Work out board feet from thickness, width and length, for any number of boards, with cubic metres and total cost from your price per board foot.
Board feet = thickness in inches × width in inches × length in feet ÷ 12. One board foot is a piece of wood 1 ft long, 1 ft wide and 1 in thick, which is 144 cubic inches. A 2 × 4 that is 8 ft long counts as 2 × 4 × 8 ÷ 12 = 5.333 board feet, and ten of them are 53.333 board feet. The page does this sum live as you type. Type the size your seller prices by: lumber yards in the US use the nominal size, so a 2 × 4 is 2 in by 4 in on the price tag. The result shows one board, all boards, cubic feet and cubic metres.
A 2 × 4 is a name. After drying and planing, a softwood 2 × 4 measures 1.5 in by 3.5 in, a 2 × 6 measures 1.5 by 5.5, a 2 × 8 measures 1.5 by 7.25 and a 2 × 10 measures 1.5 by 9.25 (dressed sizes from US Voluntary Product Standard PS 20 and the NDS). At 8 ft, a nominal 2 × 4 is 5.333 board feet and the actual 1.5 × 3.5 piece is 3.5 board feet. Sellers of dimension lumber normally charge by the nominal figure, so use nominal to match a bill. Use actual when you need the real wood volume, for example to estimate weight or to compare with a cubic metre price. The table under the result lists seven common sizes at your length both ways.
Choose millimetres and metres to type a metric board. The page converts with exact factors, 25.4 mm per inch and 0.3048 m per foot, then gives the same board feet. One board foot equals 0.00236 m³ (144 × 0.0254³). So a board 25.4 mm thick, 304.8 mm wide and 0.3048 m long is exactly 1 board foot and 0.00236 m³. A 50 mm by 100 mm board 2.4 m long holds 0.012 m³, about 5.09 board feet. If your supplier sells hardwood by the cubic metre, the cubic metre figure is the one to compare.
Enter a price per board foot and the page multiplies it by the total board feet. At $4.50 per board foot, 53.333 board feet cost $240.00. Hardwood is often sold this way, while softwood framing is usually priced per piece or per linear foot, so check how your seller quotes before you compare. The page works one size at a time, so for a cut list with several sizes run each size and add the totals. It does not add waste, kerf, grade or species density, and it does not round each board up the way some yards do.
Thickness (in) × width (in) × length (ft) ÷ 12. A board 2 in thick, 6 in wide and 10 ft long is 2 × 6 × 10 ÷ 12 = 10 board feet.
5.333 board feet by nominal size (2 × 4 × 8 ÷ 12). Using the actual 1.5 × 3.5 in size it is 3.5 board feet. Yards normally charge by the nominal figure.
One board foot is 144 cubic inches, which is 1/12 of a cubic foot or 0.0833 ft³. So 24 board feet fill 2 ft³, and 12 board feet equal 1 ft³.
About 423.78 board feet. One board foot is 0.00235974 m³, so 1 ÷ 0.00235974 = 423.78. This uses the exact definition of 144 cubic inches.
Use nominal to match a price list, because 2 × 4 means 2 in by 4 in on the tag. Use actual (1.5 × 3.5 in) for real wood volume, such as weight estimates.
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