = nominal lumber width (ft)
win = nominal lumber width (in)
t = nominal lumber thickness (in)
L = nominal lumber length (ft)
Note the use of inches vs. feet.
Board Feet Calculator
Default values for a piece of lumber with dimensions 2" x 4" x 6'.
t - thickness (in)
w - width (in)
L - length (ft)
price (cost/bf)
- Download Board Feet Chart as pdf-file
Example - Beard Feet
The board feet for lumber 3 inches thick, 2 inches wide and 12 ft long - can be calculated as
BF = (3 in) (2 in) (12 ft) / 12
= 6 board feet
- as indicated in the table above.
Quick Approximation for Calculating Board Feet
- 1 x 4 - divide linear length (feet) by 3 - (length x 1/3)
- 1 x 6 - divide linear length (feet) by 2 - (length x 1/2)
- 1 x 8 - multiply linear length (feet) by 0.66 - (length x 2/3)
- 1 x 12 - linear length (feet) equals board feet - (length x 1)
- 2 x 4 - multiply linear length by 0.66 - (length x 2/3)
- 2 x 6 - linear length (feet) equals board feet - (length x 1)
- 2 x 8 - multiply linear length by 1.33 - (length x 1 1/3)
- 2 x 12 - multiply linear length by 2 - (length x 2)
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