Price a cut list of boards at a price per board foot, with a waste allowance
Runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere. Checked against sources on 29 Sept 2026.Hardwood and many lumber yards price wood by the board foot: 144 cubic inches, or a piece 1 inch thick, 12 inches wide and 1 foot long. List your boards by thickness, width, length and count, enter the price per board foot from your yard and a waste allowance, and see the board feet to buy and the total cost.
Enter every board on your cut list with its Thickness, Width, Length and Pieces.
Type the lumber yard's Price per board foot.
Set a Waste allowance for offcuts and defects, often 10% to 15%.
Read the Cost and the board feet To buy with waste, and check each board's cost under Board by board.
Four 2x6s 8 feet long are 32 board feet.
Lumber yards, sawmills and hardwood dealers price wood by the board foot, a volume of 144 cubic inches: a piece 1 inch thick, 12 inches wide and 1 foot long. This calculator adds up the board feet in a cut list, applies your price per board foot and a waste allowance, and shows the total cost.
Waste. Knots, splits, planing and offcuts all cost wood. A waste allowance of 10 to 20 percent is common for furniture; enter the figure you plan for, and the calculator adds it to the board feet to buy and to the cost.
What this calculator does not do: it does not look up lumber prices, which vary by species, grade, region and week, and it does not plan cuts or optimize a cut list. Sheet goods such as plywood are sold by the sheet, not the board foot.
The rest of the article, and all 6 questions about Board Foot Calculator, are on the Board Foot Calculator page.
A 2x4 that is 8 feet long is 2 x 4 x 8 / 12 = 5.33 board feet, counted on its nominal size as the softwood lumber standard specifies. Its actual dry size is 1-1/2 by 3-1/2 inches, so the wood itself is 3.5 board feet, but yards tally and price on the nominal figure.
For softwood construction lumber, use the nominal size, the 2x6 on the tag, because the American Softwood Lumber Standard defines board measure that way and yards price it that way. For rough hardwood sold in quarters, use the thickness the dealer quotes, such as 4/4 for 1 inch or 8/4 for 2 inches.
Woodworkers commonly add 10 to 20 percent for knots, splits, planing and offcuts, and more for figured or low-grade stock. Rough framing with standard lengths often needs less. Enter your own allowance, and the calculator adds it to the board feet to buy and the total cost, while still showing the board feet in your cut list.
A cubic foot is 1,728 cubic inches and a board foot is 144 cubic inches, so a cubic foot holds exactly 12 board feet. In metric, one board foot is about 0.00236 cubic meters, and one cubic meter is about 424 board feet. The calculator shows the total in both units.
Rates and rules change; check the source before you rely on a figure.
Still stuck? Ask about Board Foot Calculator and anybody who knows can answer. No account needed.
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