Board Foot Calculator
One board foot is 144 cubic inches of lumber. Enter a board's dimensions to get its board feet, stack up a full cut list, and price the job. Free, fast, and everything runs in your browser.
Single board
Project estimator
Add every board on your cut list. The running total updates as you go.
Cost estimator
Enter the price per board foot from your lumberyard to price the project total above.
Add a 10 to 15 percent waste factor for cuts and defects on real projects.
Quick reference: nominal vs actual sizes
A 2x4 is not actually 2 by 4 inches. Drying and planing shrink rough-sawn boards, so lumber is sold by nominal size. Board feet are priced on nominal dimensions, but use actual dimensions when a board has to fit.
| Nominal size | Actual thickness | Actual width |
|---|---|---|
| 1 x 2 | 3/4 in | 1 1/2 in |
| 1 x 3 | 3/4 in | 2 1/2 in |
| 1 x 4 | 3/4 in | 3 1/2 in |
| 1 x 6 | 3/4 in | 5 1/2 in |
| 1 x 8 | 3/4 in | 7 1/4 in |
| 1 x 10 | 3/4 in | 9 1/4 in |
| 1 x 12 | 3/4 in | 11 1/4 in |
| 2 x 2 | 1 1/2 in | 1 1/2 in |
| 2 x 4 | 1 1/2 in | 3 1/2 in |
| 2 x 6 | 1 1/2 in | 5 1/2 in |
| 2 x 8 | 1 1/2 in | 7 1/4 in |
| 2 x 10 | 1 1/2 in | 9 1/4 in |
| 2 x 12 | 1 1/2 in | 11 1/4 in |
| 4 x 4 | 3 1/2 in | 3 1/2 in |
| 4 x 6 | 3 1/2 in | 5 1/2 in |
Common stock lengths: 8, 10, 12, and 16 feet. Length is sold as the actual measurement.
How board feet are calculated
- Multiply thickness (inches) by width (inches) by length (feet).
- Divide by 12. That is the board foot volume.
- Example: a 2x4 that is 8 feet long is (2 x 4 x 8) / 12 = 5.33 board feet.
Hardwood is usually priced per board foot at the lumberyard, so this is the number that turns a cut list into a budget.