Lumber Board Feet
Convert lumber size and length into board feet and cost.
About Lumber Board Feet
A board foot is a lumber volume unit equal to a one-inch-thick, twelve-inch-wide, one-foot-long piece. Multiplying by the number of boards and the price gives the total cost. Softwood lumber is sold by the board foot, so converting nominal sizes to board feet is the only way to compare prices between different dimensions.
Formula
Lumber Board Feet
Board feet = thickness x width x length / 12
- board foot
- One foot of 1x12, or equivalent volume
Worked example
With the default values below, Lumber Board Feet returns Total Board Feet of 40. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Thickness
- 1 in
- Width
- 6 in
- Length
- 8 ft
- Number of boardsminimum 1
- 10
- Price per board footminimum 0
- 2.5
Results
- Per Board
- 4.0 bd ft
- Total Board Feet
- 40 bd ft
- Total Cost
- $100.00
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Lumber Board Feet
- 3Total Board Feet= 40 bd ft
- 4Per Board= 4.0 bd ft
- 5Total Cost= 100.00
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Lumber Board Feet calculated?
Board feet = thickness x width x length / 12 A board foot is a lumber volume unit equal to a one-inch-thick, twelve-inch-wide, one-foot-long piece. Multiplying by the number of boards and the price gives the total cost.
Why does Lumber Board Feet matter?
Softwood lumber is sold by the board foot, so converting nominal sizes to board feet is the only way to compare prices between different dimensions.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 5 inputs: Thickness, Width, Length, Number of boards, Price per board foot. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.