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Lumber and Panel Calculations

Here are a few tips on how to calculate or convert units of measure for lumber and panel products.

Calculating Thousand Board Feet (MBF) for lumber products

All MBF calculations are based upon the "Nominal Size" of the lumber and not the "Actual Size".

Nominal Size # Pieces H x W ÷ 12 x L ÷ 1,000 x # Pieces Results (MBF)
1x6 16' S4S 256 1 x 6 ÷ 12 x 16 ÷ 1,000 x 256 2.048
1x6 16' Full Rough 140 1 x 6 ÷ 12 x 16 ÷ 1,000 x 140 1.120
2x6 16' S4S 128 2 x 6 ÷ 12 x 16 ÷ 1,000 x 128 2.048
2x6 16' Full Rough 84 2 x 6 ÷ 12 x 16 ÷ 1,000 x 84 1.344

Calculating Cubic Meters (M3) for lumber products

All M3 calculations are based upon the "Actual Size" of the lumber. To convert MBF to M3, divide the MBF figure by the M3 Factor

Nominal Size Actual Size Metric Factor
1x4 / 2x4 S4S 3/4"x3-1/2" / 1-1/2"x3-1/2" 0.6461
1x6 / 2x6 S4S 3/4"x5-1/2" / 1-1/2"x5-1/2" 0.6167
1x8 / 2x8 S4S 3/4"x7-1/4" / 1-1/2"x7-1/4" 0.6238
1x10 / 2x10 S4S 3/4"x9-1/4" / 1-1/2"x9-1/4" 0.6112
1x12 / 2x12 S4S 3/4"x11-1/4" / 1-1/2"x11-1/4" 0.6030
Full Rough Lumber All Sizes 0.4240
Nominal Size Actual Size # Pieces H x W ÷ 12 x L ÷ 1,000 x # Pieces ÷ Metric Factor Results (M3)
1x6 16' S4S 3/4"x5-1/2" 16' 256 1 x 6 ÷ 12 x 16 ÷ 1,000 x 256 ÷ 0.6167 3.321
1x6 16' Full Rough 1"x6" 16' 140 1 x 6 ÷ 12 x 16 ÷ 1,000 x 140 ÷ 0.4240 2.642
2x6 16' S4S 1-1/2"x5-1/2" 16' 128 2 x 6 ÷ 12 x 16 ÷ 1,000 x 128 ÷ 0.6167 3.321
2x6 16' Full Rough 2"x6" 16' 84 2 x 6 ÷ 12 x 16 ÷ 1,000 x 84 ÷ 0.4240 3.170

Calculating Thousand Square Feet (MSF) for panel products

All MSF calculations are based upon the width and length of the panel product, thickness is not considered when calculating.

Panel Size # Pieces W x L ÷ 1,000 x # Pieces Results (MSF)
23/32" (3/4") 4'x8' 46 4 x 8 ÷ 1,000 x 46 1.472
7/16" 4'x8' 80 4 x 8 ÷ 1,000 x 80 2.560
11/32" (3/8") 4'x8' 88 4 x 8 ÷ 1,000 x 88 2.816

Calculating Cubic Meters (M3) for panel products

All M3 calculations are based upon the "Actual Thickness" of the panel product.

Nominal Thickness Actual Thickness Metric Factor
1/4" 1/4" (6mm) 1.792
3/8" 11/32" (9mm) 1.194
7/16" 7/16" (11mm) 0.977
1/2" 15/32" (12mm) 0.896
5/8" 19/32" (15mm) 0.717
3/4" 23/32" (18mm) 0.597
Panel Size # Pieces W x L ÷ 1,000 x # Pieces ÷ Metric Factor Results (M3)
23/32" (3/4") 4'x8' 46 4 x 8 ÷ 1,000 x 46 ÷ 0.597 2.465
7/16" 4'x8' 80 4 x 8 ÷ 1,000 x 80 ÷ 0.977 2.620
11/32" (3/8") 4'x8' 88 4 x 8 ÷ 1,000 x 88 ÷ 1.194 2.358