Board foot calculator
Convert a lumber cut list into board feet, cubic volume, and material cost from thickness, width, length, and piece count.
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Board foot calculator: how it works
Practical information to understand the result and use this tool correctly.
About Board foot calculator
A board foot is 144 cubic inches: a board 12 inches wide, 12 inches long, and 1 inch thick. For each cut the tool uses board feet = thickness (in) × width (in) × length (ft) × quantity ÷ 12, then adds the waste percent you set.
Softwood sold as a 2×4 is usually dressed to about 1.5 × 3.5 inches. Some yards bill the nominal name size, others bill the dressed size. Switch the size basis and the common-section chips fill the matching inches. Custom millimeter sizes are treated as the numbers you typed.
The cut list can hold up to 12 lines. Cubic feet are board feet ÷ 12, and cubic meters use 0.00236 m³ per board foot. Optional price is per board foot after waste, not per stick. Pieces to order round the count up after waste.
Nothing is uploaded. This is a volume and shopping estimate, not a span table or grade check. It does not add headers, hardware, or moisture shrinkage.
How to use it
- 1Pick an example or add cuts with thickness, width, length, and quantity.
- 2Choose inches/feet or millimeters/meters, and nominal or dressed size.
- 3Set waste and, if you want a budget, the price per board foot.
- 4Read board feet, cubic volume, pieces to order, and copy the list.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you calculate board feet?
- Multiply thickness in inches by width in inches by length in feet by the number of pieces, then divide by 12. An 8 ft dressed 2×4 (1.5 × 3.5) is 3.5 board feet.
- Should I use nominal or actual size?
- Use the size your supplier bills. Dressed softwood is smaller than the name: a 2×4 is about 1.5 × 3.5 inches. Nominal billing uses 2 × 4 and gives a higher board-foot count.
- Can I enter metric lumber?
- Yes. Millimeters and meters are converted to inches and feet before the board-foot formula. A 20 × 200 mm board, 1.8 m long, is about 3.05 board feet.
- Is the cut list uploaded?
- No. Thickness, length, and price stay in the browser. There is no account and no server calculation.
- Does waste change the volume?
- Yes. The with-waste board feet and the piece count both apply your waste percent. Cost uses the with-waste volume. The base board-foot line does not include waste.