Please note: All measurements in this document are in inches.
A 'Board Foot' is equal to 1 inch Thick x 12 inches
Wide x 12 inches Long.
The shorthand for board feet is BdFt
Here is the formula to figure out board feet: Thickness x Width x Length
÷ 144 = ? board feet or T x W x L ÷144 = ?
board feet
Example:
1" Thick x 12" Wide x 12”Long ÷144 = 1 board foot or
1 x 12 x 12 ÷ 144 = 1 board foot
Example:
1 x 12 x 96 ÷ 144 = 8 board feet
Example:
2 x 12 x 96 ÷ 144 = 16 board feet
Example:
2 x 4 x 120 ÷ 144 = 6.667 board feet
To calculate board feet for many pieces:
T x W x L ÷ 144 = ? board feet x Number of Peices =Total board feet
Notes: Remember that 5/4 stock is thicker than 1 inch stock.
This means when calculating board footage for 5/4 inch stock, you must use 1.25
as the Thickness instead of 1.
5/4 stock use 1.25 for Thickness
6/4 (stated as “six quarter”) stock use 1.5
for Thickness
8/4 stock use 2 for Thickness
10/4 stock use 2.5 for Thickness
Example:
To calculate the board footage of a 5/4 x 12 x 120 piece of material:
1.25 x 12 x 120 ÷ 144 = 12.5 board feet
