Our Board Foot Calculator helps you quickly figure out how much lumber you need for a project by converting wood dimensions into board feet. Whether you’re building furniture, planning a DIY project, or budgeting materials, this tool makes estimating wood volume fast and accurate. Just enter the thickness, width, and length of your lumber, and the calculator does the rest. It’s designed to save you time, reduce waste, and ensure you buy the right amount of wood for any woodworking task.
Note: Board Foot Calculator has 2 fields Price and Quantity that are optional, but we recommend filling them in for a more accurate understanding of your project’s cost and material needs.
Pro Tip: Always round up slightly when buying lumber, it’s better to have a little extra than to run short in the middle of your build
Board Feet Calculator
What Is a Board Foot?
In woodworking, a board foot is a standard unit of volume used to measure lumber. It represents the volume of a piece of wood that is 1 foot in length, 1 foot in width, and 1 inch in thickness. This volume unit is used for measurement of unprocessed and planed lumber.
Sometimes board foot can be confused with area unit like square feet but it represents the volume of a wood piece. It is widely used in the United States and Canada as a standard for measuring and pricing lumber. For this reason, we have created the Board Foot Calculator to know the quantity you need and how much it can cost.
How to Calculate Board Foot Manually
Board Feet Calculator takes the same steps to calculate the board feet that will be manually solved below. To do board foot calculation manually we need the thickness (in inches), width (in inches) and length (in feet) and divide them by 12. This simple calculation will give the number of board feet for a piece of lumber. Below you will have an image of the board foot formula and an example from real life.
Board foot Formula
Example :
Thickness = 4 in / Width = 12 in / Length = 16 ft
Board feet = (4 x 12 x 16) / 12 = 64 BF
How Board Foot Differs from Linear Foot and Square Foot?
The main focus of this post is board feet, but it’s easy to get confused by other common measurement terms used in woodworking and construction. When starting your first project, you may come across terms like linear foot and square foot, which might seem similar but refer to entirely different measurements.
Board foot is unit of volume, typically represented by a piece of wood that is 1 inch thick, 12 inch wide and long. Square foot is unit area, that is used to measure 2 dimensional space such as walls, floors, etc. Linear foot is a length unit that measures straight line, for example from point A to B. Below you have some of the key differences of this measurement units.
- Board foot: It only needs thickness, width, and length.
- Linear foot: It only considers a straight line from A to B.
- Square foot: It calculates the surface of a two-dimensional space.
Why Use a Board Foot Calculator?
This kind of tool easily and effectively evaluate the amount of lumber required for a project. Board feet calculator reduces the need for manual calculations, saving time and reducing the possibility of error. It helps you to correctly evaluate the required amount of lumber, helping with project planning, spending and resource management. Being a big or small project managing the amount of wood and waste, our tool helps a lot. This tool works with different types of wood and easily estimate costs.Board Foot Calculator can be valuable for your project, so don’t hesitate to use it.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the cost of a board foot of lumber?
The price depends on the wood species (pine vs. hardwood), quality grade, and current market conditions. Always check with your local lumber yard or updated lumber price guides.
2. Should I round my measurements when calculating board feet?
For most dimensional lumber, lengths are rounded up to the next foot. For hardwoods, NHLA rules say length is rounded down. It’s also smart to buy 25–50% extra to cover waste or cutting mistakes.
3. Do I need to account for waste or defects?
Yes. Board feet measure total wood volume, not the usable portion. Always add a buffer for knots, warping, trimming, and mistakes during a project.
4. How do I calculate board feet for multiple boards?
Calculate the board feet of one board, then multiply by the number of pieces:
Total Board Feet = Pieces × (Thickness × Width × Length in feet) ÷ 12
5. What is the most common mistake when using a board foot calculator?
Mixing units (inches vs. feet) or using the wrong thickness (actual vs. nominal). This leads to inaccurate totals.
6. How do I convert board feet to other units like cubic feet or cubic meters?
1 board foot = 144 cubic inches
1 board foot ≈ 0.0833 cubic feet
1 board foot ≈ 0.00236 cubic meters
7. Is board foot measurement used outside the U.S. and Canada?
Mostly in North America. Other regions—especially Europe and Asia—use metric volume units such as cubic meters or cubic feet.
8. Does the weight of the wood affect board feet?
No. Board feet measure volume only. Light woods (like balsa) and heavy woods (like oak) with the same volume equal the same board footage.
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