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Lineal Timber Cut List Calculator (Posts and Beams from Stock Lengths)

Count the stock lengths a cut list of timber posts or beams takes: pieces per length, lineal timber to order, offcut and volume, by section.

  • Answers as you type
  • Every formula cited
  • Calculated in your browser
SettingsSettings for this calculationUS
Market
Imperial · sales tax
The member's width as it is sold, from the drawings.

The actual size, not the name: a North American 4x4 is dressed to 3 1/2 in, and sawn and planed timber of the same nominal size differ by the planing. Only the volume rows use it; the count of lengths does not.

The other side of the section: a beam's depth, or a square post's width again.

For a beam, the vertical side; for a post, either side. The size is the drawing's or the span table's, never this page's choice.

The finished length of one post or beam, from the drawing.

A post from its footing or base plate to what it carries; a beam over its whole length, bearings included. Add what the joint at each end needs if the drawing measures between faces.

Tools needed: Tape measure

How many pieces of this section and length the job needs.

Count every post or beam of the one section and length together; a different length is its own line.

The length the timber merchant sells this section in.

Ask the merchant what it stocks in the section: longer lengths waste less when the pieces divide them evenly, and a piece longer than the length chosen is ordered to its own length.

Lineal timber to order

32 ft

High confidence

4 pieces, 2 from each stock length, end to end with nothing taken off for the saw.

Stock lengths
2 lengths
Pieces from each stock length
2 pieces
Pieces cut
4 pieces
Lineal timber in the pieces
32 ft
Offcut
0 ft
Volume of the pieces
0.1 yd³
Volume ordered
0.1 yd³
Then change the inputs to see how far the answer moves.

Show calculation logic

How this was calculated

Formula source(s)

  • A cutting list from stock lengths: pieces from one length = floor(stock length / piece length), stock lengths = pieces / pieces from each, rounded up to whole lengths; lineal timber = stock lengths x stock length, and the offcut what the pieces leave of it
  • Volume of a rectangular section = width x depth x length, of the pieces and of the lengths ordered

Inputs used

Section Width
3.5 in
Section Depth
3.5 in
Length of Each Piece
8 ft
Number of Pieces
4
Stock Length Bought
16 ft

Intermediate steps

Stock lengths
2 lengths
Pieces from each stock length
2 pieces
Pieces cut
4 pieces
Lineal timber in the pieces
32 ft
Offcut
0 ft
Volume of the pieces
0.1 yd³
Volume ordered
0.1 yd³
Final result32 ft

Confidence note: 4 pieces, 2 from each stock length, end to end with nothing taken off for the saw.

What this calculation does not cover

  • The section is used as entered and never checked: whether a post or a beam of that size carries its load is the span tables' or the engineer's question, and nothing here answers it.
  • Pieces are cut end to end with nothing taken off for the saw: each cut removes its kerf, and a length that holds the pieces exactly leaves every piece a kerf short. Enter the piece a few millimetres or a fraction of an inch long, or choose the next stock length, where the fit is that tight.
  • Every piece is the one length entered. A cutting list of several lengths is worked length by length, and offcuts from one are not offered to another, so a mixed list can need fewer stock lengths than these rows added together.
  • A piece longer than the stock length is ordered to its own length, one a piece: a post or a beam is not joined along its length without a joint designed for it.
  • Defects, splits, checks and the ends a merchant leaves rough are not allowed for; nor is the shrinkage of green timber as it dries, which takes a little off the section and the length.

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.

8 ft3.5 in3.5 in
Schematic, drawn to the proportions you entered — not to scale on screen.

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 2026-10-11 · v1.0.0

Regulatory standards & verification citations2
  1. A cutting list from stock lengths: pieces from one length = floor(stock length / piece length), stock lengths = pieces / pieces from each, rounded up to whole lengths; lineal timber = stock lengths x stock length, and the offcut what the pieces leave of it
  2. Volume of a rectangular section = width x depth x length, of the pieces and of the lengths ordered
Cite this page

Your workspace

Most jobs need more than one number. Add the calculators you need next and they open right here, underneath this one — your figures stay on screen and nothing is lost to a page change.

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.
Show the 5 tools this job needs

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.

Now that you have the number

These guides cover the work this quantity is for.

How to calculate lineal timber cut list (posts and beams from stock lengths) in 6 steps

  1. Section WidthThe member's width as it is sold, from the drawings.
  2. Section DepthThe other side of the section: a beam's depth, or a square post's width again.
  3. Length of Each PieceThe finished length of one post or beam, from the drawing.
  4. Number of PiecesHow many pieces of this section and length the job needs.
  5. Stock Length BoughtThe length the timber merchant sells this section in.
  6. Lineal timber to orderThe tool computes the lineal timber to order from those figures and shows the formula, its sources, and a confidence rating alongside it.

Frequently asked questions

How many posts come out of one length of timber?
As many whole pieces as fit end to end. A 4.8 m (15 ft 9 in) length gives two posts of 2.4 m (7 ft 10 1/2 in), and three posts of 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) with 0.3 m (11.8 in) over; a 16 ft (4.88 m) length gives two 8 ft (2.44 m) posts. The saw takes its kerf from each cut, so a fit that exact leaves each piece a hair short.
Why order whole lengths rather than the total length?
Because the pieces are cut from lengths, and what one length leaves over is too short for the next piece. Five beams of 10 ft (3.05 m) from 16 ft (4.88 m) lengths take five lengths, 80 ft (24.38 m) of timber for 50 ft (15.24 m) of beams; from 20 ft (6.10 m) lengths they would take three, two pieces in each of the first two and one in the last.
Does this tell me what size of post or beam I need?
No. The section is the drawing's or the span table's; this page counts the timber for it and works out the volume, and says nothing about the load a member carries.
What if a piece is longer than any length the merchant stocks?
Then it cannot be cut from stock, and a post or a beam is not joined along its length without a designed joint, so the page orders each such piece to its own length and says so. Many merchants cut or order long lengths and engineered beams to size.
Preliminary estimate, not certified engineering. This tool produces an indicative quantity calculation for planning purposes only — it is not a certified structural analysis, a guaranteed material takeoff, or a substitute for building department approval. Always verify measurements on-site and have a licensed contractor or structural engineer review any load-bearing, code-sensitive, or safety-critical work before purchasing materials or starting construction. Spotted an arithmetic or standards error? Report it to contact@craftquantities.com with your inputs — a confirmed fix gets a permanent check of its own, so the same mistake cannot come back.