ContractorHandbook

How Many Board Feet in a 4x4x8?

Total board feet

10.67 bf

One nominal 4x4 post, eight feet long.

thick, inwide, inlength, ftthickness x width x length / 12 = board feet
A board foot is a volume, not a length, and hardwood is priced in it. Thickness and width in inches, length in feet, divided by twelve, which is why a wide board costs more per foot of run than a narrow one of the same species.

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, nominal4 in
  • Width, nominal4 in
  • Length8 ft
  • How many pieces1
  • Price per board foot, 0 to skip0 $

Total board feet10.67 bf

Board feet per piece10.667
Pieces1
Total board feet10.67
Total linear feet8 lf

Length compared

The same stick in every length in the table.

LengthTotal board feet
8 ft10.67 bf
10 ft13.33 bf
12 ft16 bf
14 ft18.67 bf
16 ft21.33 bf

What else matters here

A 4x4x8 is 10.67 board feet, exactly the same as a 2x4x16. A post is counted the same way as any other piece: nominal thickness times nominal width times length in feet, divided by 12.

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 4x4x8?

10.67 board feet.

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.

Different numbers?

The board foot calculator takes any dimensions you like and hands back the same list.

Other common sizes

5 more sizes are answered on the board foot calculator page