How Many Board Feet in a 2x4x8?
Total board feet
5.33 bf
One nominal 2x4, eight feet long.
How that number is worked out
These are the figures this page was built with and every line the calculator produces from them. Change anything above and all of it moves.
- Thickness, nominal2 in
- Width, nominal4 in
- Length8 ft
- How many pieces1
- Price per board foot, 0 to skip0 $
Total board feet5.33 bf
| Board feet per piece | 5.333 |
|---|---|
| Pieces | 1 |
| Total board feet | 5.33 |
| Total linear feet | 8 lf |
Length compared
The same stick in every length the yard normally stocks.
| Length | Total board feet |
|---|---|
| 8 ft | 5.33 bf |
| 10 ft | 6.67 bf |
| 12 ft | 8 bf |
| 14 ft | 9.33 bf |
| 16 ft | 10.67 bf |
What else matters here
Two times four times eight, divided by twelve, is 5.33 board feet. The divide by twelve is the only part worth remembering: thickness in inches, width in inches, length in feet, then divide.
Nobody buys a single 2x4 by the board foot. This number matters when you are pricing a lumber package against a per board foot quote, or comparing a mill price to a yard price, because those two are quoted in different units and the only way to compare them is to convert.
What this calculator assumes
- A board foot is nominal thickness times nominal width times length in feet, divided by 12. Use the nominal size, the 2 and the 6 in a 2x6, not the real 1.5 by 5.5.
- Hardwood is sold by the board foot. Softwood framing is usually sold by the piece, so this is for pricing and for comparing two quotes written differently.
Questions people ask
How many board feet in a 2x4x8?
5.33 board feet, using the nominal two by four size.
Should I use nominal or actual size?
Nominal. Lumber has been sold and priced on its nominal size for a century, so a 2x4 counts as two by four even though it measures 1.5 by 3.5 inches. Use actual dimensions only for rough sawn stock that was never planed.
What is a board foot?
The volume of a piece one inch thick, twelve inches wide and twelve inches long, which is 144 cubic inches. Board feet are a volume measure, so a 1x12 and a 2x6 of the same length hold the same number of them.
The board foot calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.