Lumber Calculator
Total up a lumber order: enter the piece size, quantity and price per board foot to get total board feet and the cost of the stack.
How to total a lumber order
Lumber is priced by the board foot — a volume of 144 cubic inches — so an order total is per-piece board feet × quantity × price. This calculator does the tedious part: it totals the stack and puts a cost on it, whether you are pricing two boards or two hundred.
Board feet per piece = thickness (in) × width (in) × length (ft) ÷ 12 · Cost = total board feet × price per board foot
Example: five pieces of true 2×6 stock — actual size 1.5 × 5.5 in — at 12 ft: each piece is 1.5 × 5.5 × 12 ÷ 12 = 8.25 board feet, the stack is 41.25 board feet, and at $8 per board foot the order is $330.
Actual size, always
The same trap as the board foot calculator lives here, bigger because money is attached: lumber is named nominally but measured actually. A “2×6” is 1.5 × 5.5 in. If you cost a project on nominal sizes, you overstate the volume by roughly 28% on 2× stock and the quote comparison falls apart. Enter actual sizes — the field hints use them — unless your yard prices from rough nominal dimensions, in which case match the yard's convention and know that you are doing it.
| Piece (actual) | Length | Board feet each |
|---|
| 1 × 6 (0.75 × 5.5 in) | 8 ft | 2.75 |
| 2 × 4 (1.5 × 3.5 in) | 8 ft | 3.5 |
| 2 × 6 (1.5 × 5.5 in) | 12 ft | 8.25 |
| 2 × 8 (1.5 × 7.25 in) | 10 ft | 9.06 |
| 4 × 4 (3.5 × 3.5 in) | 8 ft | 8.17 |
For a single board's volume without the order arithmetic, the board foot calculator here is the quicker tool. For framing estimates, count studs, plates and joists as their own lines here — one line per size — rather than averaging sizes into a mush.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between this and the board foot calculator?
The board foot calculator gives the volume of one board (or a run of identical boards) plus its cubic meters. This one adds the order layer: quantity across a stack and a price per board foot, so the output is the number you compare with a quote — total board feet and total cost.
Should I add extra boards to the order?
For framing, about 10% for cuts, splits and the occasional banana-shaped stud. For visible hardwood work, 15–20% — you will reject boards for grain and defects, and matching later from a different stack rarely works. Add the extra to the quantity here before you price.
Why do two yards quote such different prices for the same list?
Species, grade and dryness hide inside “price per board foot.” A cheaper quote on wetter or lower-grade stock can cost more in usable wood. Compare price per board foot for the same grade, and ask whether their board feet are counted on nominal or actual sizes.
How do I price a project quoted per linear foot instead?
Some trim and moulding is sold by the linear foot. Convert your board-foot total only if you know the profile's cross-section; otherwise price that trim separately by length — mixing the two units in one total is where budgets quietly double-count.
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