{"success":true,"version":"v1","request":{"tool":"get_calculator_schema","calculator_id":"board-feet"},"result":{"entity_type":"calculator","id":"board-feet","calculator_id":"board-feet","canonical_url":"https://tttkmbb.com/construction/board-feet","name":"Board Feet Calculator","title":"Board Feet Calculator – Lumber Volume from Thickness, Width, Length and Quantity, with Cost","category":"construction","category_name":"Construction & Home","tool_name":"calculate_board_feet","featured_mcp_tool":false,"description":"Computes board feet (the US lumber volume unit: 1 board foot = 144 cubic inches = a 1 in × 12 in × 12 in board) from nominal thickness and width in inches and length in feet, for a given quantity, with the total cost at a price per board foot.","use_when":"You are pricing or ordering hardwood or rough lumber sold by the board foot, or converting lumber dimensions into board feet, cubic feet or cubic metres.","do_not_use_when":"Lumber is sold by the linear foot or piece (dimensional softwood such as 2 × 4 studs), or you need deck board counts (use decking).","inputs":[{"name":"thickness_in","label":"Thickness","type":"number","unit":"in","required":true,"max":48,"exclusive_min":0,"description":"Nominal thickness in inches (hardwood is often quoted in quarters: 4/4 = 1 in, 8/4 = 2 in).","example":1},{"name":"width_in","label":"Width","type":"number","unit":"in","required":true,"max":120,"exclusive_min":0,"description":"Nominal width in inches.","example":6},{"name":"length_ft","label":"Length","type":"number","unit":"ft","required":true,"max":200,"exclusive_min":0,"description":"Length in feet.","example":8},{"name":"quantity","label":"Quantity","type":"integer","required":false,"default":1,"min":1,"max":100000,"description":"Number of identical pieces.","example":10},{"name":"price_per_board_foot","label":"Price per board foot","type":"number","required":false,"min":0,"description":"Optional unit price; enables the total cost.","example":5}],"outputs":[{"name":"board_feet_each","label":"Board feet per piece","type":"number","unit":"bd ft","decimals":3,"description":"thickness_in × width_in × length_ft / 12."},{"name":"board_feet_total","label":"Total board feet","type":"number","unit":"bd ft","decimals":3,"description":"board_feet_each × quantity."},{"name":"total_cost","label":"Total cost","type":"number","decimals":2,"description":"board_feet_total × price_per_board_foot; only when a price is given."},{"name":"volume_cubic_feet","label":"Total volume","type":"number","unit":"ft³","decimals":4,"description":"board_feet_total / 12."},{"name":"volume_m3","label":"Total volume","type":"number","unit":"m³","decimals":5,"description":"Total volume in cubic metres (1 bd ft = 0.002359737 m³)."}],"input_schema":{"type":"object","properties":{"thickness_in":{"description":"Nominal thickness in inches (hardwood is often quoted in quarters: 4/4 = 1 in, 8/4 = 2 in). Unit: in.","type":"number","maximum":48,"exclusiveMinimum":0,"examples":[1],"x-unit":"in"},"width_in":{"description":"Nominal width in inches. Unit: in.","type":"number","maximum":120,"exclusiveMinimum":0,"examples":[6],"x-unit":"in"},"length_ft":{"description":"Length in feet. Unit: ft.","type":"number","maximum":200,"exclusiveMinimum":0,"examples":[8],"x-unit":"ft"},"quantity":{"description":"Number of identical pieces.","type":"integer","minimum":1,"maximum":100000,"default":1,"examples":[10]},"price_per_board_foot":{"description":"Optional unit price; enables the total cost.","type":"number","minimum":0,"examples":[5]}},"additionalProperties":false,"required":["thickness_in","width_in","length_ft"]},"output_schema":{"type":"object","properties":{"board_feet_each":{"description":"thickness_in × width_in × length_ft / 12. Unit: bd ft.","type":"number","x-unit":"bd