Lumber, especially rough sawn lumber, is most commonly measured and sold by the board foot.
What is a Board Foot?
According to information from advantagelumber.com, a board foot (often abbreviated as bd. ft.) is a standard unit of volume used in the lumber industry. It is defined as:
- A piece of wood that is 12 inches long, 12 inches wide, and 1 inch thick.
- This equates to 144 cubic inches of wood volume (12 x 12 x 1 = 144).
How to Calculate Board Feet
To determine the board footage of a single piece of wood, you use a simple formula based on its dimensions in inches.
Here's the calculation method:
- Measure the Length of the board in inches.
- Measure the Width of the board in inches.
- Measure the Thickness of the board in inches.
- Multiply the Length x Width x Thickness.
- Divide the result by 144.
Formula:
(Length in inches × Width in inches × Thickness in inches) / 144 = Board Feet
Example Calculation:
Let's say you have a piece of lumber that is:
- Length: 96 inches (8 feet)
- Width: 6 inches
- Thickness: 2 inches
Using the formula:
(96 inches × 6 inches × 2 inches) / 144 = (1152) / 144 = 8 board feet
So, that piece of lumber contains 8 board feet of volume.
This measurement method allows buyers and sellers to standardize volume regardless of the specific dimensions of individual boards, which is particularly useful for rough sawn lumber where actual dimensions can vary slightly from nominal sizes.
