The board foot or board-foot is a

unit of measurement A unit of measurement, or unit of measure, is a definite magnitude (mathematics), magnitude of a quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same kind of quantity. Any other qua ...

for the

volume Volume is a measure of regions in three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch) ...

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It equals the volume of a board that is in length, one foot in width, and in thickness, or exactly liters. Board foot can be abbreviated as FBM (for "foot, board measure"), BDFT, or BF. A thousand board feet can be abbreviated as MFBM, MBFT, or MBF. Similarly, a million board feet can be abbreviated as MMFBM, MMBFT, or MMBF. Until the 1970s, in Australia and New Zealand, the terms super foot and superficial foot were used with the same meaning.

Description

One board foot equals: * 1 ft × 1 ft × 1 in * 12 in × 12 in × 1 in * 12 ft × 1 in × 1 in * 144 cu in * cu ft * ≈ * ≈ * ≈ or steres * Petrograd Standard of board

Usage

The board foot is used to measure both rough (unprocessed) lumber and planed (surfaced) lumber. Rough lumber is measured before drying and planing, using its full sawn dimensions. Planed lumber, such as standard softwood "two by four" boards sold at retail, is measured using nominal dimensions—typically —even though the actual size is only about after processing. Despite the reduction in size due to drying and planing, nominal dimensions are still used when calculating board feet for surfaced softwood lumber. This convention simplifies pricing and standardization but may result in board footage values that do not reflect the true volume of wood in the final product. Essentially, the nominal dimensions assume a larger volume than the actual board contains, which is especially relevant when estimating material needs or costs. For planed lumber, board footage is calculated using the nominal width and thickness, and the actual length of the board. This reflects the lumber’s original rough size before drying and surfacing. For rough lumber, board footage is calculated using the actual width, thickness, and length of the board. See dimensional lumber for a full explanation of nominal versus actual dimensions. Briefly, for softwoods: * Subtract from nominal sizes under 2 inches, * Subtract from nominal sizes between 2 and 8 inches, * Subtract for nominal sizes over 8 inches. The system is less complex for

hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...

s, because actual board measurements are used.

References

External links

Explanation of Board Foot by Professor Eugene Wengert

Formulas for Calculating Board Footage
{{United States Customary Units Units of volume Customary units of measurement in the United States Logging Wood

Description

Usage

See also

References

External links