Board Foot Chart for Common Lumber Sizes
Board feet per piece for every common nominal size from 1x4 to 8x8, at six lengths, so you can price a list that is quoted per board foot.
A board foot is 144 cubic inches of lumber: one inch thick, twelve inches wide, one foot long. Thickness times width times length in feet, divided by twelve, and the answer is board feet.
It is the unit hardwood is sold in, the unit a sawmill quotes in, and the unit a framing package gets priced in when it is bought in bulk. It is not a length and it is not an area, which is the part that trips people up.
Board feet per piece by size and length
| Nominal size | 8 ft | 10 ft | 12 ft | 14 ft | 16 ft | 20 ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 x 4 | 2.667 | 3.333 | 4 | 4.667 | 5.333 | 6.667 |
| 1 x 6 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 |
| 1 x 8 | 5.333 | 6.667 | 8 | 9.333 | 10.667 | 13.333 |
| 1 x 10 | 6.667 | 8.333 | 10 | 11.667 | 13.333 | 16.667 |
| 1 x 12 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 20 |
| 2 x 4 | 5.333 | 6.667 | 8 | 9.333 | 10.667 | 13.333 |
| 2 x 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 20 |
| 2 x 8 | 10.667 | 13.333 | 16 | 18.667 | 21.333 | 26.667 |
| 2 x 10 | 13.333 | 16.667 | 20 | 23.333 | 26.667 | 33.333 |
| 2 x 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 32 | 40 |
| 4 x 4 | 10.667 | 13.333 | 16 | 18.667 | 21.333 | 26.667 |
| 4 x 6 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 32 | 40 |
| 6 x 6 | 24 | 30 | 36 | 42 | 48 | 60 |
| 8 x 8 | 42.667 | 53.333 | 64 | 74.667 | 85.333 | 106.667 |
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The board foot calculator takes your own measurements and returns the number for your job, plus the material list as a printable document. Every cell in the table above came out of that same calculator, run at build time.
Nominal, not actual, and that is deliberate
A 2x4 measures one and a half by three and a half inches after it is dried and planed. Board foot pricing still counts it as two by four, because the unit describes the lumber as it was sawn rather than as it was finished.
The exception is rough sawn and hardwood stock, where the thickness is called out in quarters: 4/4 is one inch, 5/4 is an inch and a quarter, 8/4 is two inches. Those are actual, and a hardwood dealer measures the width of each board individually because it is not ripped to a standard width.
Board feet against linear feet
Linear feet is how much length you need. Board feet is how much wood that length contains. A framing crew orders in linear feet and pieces; a mill quotes in board feet and thousand board feet.
You cannot convert between them without knowing the size, which is the entire reason this table exists. Twenty 2x6x12s are 240 linear feet and 240 board feet, and those two numbers being equal is a coincidence of that particular size.
Pricing off a quote in MBF
Mills and wholesale yards often quote per thousand board feet, written MBF. Divide by a thousand to get the per board foot price, then multiply by the board feet in the table.
The board foot calculator will do the whole list at once, including a price per board foot, which is the quickest way to compare a mill quote against a lumber yard quote on the same package.
Questions people ask
How many board feet in a 2x4x8?
5.33 board feet. Two times four times eight, divided by twelve.
How many board feet in a 2x6x12?
Twelve board feet, which makes a 2x6 one of the few sizes where board feet and linear feet come out the same.
Why does a board foot use nominal dimensions?
Because the unit predates dressed lumber. It measures what came off the saw, and the trade kept the convention when planing became standard so that old and new prices stayed comparable.
What does MBF mean on a lumber quote?
A thousand board feet. A price of $650 MBF is 65 cents a board foot, so a 2x4x8 at that price is about $3.47.