The whole toolkit, one page
Board Foot Calculators & Lumber Guides
This is the index I wish I'd had as a new buyer: every calculator and guide on the site, grouped by the job you're trying to do. Start with the how to calculate board feet walkthrough if you're new, or jump straight to the tool you need below. Every page here is written to match how lumber yards actually bill — not textbook math.
Which calculator do you need?
The main board foot calculator handles most jobs — softwood, hardwood and logs in one place, with cost and shipping weight. The rest are purpose-built for a specific task, so you skip the settings and get a number faster.
Board Foot Calculator
The all-in-one tool: softwood, hardwood and logs, with cost and weight.
Hardwood Calculator
Actual sizes, 4/4–12/4 quarter thickness and NHLA rounding for dealer stock.
Log Calculator
Doyle, Scribner and International ¼-inch rules for lumber yield from logs.
Lumber Cost Calculator
Turn board feet into a budget with price per board foot by species.
Cut List Calculator
Tally a whole project — up to 30 boards, multiple species, CSV export.
Spray Foam Calculator
Area × thickness for insulation board feet and how many foam kits.
Calculator Widget
Embed a free board foot calculator iframe on a woodworking or lumber website.
How do you convert board feet to other units?
When a price is quoted in one unit but your plan is in another, these converters keep you from guessing. They're the two conversions I reach for most when checking a quote against a cut list.
What are the core board foot concepts?
If your number never matches the yard's, the answer is almost always in one of these four. Start with the pillar — how to calculate board feet — then fill the gaps.
- How to Calculate Board Feet — the formula, worked examples, fractions and the rounding mistakes that inflate a bill. This is the hub everything else supports.
- What Is a Board Foot? — the plain-English definition (144 cubic inches) and why lumber is sold by volume, not area.
- The Board Foot Formula, Explained — where the ÷12 comes from, and the inches-only ÷144 version.
- Nominal vs Actual Dimensions — why a 2×4 is really 1.5″ × 3.5″ and when each size is used for pricing.
Which sizes and charts should you bookmark?
These are the reference pages I keep open at the yard. Print the cheat sheet and you can total most boards in your head.
- Board Foot Cheat Sheet — board feet per linear foot for every common size, printable.
- Lumber Size Chart — nominal vs actual dimensions in inches for 1x, 2x, 4x and 6x softwood.
- Hardwood Lumber Thickness Guide — what 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 8/4 and 12/4 mean and how dealers round them.
Board feet versus other measurements
Mixing up units is the fastest way to a wildly wrong order. These comparisons keep volume, area and length straight — and explain why your invoice can read higher than your tape.
- Board Feet vs Square Feet — volume versus area, and when lumber uses each.
- Board Feet vs Linear Feet — why hardwood sells by board feet and trim by the running foot.
- Gross Tally vs Net Tally — why rough-green footage and dried-surfaced footage differ by 6–12%.
How do you buy lumber without getting burned?
The whole reason this site exists. These guides cover the buffer to add, how to read a tally, and what to do when the invoice beats your own measurement.
- How to Buy Lumber by the Board Foot — a buyer's checklist for verifying a tally before you pay.
- Lumber Waste Factor Guide — how much extra to order by project, from 10% flooring to 35% rough sawn.
- Why Calculators Disagree — the five real reasons two tools give different board feet.
- Why the Yard Charged More — rough size, quarter rounding and footage rounding, explained.
- Fewer Boards Than Expected? — why board feet measure volume, not pieces.
How many board feet in a single board?
Quick answers for the sizes people search most, each with a full chart by length and the nominal-vs-actual catch.
- How Many Board Feet in a 2x4? — 0.667 BF per foot.
- How Many Board Feet in a 2x6? — exactly 1.0 BF per foot.
- How Many Board Feet in a 2x8? — 1.333 BF per foot.
- How Many Board Feet in a 2x10? — 1.667 BF per foot.
- How Many Board Feet in a 4x4? — 1.333 BF per foot for posts.
New here? The fastest start is the board foot calculator itself, then circle back to how to calculate board feet to understand the number it gives you. Questions or a correction? Meet the team or get in touch.