Price a lumber order the way the lumberyard does. List each board’s thickness, width, length and quantity (or pick a standard size), enter the price per board foot, and get board feet per piece, the total for the order and the cost. Works for rough hardwood in quarters as well as framing lumber.
📌 Board feet = thickness (in) × width (in) × length (ft) ÷ 12. By convention hardwood is measured on nominal (rough) thickness in quarters (4/4 = 1 in, 8/4 = 2 in) and actual width; dimensional softwood such as a 2 × 4 is quoted by nominal size (actual 1½ × 3½ in).
Share:
Board feet chart for common sizes
Nominal size
6 ft
8 ft
10 ft
12 ft
16 ft
1 × 4
2
2.67
3.33
4
5.33
1 × 6
3
4
5
6
8
1 × 8
4
5.33
6.67
8
10.67
1 × 12
6
8
10
12
16
2 × 4
4
5.33
6.67
8
10.67
2 × 6
6
8
10
12
16
2 × 8
8
10.67
13.33
16
21.33
2 × 10
10
13.33
16.67
20
26.67
2 × 12
12
16
20
24
32
4 × 4
8
10.67
13.33
16
21.33
6 × 6
18
24
30
36
48
Board feet, nominal dimensions. A 1 × 12 is exactly one board foot per foot of length, which is a handy mental check.
Worked example
Ten 2 × 6 × 8 ft joists: 2 × 6 × 8 ÷ 12 = 8 bf each, 80 bf in total. Four 1 × 12 × 10 ft shelf boards: 10 bf each, 40 bf. The order is 120 board feet; at $3.50 per bf that is $420. For rough hardwood, count 8/4 stock as 2 inches thick even if it finishes at 1¾: the mill charges for what it sawed, not what is left after planing.
A unit of lumber volume equal to a board 1 inch thick, 12 inches wide and 1 foot long — 144 cubic inches. Hardwood dealers and sawmills price rough lumber per board foot because boards come in random widths and lengths; home centers price dimensional softwood per piece instead.
Thickness in inches × width in inches × length in feet ÷ 12. A 2 × 6 that is 8 feet long is 2 × 6 × 8 ÷ 12 = 8 board feet; ten of them are 80 bf, which at $3.50 per bf costs $280. If the length is in inches, divide by 144 instead of 12.
For hardwood, thickness is the rough-sawn nominal size in quarters (4/4 = 1 in, 5/4 = 1¼ in, 8/4 = 2 in) even after planing, and width is the actual measured width. For softwood dimensional lumber (2×4, 2×6) the trade uses nominal sizes: a 2×4 counts as 2 × 4 even though it measures 1½ × 3½ in. Use the presets for the conventional numbers.
An 8-ft 2×4 is 2 × 4 × 8 ÷ 12 = 5.33 board feet; a 10-ft is 6.67 and a 12-ft is 8. A 16-ft 2×6 is 16 bf, a 12-ft 2×12 is 24 bf, and a 4×4 post 8 ft long is 10.67 bf.
Add 10–15 % for defects, cutting waste and matching grain in furniture, up to 20–30 % for rough hardwood where knots, checks and sapwood must be cut around. For framing with dimensional lumber, 5–10 % extra usually covers cuts and the occasional warped board.