Board Foot Calculator
A board foot is one square foot of lumber one inch thick — the unit hardwood yards and many lumber counters use to price rough stock. Measure thickness and width in inches and length in feet or inches, then multiply and divide to compare boards or build a takeoff list before you visit the yard.
Use the board feet calculator below for one piece or up to twenty rows. Optional price per board foot turns the list into an estimated lumber cost. Your dimensions never go in the URL and nothing uploads.
How to calculate board feet
Hardwood is often sold by rough thickness in quarters (4/4 is about one inch). Softwood at a big box store is usually billed on nominal size — enter the dimensions on the tag, not the actual dressed size.
Board foot formula:
BF = T(in) × W(in) × L(in) ÷ 144— the same as T × W × L(ft) ÷ 12 when length is in feet.
Worked example: 1 in thick × 6 in wide × 8 ft long → 1 × 6 × 96 ÷ 144 =4.00 board feet.
Your lumber list stays on this device. Nothing is saved or sent to a server.
Board foot lumber list
| T (in) | W (in) | Length | Qty | Quick | Remove |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Handy gear for measuring lumber at the yard
- 25-foot tape measure for thickness, width, and length on rough boards (opens in new tab)
- Lumber crayons or carpenter pencils for marking cut lines on stock (opens in new tab)
- Pinless wood moisture meter for checking dryness before you buy (opens in new tab)
- Speed square for checking square edges and layout marks (opens in new tab)
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