How to Figure Board Feet [Calculator, Formulas, & Chart]

What is a Board Foot?

Before considering how to figure board feet, let’s first ask, “What is a Board Foot?”

The Board Foot is a unit of volume measure for wood that is largely used in the United States and Canada.  It may be abbreviated as “bf”.

Most hardwood is priced by the board foot at the lumber yard, so being able to calculate board feet is an important woodworking skill.  A Board Foot is a piece of lumber that is 1″ thick, 1″ wide, and 1 foot in length:

What is the Formula for Calculating Board Feet? (How to Calculate Board Feet)

The formula to calculate board feet is pretty simple:

Thickness x Width x Length / 12 = Board Feet  Thickness and Width are in inches, Length is in feet.

So, as you can see, the board feet can be calculated for lumber of any length, width, and thickness.

How to Figure Board Feet with Our Board-Foot Calculator

Here’s our board foot calculator:

feet

Example:  How many board feet is a 2x4x10?

Using the Calculator above, we enter 2″ thick by 4″ width by 10 feet length to come up with 6.666666666666667 board feet.  That’s the easiest way for how to calculate board feet.

Example:  How many board feet is a 2x6x10?

To determine board foot for a 2x6x10, using the Board-Foot Calculator above, we enter 2″ thick by 6″ width by 10 feet length to compute the answer of 10 board feet.

How do you calculate board feet in a bundle of lumber?

Just calculate how many board feet are there for each unique size of lumber (using our board foot calculator, for example) and then total them all up to find the bundle’s board feet.

Board Footage Chart