Board Foot (BF)
A unit of lumber volume equal to 144 cubic inches — a piece 12 inches long, 12 inches wide, and 1 inch thick. Used for pricing hardwoods and calculating large lumber orders.
In Detail
Formula: BF = (Thickness in. × Width in. × Length ft) / 12, using nominal dimensions. Examples: a 2×4×8 = 5.33 BF; a 2×12×16 = 32 BF. Hardwoods are universally sold by the board foot. Softwood dimensional lumber is sold by the linear foot or piece, but large orders may be calculated in BF.