Lumber Weight Calculator
Our lumber weight calculator is the best tool to check the weight and volume of your planks and beams!
The method
board feet = thickness (in) × width (in) × length (ft) ÷ 12
You pay for the sawdust
A board foot is 144 cubic inches — a foot square, an inch thick — and by trade convention it is always figured on the nominal size. A 2 × 6 by 8 feet is 8 board feet even though the dressed timber measures 1½ × 5½ inches and contains barely two-thirds of that.
That is not a swindle, just how the trade prices rough sawn volume, but it does mean board feet are a billing unit rather than a measure of the wood you receive. For weight and structural work, use the actual size.
Note that thickness is often quoted in quarters: 4/4 is one inch, 8/4 is two. Hardwood yards use this almost universally.