Board Foot Calculator

Lumber List → Board Feet → Cost

Getting Started with the Board Foot Calculator

Hardwood is sold by the board foot, a measure of volume. List the boards you need and this calculator totals their board feet, adds extra for waste, and prices the list, so you know what to ask for at the lumberyard and roughly what it will cost.

How to use it

  1. Choose how to enter lengths in Settings: Inches or Feet. Lumberyards usually quote lengths in feet.
  2. List your boards under Boards. Enter the thickness, width, length and quantity of each, and a name if you like. Press Add Board for another row (it copies the row above), or the bin button to remove one.
  3. Add a price per board foot to see the cost (optional). Different species can have different prices.
  4. Set the waste allowance for knots, checks, snipe and saw kerf. 15–20% is typical for a cut list from rough lumber; go higher for figured wood or boards with a lot of defects.
  5. Bill thin stock as 4/4 if your supplier does: set Under 1" to Bill as 4/4.
  6. Read the totals in the sidebar, and print the Lumber List with Print Lumber List.
  7. Save your work with Save Project: name it, set its status (Backlog, In progress or Complete) and add notes. Press Save again as you make changes. Projects lists your saved lists, and My Projects in the site menu lists every calculator's. Projects are kept in this browser, on this device.
  8. Share with Copy link: the link opens a copy of this list for whoever you send it to. Reset starts over with the example list.

Key terms

Board foot
144 cubic inches of wood: a board 1" thick, 12" wide and 12" long. Board feet = thickness × width × length ÷ 144, with everything in inches.
Quarters (4/4, 5/4, 8/4)
Rough lumber thickness in quarter inches: 4/4 is 1", 5/4 is 1 1/4", 8/4 is 2". You can type these straight into the Thickness field.
Waste allowance
Extra wood on top of the list to cover defects, milling and cutting. To Buy is the board feet with this added, and the cost includes it.

Assumptions

  • Thickness and width are in inches; length is in inches or feet, as you choose.
  • Board feet use the dimensions you enter. Rough lumber is sold by its rough thickness, so enter 4/4 rather than the 13/16" it planes down to.
  • Width and length are taken as exact. Lumberyards may round them (to the inch or the foot) or measure random-width boards differently, so their tally can differ a little.
  • The cost is board feet to buy × price, with no tax, delivery or milling charges.
Open this guide again any time with the Getting Started button.

Boards

Thickness and width in inches; fractions and quarters (5/4, 8/4) both work. Leave the price at 0 to skip cost.

12.00 bf
5.00 bf
2.67 bf

Lumber List

Board feet = thickness × width × length ÷ 144, in inches. To buy adds a 20% waste allowance.

BoardQtyThicknessWidthLengthBF EachBF Total
Top31" (4/4)8"72"4.0012.00
Legs42" (8/4)3"30"1.255.00
Aprons21" (4/4)4"48"1.332.67
Total19.67
To buy (+20% waste)23.60