BuildWellBoard foot
A board foot is a unit of lumber volume equal to a board 1 inch thick, 12 inches wide and 12 inches long, or 144 cubic inches.
The formula is thickness (inches) × width (inches) × length (feet) ÷ 12. An 8-foot 2×4 is 2 × 4 × 8 ÷ 12 = 5.33 board feet. A 10-foot 2×10 is 16.67 board feet.
Board feet are usually figured from nominal dimensions, the “2×4” name, not the smaller actual size after milling. Hardwood is commonly sold by the board foot, with rough thicknesses given in quarters of an inch, such as 4/4 or 8/4.
Softwood framing lumber is more often priced per piece at retail. Board feet matter when buying hardwood, when a lumberyard quotes by the thousand board feet, and when estimating framing volume on larger jobs. If one supplier quotes per board foot and another per piece, convert one to the other before comparing prices.
Board feet measure volume; linear feet measure only length. A 12-foot 1×6 and a 12-foot 2×12 are both 12 linear feet, but they’re 6 and 24 board feet.
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