ft"},"board_feet_total":{"description":"board_feet_each × quantity. Unit: bd ft.","type":"number","x-unit":"bd ft"},"total_cost":{"description":"board_feet_total × price_per_board_foot; only when a price is given.","type":"number"},"volume_cubic_feet":{"description":"board_feet_total / 12. Unit: ft³.","type":"number","x-unit":"ft³"},"volume_m3":{"description":"Total volume in cubic metres (1 bd ft = 0.002359737 m³). Unit: m³.","type":"number","x-unit":"m³"}}},"formula":"board_feet = thickness_in × width_in × length_ft / 12 (equivalently T × W × L_in / 144); total = board_feet × quantity; cost = total × price_per_board_foot; ft³ = board_feet / 12; m³ = ft³ × 0.028316847.","method":"Board footage uses nominal (rough-sawn) dimensions: a surfaced 4/4 board that measures 13/16 in is still counted as 1 in thick. Some yards round each board's width to the nearest inch before calculating.","sources":[{"name":"American Hardwood Export Council – Grading sawn lumber: measurement (board foot = W × L × D / 12)","url":"https://www.americanhardwood.org/en/american-hardwood/grading-sawn-lumber/measurement","type":"reference","retrieved_at":"2026-09-23"},{"name":"NHLA – Rules for the Measurement & Inspection of Hardwood & Cypress (2023)","url":"https://nhla.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2023-Rulesbook_English_web.pdf","type":"standard","retrieved_at":"2026-09-23"},{"name":"Wikipedia – Board foot","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board_foot","type":"reference","retrieved_at":"2026-09-23"}],"freshness":{"type":"static","max_age_seconds":null,"note":"Deterministic formula with fixed constants; results never go stale. Inputs supplied by the caller determine the output."},"examples":[{"name":"Ten 1 × 6 boards, 8 ft long, at $5 per board foot","inputs":{"thickness_in":1,"width_in":6,"length_ft":8,"quantity":10,"price_per_board_foot":5},"expected":{"board_feet_each":4,"board_feet_total":40,"total_cost":200,"volume_cubic_feet":3.3333,"volume_m3":0.09439},"url":"https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/board-feet?thickness_in=1&width_in=6&length_ft=8&quantity=10&price_per_board_foot=5"},{"name":"One 2 × 4, 8 ft long","inputs":{"thickness_in":2,"width_in":4,"length_ft":8},"expected":{"board_feet_each":5.333,"board_feet_total":5.333,"volume_cubic_feet":0.4444},"url":"https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/board-feet?thickness_in=2&width_in=4&length_ft=8"}],"faq":[{"q":"Do I use nominal or actual dimensions?","a":"Nominal. A 2 × 4 counts as 2 in × 4 in even though it measures 1.5 in × 3.5 in; hardwood thicknesses are quoted in quarters (5/4 = 1.25 in) of nominal thickness."},{"q":"How do I convert a length in inches?","a":"Divide by 12 to get feet, or use T × W × L(in) / 144, which gives the same board feet."}],"tags":["board feet","board foot calculator","lumber calculator","hardwood pricing","bf"],"related":[{"calculator_id":"decking","reason":"Board counts for a deck."},{"calculator_id":"volume","reason":"Convert cubic feet and cubic metres."},{"calculator_id":"rectangular-prism","reason":"General box volume."}],"links":{"html":"https://tttkmbb.com/construction/board-feet","markdown":"https://tttkmbb.com/construction/board-feet.md","json":"https://tttkmbb.com/construction/board-feet.json","api":"https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculate/board-feet","schema":"https://tttkmbb.com/api/v1/calculators/board-feet","openapi":"https://tttkmbb.com/openapi.json","mcp":"https://tttkmbb.com/mcp"},"version":"v1","updated_at":"2026-09-23"},"timestamp":"2026-09-23T23:32:17Z","next_actions":[{"tool":"run_calculator","calculator_id":"board-feet","reason":"Run Board Feet Calculator with the inputs above."}],"links":{"markdown":"https://tttkmbb.com/construction/board-feet.md"}}