★ CONSTRUCTION · LUMBER · WEIGHT CHART
100 board feet of Douglas fir weighs 283.33 lb — white pine is 2.08 lb per board foot and white oak is 4.00 lb. Real air-dry weights for ten common species from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory, with a board-feet-to-pounds calculator. This one is the LUMBER-WEIGHT chart — how much lumber weighs — the board-foot-calculator page is the BOARD-FOOT tool — how many board feet a stack holds — not how much it weighs; the lumber-size-chart page is the SIZE chart — nominal against actual dimensions — not weights; and the lumber-span-chart page is the SPAN chart — how far a joist can span — not how much it weighs.
Pick a species and enter the board feet: 100 board feet of Douglas fir at 12% moisture weighs 283.33 lb. The table gives the density, the weight per board foot, and the weight per foot of a 2x4 and a 1x6 for ten species — all from the USDA Forest Products Laboratory.
283.33 lb. Douglas fir at 12% moisture weighs 34 lb per cubic foot, and a board foot is 1/12 of a cubic foot, so each board foot weighs 34 ÷ 12 = 2.83 lb, and 100 board feet weigh 283.33 lb. That is the whole calculation: find the density, divide by 12, multiply by the board feet. The table below gives the density and the per-board-foot weight for ten common species, all at 12% moisture — the condition of kiln-dried lumber as sold — so the same arithmetic works for any of them: 100 board feet of white oak is 400.00 lb, 100 board feet of eastern white pine is 208.33 lb, and 500 board feet of Douglas fir is 1,416.67 lb.
| Species | Density (lb/ft3) | Specific gravity | Green (lb/ft3) | lb per board foot | lb per foot, 2x4 | lb per foot, 1x6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern white pine Pinus strobus | 25 | 0.34 | 36 | 2.08 | 0.91 | 0.72 |
| Red oak Quercus borealis | 44 | 0.56 | 63 | 3.67 | 1.60 | 1.26 |
| White oak Quercus alba | 48 | 0.60 | 62 | 4.00 | 1.75 | 1.38 |
| Hard maple (sugar maple) Acer saccharum | 44 | 0.57 | 56 | 3.67 | 1.60 | 1.26 |
| Douglas fir (coast type) Pseudotsuga taxifolia | 34 | 0.45 | 38 | 2.83 | 1.24 | 0.97 |
| Southern yellow pine (loblolly) Pinus taeda | 38 | 0.50 | 54 | 3.17 | 1.39 | 1.09 |
| Black walnut Juglans nigra | 39 | 0.51 | 58 | 3.25 | 1.42 | 1.12 |
| Black cherry Prunus serotina | 35 | 0.47 | 46 | 2.92 | 1.28 | 1.00 |
| Western redcedar Thuja plicata | 23 | 0.31 | 27 | 1.92 | 0.84 | 0.66 |
| Yellow poplar Liriodendron tulipifera | 28 | 0.38 | 38 | 2.33 | 1.02 | 0.80 |
Densities and specific gravities: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Technical Note No. 218, "Weights of Various Woods Grown in the United States" (July 1931 revision) — air-dry weights at 12% moisture content, green weights as felled, specific gravity oven-dry based on green volume. Southern yellow pine is the loblolly figure (Pinus taeda); Douglas fir is the coast type. A board foot is 1/12 of a cubic foot, so lb per board foot is the density divided by 12. A 2x4 is 1.5 × 3.5 in. actual; a 1x6 is 0.75 × 5.5 in. actual.
Moisture is the biggest variable. The table is air-dry at 12% moisture. Green Douglas fir weighs 38 lb per cubic foot, so 100 board feet green is 316.67 lb — about 12% more than the 283.33 lb air-dry figure. Kiln-dried lumber is usually 6–8% moisture and weighs about 2% less than the table; lumber left out in the rain can weigh 10–20% more. If you are lifting it, weigh the wettest board, not the driest.
Board feet are volume, not length. A board foot is 144 cubic inches — a 1-inch board, 12 inches wide, 12 inches long. A 2x4 is 1.5 × 3.5 in. actual, so an 8-foot 2x4 is 3.5 board feet, and twenty of them are 70 board feet, weighing 198.33 lb in Douglas fir. A 1x6 is 0.75 × 5.5 in. actual, so a linear foot of it is 0.3438 board feet. Work out the board feet first — the board-foot-calculator page does it from the dimensions — then multiply by the weight per board foot.
Density varies within a species. The Forest Products Laboratory notes that air-dry wood of a given species rarely varies more than 10% from the table figure, but 10% of a heavy load is still heavy: 100 board feet of white oak is 400.00 lb on the table and could be 360–440 lb in the yard. Treat the table as an estimate for planning a lift, a trailer load or a floor load — and weigh the actual stack if the number decides something structural.
On the defaults: 100 board feet of Douglas fir at 12% moisture.
And the other way: 500 lb of black walnut is 153.85 board feet; for 100 board feet to weigh 300 lb the wood must be 3.00 lb per board foot; and 100 lb is 80.67 feet of 2x4 Douglas fir.
The defaults are 100 board feet of Douglas fir, coast type, at 12% moisture content — the air-dry condition of kiln-dried lumber as sold. The densities are the Forest Products Laboratory Technical Note No. 218 figures, measured on small clear specimens from the top 4 feet of 16-foot butt logs of typical trees; the Laboratory notes that wood so selected averages a trifle heavier than ordinary structural timbers. The board foot is the nominal board foot: thickness × width × length in inches, divided by 144 — the calculator uses nominal dimensions, and the 2x4 and 1x6 per-foot figures use actual dressed sizes (1.5 × 3.5 in. and 0.75 × 5.5 in.). Green weights are the as-felled figures from the same table. Change the species to your own and the board feet to your stack before you trust the answer.
