Softwood stacks at the big box store are tagged by the piece. The hardwood dealer down the road quotes you a price per board foot. It is the same tree, measured two different ways, and mixing them up is how people either overpay by half or walk away thinking the dealer is ripping them off. This page converts one ledger into the other.
What a board foot actually is
One board foot is a volume, not a length. Picture a board 1 inch thick, 12 inches wide and 12 inches long. That chunk is 144 cubic inches and equals one board foot. A longer or wider board simply holds more of those chunks. Hardwood is priced this way because a 6 inch wide board and a 12 inch wide board of the same length are not worth the same money, and a per-linear-foot tag would pretend they are.
Common sizes in board feet
The fastest way to sanity-check a quote is to know the board feet in the stock you buy every day. The math uses the nominal size, not the dressed size.
| Lumber piece | Board feet per piece |
|---|---|
| 2x4x8 | 5.33 |
| 2x6x8 | 8.0 |
| 1x6x8 | 4.0 |
| 4x4x8 | 10.67 |
| 2x10x16 | 26.67 |
The 2x4x8 is the one to memorize. Every stud in a wall carries 5.33 board feet, so when a dealer says a hardwood costs $6 per board foot, you can instantly picture a single 8 foot piece landing near $32.
Compare the two price tags
Say the shelf sells a 2x4x8 for $5 a piece. A hardwood yard quotes the equivalent stock at $6 per board foot. Multiply 5.33 board feet by $6 and the piece works out to about $32. That gap sounds absurd until you remember the shelf sells generic pine while the yard is quoting a figured hardwood like walnut or cherry. The comparison only matters when you are buying the same species. What the board foot table does is turn a vague per-pound quote into a number you can line up with the shelf.
Why hardwood uses board feet
Hardwood comes in random widths and lengths, because trees do not grow in uniform 2 by 4 studs. A dealer cannot tag a board by the piece without arguing over every wide plank. Pricing by the board foot charges you for the actual wood in the stack, wide or narrow. Softwood dimensional lumber is milled to fixed sizes, so the piece tag works fine and no one bothers with board feet at the big box.
Read the yard quote
When the dealer writes up a load, the ticket lists total board feet and a price per board foot. Multiply those two and you have the cost before tax. If you are comparing two dealers, convert both to the same unit, either price per board foot or price per piece, before you call one cheaper. A $5 per BF quote from the mill and a $6 per BF quote from the retail yard are not far apart once delivery is added, while a piece price that looks lower may be selling shorter, narrower stock.
A lumber purchase stays honest when you remember the 2x4x8 holds 5.33 board feet, convert every quote to the same unit, and compare species on the same page. The board foot is just a way to charge for volume.
Board Foot Calculator
Learn the hardwood dealer pricing unit, read how many board feet hide in a 2x4x8, and compare a per-piece quote against a per-board-foot quote.
How to use
- Enter the nominal thickness, width and length
- Set the quantity of identical pieces
- Add the dealer price per board foot
- Read the total board feet and the cost
- Compare against a per-piece shelf price
Supported formats and limits
- Uses nominal sizes, not dressed actual sizes
- One board foot equals 1 by 12 by 12 inches
- Softwood is usually sold by the piece or linear foot
- Hardwood is quoted by the board foot
Examples
A 2x4x8 piece holds 5.33 board feet, so a $6 per BF quote is about $32 a piece.Common errors
- Thickness, width and length must be positive
- Quantity must be one or more pieces
- Price per board foot cannot be negative
Privacy and browser support
All calculations run locally in your browser. No measurements are uploaded.
FAQ
What is a board foot
One board foot is the volume of a board 1 inch thick, 12 inches wide and 12 inches long, which is 144 cubic inches.
How many board feet in a 2x4x8
A 2 by 4 by 8 ft piece holds 5.33 board feet. That is the number most people forget when a hardwood yard quotes them.
How do I compare a per-piece price to a per-board-foot price
Multiply the board feet per piece by the price per board foot. If a piece holds 5.33 BF and the yard asks $6 per BF, the piece costs about $32 before tax.
Is softwood sold by the board foot
No. Studs and dimensional pine sell by the piece or by the linear foot. Hardwood and exotic lumber sell by the board foot because widths vary.
Why does the dealer use nominal sizes
A 2x4 is priced at the nominal 2 by 4 even though it dresses down to 1.5 by 3.5 inches. The board foot math uses the nominal size.
How many board feet frame a typical house
A small framing job runs in the tens of thousands of board feet once studs, plates and headers are added, which is why volume buys go to the yard.