Board Foot & Lumber Cost Calculator
Turn supplied nominal lumber dimensions into a transparent board-foot tally and optional local purchase cost, without treating physical volume or a price quote as a structural decision.
Part of the Roofing & Structure calculators — see all tools in this category.
Board-foot lumber estimate
Tally each supplied lumber purchase line from nominal dimensions, keep actual solid volume separate, and choose one price basis for every line.
Preparing calculator controls…
| Line | Pieces | Net bf | After allowance bf |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lumber line 1 | 5 | 50 | 50 |
| Total | 5 | 50 | 50 |
Current result
Net tally: 50 board feet for 5 supplied pieces.
- Net board feet
- 50 bf
- After-allowance board feet
- 50 bf
- Actual solid volume
- 0.081116 m³
- Price currency
- USD
Net board feet are the nominal-dimension tally before allowance. After-allowance board feet are priced only by per-board-foot lines; per-piece lines price supplied pieces. Neither allowance nor this worksheet manufactures purchased stock, packs or boards. Actual dimensions only produce the separate physical-volume check.
- Board-foot quantities use the entered nominal purchase dimensions. Actual dimensions produce a separate physical volume and do not change the purchase tally.
- Allowance increases board-foot ordering only; it does not invent whole boards. A per-piece quote prices the supplied count, while a per-board-foot quote prices ordered board feet.
- Lumber grade, species, availability, cut list, tax, delivery, and structural suitability are not estimated.
| Material | Net need | Order quantity |
|---|---|---|
| User-specified lumber — Lumber line 1 | 50 board-foot | 50 board-foot |
Estimated total: $150.00
Cost breakdown
| Line | Purchased quantity / unit / basis | Pricing state | Direct price | Entered line tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lumber — Lumber line 1 | 50 board-foot (ordered) | Priced | $150.00 | $0.00 |
- Direct priced subtotal
- $150.00
- Selected contingency base
- $0.00
- Contingency rate
- 0%
- Contingency amount
- $0.00
- Before-tax total
- $150.00
- Entered line tax
- $0.00
- Contingency tax (not entered)
- $0.00
- Final total
- $150.00
Cost by category
| Category | Cost | State |
|---|---|---|
| Lumber — Lumber line 1 | $150.00 | priced |
How it works and assumptions
Enter nominal purchase dimensions, the supplied board count, actual dimensions for a separate volume check, an allowance, and one local price basis. Board-foot and per-piece price modes are mutually exclusive so the same lumber is not priced twice.
For a deck-specific handoff, use the live Deck Baluster Layout & Lumber Takeoff guide; it keeps a supplier's lumber schedule, board-foot tally and structural review separate.
Worked example
The worksheet includes a separate three-board example with a 10% allowance so you can inspect the formula without relying on the UAT values.