The world is advancing at an accelerating pace, and construction and developments are happening at a rate that has never been seen before.
Lumber is something that is constantly required in construction, it’s not only an important element in house building but in larger structures as well.
Board ft is the unit for measuring the size of the lumbers, incorporating their thickness, length, and width within it.
If you have a construction business or just need to find the board ft of lumbers for something of your own like making a shed, board ft calculators are something that can help you a lot.
Board ft calculators are something that people don’t normally talk about and aren’t well known, you might struggle with finding a good board ft calculator if you find yourself in a situation dealing with wood work and lumber volumes.
In this article, the best calculators have been mentioned with their details, they vary from each other in some aspects but serve the same purpose.
It will be pretty clear for you after going through this article, which one is the best board ft calculator for you.
Go through this article, and hopefully, you will find the required volume of lumbers in the easiest way possible!
Best Board ft Calculator
1. Board Feet Calculator by Omni Calculator
Omni Calculator’s website has thousands of calculators related to kinds of subjects and fields, from finance to food.
It is a widely used website when it comes to calculators and there Board feet calculator is a trusty worthy tool when calculating volumes.
To calculate board feet you will have to enter 4 inputs, the number of pieces you need, the length of each piece, the width of the piece, and how thick you want these pieces.
You can enter these dimensions in whatever unit you like, you have the option to change the unit right next to each dimension’s section.
The calculated board feet will be shown in the total section as soon as you enter all these details, you don’t have to click a button or wait for the page to refresh to get your results.
You also can read some of the details regarding the calculator while your on this page.
Omni calculator also allows you to calculate the total price (in your local currency) of the pieces if you enter the price per board feet.
Omni Calculator’s website has a lot of ads, although they don’t interfere in your interaction with the calculator, having them around is always annoying.
2. Hard Wood Industries’ Board Footage Calculator
Hard Wood Industries is a large company that deals with hardwood related products and services.
There are a few companies that know as much about wood as these guys. You can find the Board Footage calculator on their website.
This Board ft calculator has a really welcoming interface; all the fields are mentioned clearly at the center of the page.
You will have to enter the number of pieces you want to calculate board ft for, then enter their width, length, and thickness in the ‘required inputs’ section.
Click the ‘compute’ button to see the results in the results section below. You’ll see that there are two fields in the results section.
One labeled ‘Board Feet’ and one as ‘Total Board Feet’, just stick with the one labeled as ‘Board Feet’ to avoid confusion. You can also find some instructions related to the calculator if you scroll down a little; you should go through them briefly.
This calculator doesn’t allow you to change the units and you will have to enter them in inches.
3. Inch Calculator’s Board Foot Calculator
Inch Calculator’s website is just like Omni Calculator’s website, it has numerous types of calculators but not as much variety as Omni.
They have a separate section for construction calculators and that section is bound to have a board ft calculator.
Their interface is not the best one on this list, but it’s still pretty straightforward and simple. You have to enter the thickness, length, width, and quantity of the pieces, just like every other board ft calculator.
You also have the option to calculate the total price if you enter the rate of each board ft.
Units for each length can be changed while entering the details. Click ‘CALCULATE’ to see the results by scrolling down a little.
Inch Calculator also gives you the option to share the link of results; this can come in handy if have need to convey this information to the supplier or the constructor.
Inch Calculator’s website is filled with ads, which not only distract you but also gives an unorganized look to the whole website. You can scroll down the page and see how the Inch calculator calculates board footage for you.
4. Wood Work’s Board Foot Calculator
Wood Works is a project launched by Canadian Wood Council, they have a quite professional Board foot calculator. This calculator probably has the best interface out of all the calculators on this list.
Their webpage has no ads at all, there aren’t even any extra details or links on the webpage.
Wood Work’s calculator works in a different manner than all the other calculators that we have discussed until now. You just have to enter the length of the pieces.
Thickness and width can be selected from the standard size options of pieces given on the left side of the calculator.
Click ‘Calculate’ to find the board foot of the piece, Wood Works also provides you with extra results, which can be useful for some individuals.
A problem you can face while working with this calculator is that the standard piece size mentioned might not comply with your local standard sizes.
5. Engineering ToolBox’s Board Feet Chart and Calculator
Engineering ToolBox is a website that’s all about engineering and construction calculators, it has guides and reading material for all sorts of construction related stuff like drainage, pipes, electrical systems, etc.
Their Board ft calculator is for people who really like to technical.
Their website gives an outdated vibe, and the ads that surround the entire webpage worsen it; nevertheless, this calculator is for professionals.
The top of the web page has a few diagrams explaining how Board Feet are calculated, but if you’re on this calculator, you probably already know that.
The inputs are the same as the previous calculators; you have to enter the thickness, length, and width of the lumber. You can also enter the price of each Board Foot if you wish to calculate the total price of your pieces.
Below the calculator, there is a chart you can use to make your board ft calculations. It has board footage of different widths and thicknesses against different lengths.
It’s not recommended to use the chart as there are considerable chances of error, and the dimensions that you’re looking for might not even be on the chart.
How do Board ft Calculators Work?
You have seen some of the best Board ft calculators, and these will do the complicated maths for you, but it’s important to know the math that goes behind these calculators.
Board ft as you probably know by now is the unit for the size of lumbers.
In this context size means the volume of the lumbers because that is how the size of 3 dimensional objects is measured. A lumber that is 1 foot long, 1 foot wide and has a thickness of 1 inch equal to 1 board ft.
When you enter the length width and thickness of your required wood piece, the calculators convert them into the board ft units (Inches for thickness and feet for length and width) and multiply them.
The result is the board footage of your lumber.
How is lumber different from timber?
Lumber is a word that you’ve been reading throughout this article, its important to the difference between lumber and other types of wood. People usually confuse it with timber due to the same nature pronunciation.
Timber is referred to the wood of trees that are yet to be processed and made into useful things like slabs, blocks, or furniture. In contrast, lumber is wood that has been processed and shaped into boards or planks.
End Note
If you don’t deal with wood on a daily basis these calculators might seem redundant to you, but we all find ourselves in situations dealing with things that we don’t have any technical knowledge about, so it is convenient to have an idea about these calculators.
The best board ft calculator depends on your comfortability; calculators of different calibers have been listed in this article so you can find the best match yourself.
