SettingsSettings for this calculationUS
Nominal thickness, before surfacing.
Hardwood is quoted in quarters: 4/4 is one inch, 5/4 is an inch and a quarter, 8/4 is two inches. Board footage is measured on the nominal thickness, so a surfaced 4/4 board that actually measures 13/16 in is still sold as one inch.
Width of the board.
The NOMINAL width, because board feet are a nominal-dimension unit — a 2×6 is board-footed as 2 by 6 even though it measures about 38 × 140 mm dressed. Using the actual dressed width undercounts by roughly a quarter and produces a figure the yard will not recognise. If the timber is rough-sawn and genuinely full-size, nominal and actual agree.
Length of the board.
The length in feet, which is the one dimension board feet take as actual rather than nominal — timber is sold in even foot lengths and a board is normally at or slightly over its stated length. If you are pricing offcuts, use the piece you will be charged for rather than the piece you will use: a merchant sells the board.
How many identical boards.
How many pieces of exactly that size. Where a list has several sizes, run each separately and add: the board-foot measure is a volume, so an average across mixed sizes is arithmetically fine and practically useless — a merchant prices by size, and one total tells you nothing about what to order.
Total board feet
4 board feet
Measured on nominal thickness, as the trade does. Actual surfaced dimensions are smaller and are not used for pricing.
- Per board
- 4 bf
- Cubic feet
- 0.33 ft³
- Cubic metres
- 0.01 m³
They open the calculator with your figures already in it
Board Foot Calculator: 4 board feet — shown in imperial, US market. The link sets both, so the result they see is the one on your screen.
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How this was calculated
Formula source(s)
- 1 board foot = 144 in³ — nominally 1 in thick by 12 in wide by 1 ft long
- NHLA Rules for the Measurement and Inspection of Hardwood — board footage is measured on nominal thickness before surfacing
Inputs used
- Nominal thickness
- 1 in
- Width
- 6 in
- Length
- 8 ft
- Number of boards
- 1
Intermediate steps
- Per board
- 4 bf
- Cubic feet
- 0.33 ft³
- Cubic metres
- 0.01 m³
Confidence note: Measured on nominal thickness, as the trade does. Actual surfaced dimensions are smaller and are not used for pricing.
What this calculation does not cover
- This counts the board footage in the boards you describe, not what a job consumes. Rough hardwood loses volume to jointing, planing, ripping to width and cutting around knots, sapwood, checks and end splits, and the shortfall is large enough that shops order well above the net figure. Treat the result as the timber you are buying, not the timber that reaches the finished piece.
- Every board is treated as a perfect rectangle at exactly the width and length entered. A yard tallying by NHLA surface measure takes width to the nearest inch and length in whole feet, and a tapered, waney or live-edge board has no single width at all, so the ticket you are charged against can differ board by board from this figure.
- The board count multiplies one identical board. A mixed lift has to be run as separate calculations and added; widths alone can be averaged, and only across boards that share the same thickness and length.
- The cubic feet and cubic metres rows are derived from the nominal footage, so they are an accounting volume rather than the volume of wood delivered. A surfaced 4/4 board is thinner than the inch it is billed as, and dimensional lumber is smaller still. Do not use these rows for weight, shipping volume, kiln loads or finish coverage without reducing them to the actual milled sizes.
- Board footage is a quantity, not a price and not a strength check. Species, grade, thickness, kiln drying, surfacing and premiums for wide or long stock all move the cost of identical footage, and short lengths, sheet goods and turning blanks are sold by the piece or the sheet rather than by the board foot at all.
Estimated cost — your price
This site holds no price list for this material — local prices vary too much to publish honestly. Enter your supplier's price and the result is costed with it.
Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Presented in US customary units and US trade terminology. Where a formula follows a published standard, that standard and its edition are cited beside it on this page; where none governs, the page says so. Local amendments override model codes — verify against the code in force where you build.
Sources checked 2026-09-02 · in the site-wide review of 2026-09-06 · v1.0.1
Regulatory standards & verification citations2
- 1 board foot = 144 in³ — nominally 1 in thick by 12 in wide by 1 ft long
- NHLA Rules for the Measurement and Inspection of Hardwood — board footage is measured on nominal thickness before surfacing
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Your workspace
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Tools and safety for this job
To cut framing lumber. Generic types, no brands, no prices.
Protection this work requires
- Hardwood dust is a recognised carcinogen: extract at the tool and wear a P2/N95 respirator when cutting or sanding indoors.
- Saws, grinders and breakers run above 85 dB, where hearing damage accumulates and does not recover: defenders or plugs for every cut, not just the long ones.
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Essential
Circular saw
Combination or framing square
Tape measure
Recommended
Mitre saw
Optional
Hand saw
Also needed as materials: circular saw blades, mitre saw blades.
what each carpentry tool is for, and the spec that decides which to buy where one does.