Board-foot volume is used to measure what?

• A. The volume of lumber
• B. The weight of lumber
• C. The age of a tree
• D. The density of wood

Answer: (A)

Board-foot volume measures how much lumber there is. It’s a standard unit in the lumber industry defined as the volume of a board 12 inches long by 12 inches wide by 1 inch thick (144 cubic inches). This makes it easy to price and inventory boards simply by size, regardless of species or grade. Because it’s a volume measurement, it tells you how much wood you have, not how heavy it is or how old the tree was. For example, a board that is 1.5 inches thick, 3.5 inches wide, and 8 feet long works out to about 3.5 board feet. Two boards can have the same board-foot amount but differ in weight if their densities differ, which shows why board feet reflect volume rather than mass.