Board feet in a 4/4 hardwood board, 8 in wide and 8 ft long
A 4/4 (1 in rough) hardwood board, 8 in wide and 8 ft long, is 5.33 board feet — 1 × 8 × 8 ÷ 12 — tallied on its rough thickness even after it is surfaced.
How to work it out
- 1 in × 8 in × 8 ft ÷ 12 = 5.33 bd ft per board
- 5.33 × 1 board = 5.33 board feet
Hardwood dealers measure each random-width board and add up the pile, so this is the math behind every line on a hardwood receipt. “4/4” means four quarters of an inch: the board was sawn about 1 in thick, and one the yard surfaces to about 13/16 in is usually still billed as 4/4.
For a project, set the waste allowance above to 20–30% — planing, jointing and cutting around knots and checked ends eat more than most people expect.
Adjust for your project
More options: Waste allowance · The yard quotes a price… · Price (optional) …
- Board feet per board
- 5.33 board feet
- Volume (at the size entered)
- 0.444 cu ft (0.013 m³)
- Total length of boards (before waste)
- 8 ft
- Softwood construction lumber is tallied on nominal size (2×4 = 2 × 4 in), even though it measures 1½ × 3½ in. Hardwood is tallied on rough thickness (4/4 = 1 in) even after surfacing.
Board feet in an 8 ft 4/4 board by width
| Width | Board feet per board | Volume (at the size entered) |
|---|---|---|
| 4 in | 2.67 board feet | 0.222 cu ft |
| 5 in | 3.33 board feet | 0.278 cu ft |
| 6 in | 4 board feet | 0.333 cu ft |
| 7 in | 4.67 board feet | 0.389 cu ft |
| 8 in | 5.33 board feet | 0.444 cu ft |
| 10 in | 6.67 board feet | 0.556 cu ft |
| 12 in | 8 board feet | 0.667 cu ft |
What to know about a 4/4 board 8 in wide and 8 ft long
- Your math and the yard’s may differ. Under NHLA-style tally rules the surface measure (width in inches × length in feet ÷ 12) is rounded to a whole number for each board, so this 5.33 could go on the ticket as 5. Across a pile the rounding tends to even out; the hardwood tally calculator shows the yard’s count board by board.
- What you get after milling. Flattened and planed, a 4/4 board usually ends up around ¾ in — right for tabletops, cabinet sides and drawer fronts. An 8 in board is wide enough to rip into two 3½ in face-frame rails with room to joint the edges.
- Same number as a 2×4×8. A 1 × 8 cross-section equals a 2 × 4, so this board and a construction stud are both 5.33 board feet — though the hardwood costs far more per board foot.
Buying a bundle rather than one board? 100 board feet of 4/4 × 6 in in linear feet turns a board-foot order into running length. For thicker stock, see board feet in an 8/4 slab, 24 in × 8 ft.
Different size? Use the full Board Foot Calculator.
What you’ll need
- Wood moisture meterMid-range price
Tells you whether lumber is dry enough to build with and firewood dry enough to burn. Readings vary by species — check the meter’s correction settings.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - Benchtop thickness planerPremium price
Planes rough or cupped boards to an even thickness, so you can buy rough lumber and mill it to size yourself. Pair it with a way to flatten one face first.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - 25 ft tape measureBudget price
A 25 ft tape with a stiff blade and a readable 1/16 in scale covers everything from cut lists to deck layout.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links to products are affiliate links — they cost you nothing extra and help keep these calculators free.
Frequently asked questions
How many board feet is a 5/4 board 8 in wide and 8 ft long?
At 5/4 (1¼ in) the same board is 6.67 board feet.
How many board feet is an 8/4 board 8 in wide and 8 ft long?
At 8/4 (2 in) it doubles to 10.67 board feet.
How many board feet is a 4/4 board 6 in wide and 10 ft long?
A 4/4 board 6 in × 10 ft is 5 board feet (1 × 6 × 10 ÷ 12).
Other common sizes
- How many board feet in a 2x4x8 — 5.33 board feet
- How many board feet in a 2x6x8 — 8 board feet
- How many board feet in a 4x4x8 — 10.67 board feet
- Board feet in an 8/4 slab, 24 in × 8 ft — 32 board feet
Sources
- NIST, Voluntary Product Standard PS 20-20, American Softwood Lumber Standard (Rev. 1, 2021) (opens in a new tab) — Nominal and dressed sizes of softwood lumber; board measure on nominal size.
- American Hardwood Export Council, The Illustrated Guide to American Hardwood Lumber Grades (opens in a new tab) — Board foot, surface measure and quarter (4/4, 8/4) thicknesses under the NHLA rules.
- National Hardwood Lumber Association, Rules for the Measurement & Inspection of Hardwood & Cypress (2019) (opens in a new tab) — Paragraphs 16 and 18: board feet = surface measure × standard thickness, with standard thicknesses under 1 in measured as 1 in.