These notes repeat in every explainer section because this page is built to be read start to finish: moisture is the biggest variable; board feet are volume, not length; and density varies within a species.
| Output | Formula | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | board feet × lb per board foot | 283.33 lb — 100 board feet of Douglas fir. |
| Weight per board foot | density ÷ 12 | 2.83 lb — 34 ÷ 12. |
| Density | FPL Technical Note No. 218, air-dry 12% MC | 34 lb/ft3 — Douglas fir, coast type. |
| Weight per foot, 2x4 | density × 5.25 ÷ 144 | 1.24 lb/ft — 1.5 × 3.5 in. actual. |
| Weight per foot, 1x6 | density × 4.125 ÷ 144 | 0.97 lb/ft — 0.75 × 5.5 in. actual. |
| Reverse: Board feet in 500 lb of black walnut | step | 153.85 board feet: 153.85 board feet of Black walnut weighs 500.01 lb at 3.25 lb per board foot. |
| Reverse: lb per board foot for 100 board feet to weigh 300 lb | step | 3.00 lb per board foot: 100 board feet of Douglas fir (coast type) weighs 300.00 lb at 3.00 lb per board foot. |
| Reverse: Linear feet of 2x4 Douglas fir in 100 lb | step | 80.67 feet: 35.29 board feet of Douglas fir (coast type) 2x4 weighs 100.00 lb at 2.83 lb per board foot. |
| 100 board feet of eastern white pine | same model | 100 board feet of Eastern white pine weighs 208.33 lb at 2.08 lb per board foot. |
| 100 board feet of white oak | same model | 100 board feet of White oak weighs 400.00 lb at 4.00 lb per board foot. |
| 500 board feet of Douglas fir | same model | 500 board feet of Douglas fir (coast type) weighs 1,416.67 lb at 2.83 lb per board foot. |
| 250 board feet of red oak | same model | 250 board feet of Red oak weighs 916.67 lb at 3.67 lb per board foot. |
| Twenty 8-foot 2x4 Douglas fir studs | same model | 70 board feet of Douglas fir (coast type) 2x4 studs weighs 198.33 lb at 2.83 lb per board foot. |
| 100 board feet of green Douglas fir (38 lb/ft3) | same model | 100 board feet of Douglas fir (coast type), green weighs 316.67 lb at 3.17 lb per board foot. |
| 0 board feet | same model | 0 board feet of Douglas fir (coast type) weighs 0.00 lb at 2.83 lb per board foot. |
| 0 lb per board foot | same model | 100 board feet of Douglas fir (coast type) weighs 0.00 lb at 0.00 lb per board foot. |
| 1 board foot of white oak | same model | 1 board feet of White oak weighs 4.00 lb at 4.00 lb per board foot. |
| 1,000 board feet of Douglas fir | same model | 1000 board feet of Douglas fir (coast type) weighs 2,833.33 lb at 2.83 lb per board foot. |
Figures are the model's own totals on the numbers you type, computed from unrounded values: the weight per board foot is the density divided by 12, the total weight is the board feet times that figure, and the per-foot figures are the density times the actual cross-section divided by 144 — the displayed per-board-foot values are rounded to 2dp, so a weight recomputed from the rounded figure can differ by a few hundredths of a pound from the displayed total. The densities are the USDA Forest Products Laboratory Technical Note No. 218 air-dry (12% moisture) figures, measured on small clear specimens; the Laboratory states that air-dry wood of a given species rarely varies more than 10% from the table figure, and that the specimens average a trifle heavier than ordinary structural timbers. The table does not cover treated lumber, engineered lumber, plywood or MDF, and it does not account for knots, sapwood, or moisture above 12% — green figures are given separately. This page is a planning estimate, not a certified weight: weigh the actual stack if the number decides a lift, a load limit or a structural question.
100 board feet of Douglas fir (coast type) at 12% moisture weighs 283.33 lb at 2.83 lb per board foot (density 34 lb per cubic foot). White pine is 2.08 lb per board foot and white oak is 4.00 lb per board foot; a 2x4 of Douglas fir weighs 1.24 lb per foot. Densities: USDA Forest Products Laboratory Technical Note No. 218. Source: Bright Side Kit, brightoolbox.com.
It depends on the species: Douglas fir is 2.83 lb per board foot, white pine is 2.08 lb and white oak is 4.00 lb — all at 12% moisture. Divide the density by 12, or read it straight from the table above.
Multiply the board feet by the weight per board foot: 100 board feet of Douglas fir × 2.83 lb is 283.33 lb. The weight per board foot is the density divided by 12.
A Douglas fir 2x4 weighs 1.24 lb per foot; a white oak 2x4 weighs 1.75 lb per foot. A 2x4 is 1.5 × 3.5 in. actual, so an 8-foot stud weighs eight times the per-foot figure.
400.00 lb at 12% moisture. White oak is 48 lb per cubic foot — the heaviest species in the table.
Yes — green Douglas fir is 316.67 lb per 100 board feet against 283.33 lb air-dry. Green wood carries the water it grew with; it loses the weight as it dries.
A board foot is 144 cubic inches — a board 1 inch thick, 12 inches wide and 12 inches long. Board feet are volume: thickness × width × length in inches, divided by 144.
The USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Technical Note No. 218, "Weights of Various Woods Grown in the United States" (July 1931 revision). The table uses the air-dry weights at 12% moisture content.
Density varies within a species — the Laboratory says air-dry wood rarely varies more than 10% from the table figure. Moisture is the usual reason: wet lumber weighs more, kiln-dried weighs a little less.