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Cubic Feet to Board Feet Calculator

Convert a timber volume in cubic feet into board feet for US pricing and ordering.

Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Figures are presented for United States against IRC 2024, and every formula is cited under regulatory standards below.

Last verified 2026-08-26 · v1.0.0

Market
Imperial · sales tax

Board footage

120 bd ft

High confidence

1 cu ft = 12 board feet exactly. A pure volume conversion — add dressing, defect and cutting allowances on top.

Conversion factor applied
12 bd ft per cu ft

A timber requirement worked out as a volume has to be expressed in board feet before it can be priced, since that is the unit yards quote in. Twelve board feet to the cubic foot does the conversion. Two allowances belong on top of the result rather than inside it. Rough-sawn timber loses material to dressing before it reaches its finished size, and any timber loses more to defect and cutting. Hardwood makes this explicit through grading: a lower grade costs less per board foot precisely because a smaller proportion of each board is usable, so the cheaper rate does not necessarily produce cheaper usable timber.

Add the equipment this sizes

This result is a specification — 120 bd ft — not a quantity. Put the thing it sizes into your project: how many, what you call it, and your supplier’s price.

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 — confirmed fixes become pinned regression tests.

[Schema Verified] Computed in alignment with American Concrete Institute (ACI 318-19) formulas and International Residential Code (IRC 2024) spatial boundaries.

Regulatory standards & verification citations

  • 1 cubic foot = 12 board feet, since a board foot is 1/12 cu ft

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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.

Frequently asked questions

Why do yards price in board feet?
Because it lets timber of different thicknesses and widths be priced on a common volume basis. A yard can quote one rate per board foot across many sizes, which a per-piece price cannot do.
Does this account for waste?
No. It is a pure volume conversion. Rough-sawn timber in particular needs an allowance for dressing, defect and cutting, and that allowance is added to the board footage rather than contained in it.
What about hardwood grading?
Hardwood is sold in board feet but graded on the proportion of clear, defect-free material each board yields. A lower grade at a lower price per board foot can cost more in usable timber once waste is accounted for.