A 'Board Foot' is equal to 1 inch thick x 12 inches wide x 12 inches long and is written as BdFt. A board foot is the measure used when lumber is sold at the lumberyard.
What they sell as a 1 x 6 is actually 3/4" x 5 1/2". These boards are sold by the lineal (running) foot. Included in this price is all of material that was milled away,
in addition to the labor involved to mill the boards all to a specific size.
The formula looks like this:
T x W x L ÷ 144 = BdFt
T = Thickness
W = Width
L = Length
Example:
1 x 12 x 12 ÷ 144 = 1 board foot
or
1 x 12 x 96 ÷ 144 = 8 board feet
**TIP**
Remember that the board footage is always rounded up to the nearest quarter of a foot (6.82 is 7BdFt), except exotic wood.
Exotic lumber is measured by the inch and calculated to two decimal places.
