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Board Foot Calculator

Calculate board feet for any lumber dimensions. Add multiple lumber types to get your full order total — with optional cost estimate.

Board Feet Multi-Item Cost PDF
Lumber Order

Board Feet = (Thickness × Width × Length in inches) ÷ 144

Thickness (in) Width (in) Length (ft) Qty $/BF Board Feet
Global Settings
$/BF
Applied to rows with no individual price set
%
Common Lumber Sizes
Order Summary
Total Board Feet
0 BF
Before waste
With Waste Factor
0 BF
Order this amount
Total Pieces
0
All lumber items combined
Order Breakdown
→ Framing Stud Calculator

How to Calculate Board Feet

A board foot is a unit of lumber measurement equal to 1 inch thick × 12 inches wide × 12 inches long (144 cubic inches). The formula is:

Board Feet = (Thickness × Width × Length) ÷ 144
where thickness and width are in inches, length is in inches (multiply feet × 12)

Examples

Nominal vs Actual Dimensions

Board feet use nominal dimensions (the stated size), not actual dimensions. A 2×4 is actually 1.5" × 3.5" — but for board foot calculations, you use 2 and 4. This is the industry standard.

Turn your lumber list into a quote.

Take your board foot totals into BuildQuotes to create a professional estimate.