Board Foot

  I am currently working with a family member to finish off the basement.  He and his wife asked to move into the basement so they could save money and help finish the basement.

All I can say is the basement has a cement floor, lots of studs and pipes for things.  It does have a few power boxes but I need more in there.

While looking over some of those magazines on finishing this or that, I stumbled across a comment on board feet.  I'd forgotten about that measurement.  My father, being a a shop teacher, spoke about board foot and linear foot.

Technically, a board foot is a volume of 144 cubed units, such as 12 in by 12 in by 1 in while a linear foot is just the length regardless of width or depth.  Honestly, I'm never sure which unit hardware stores sell the lumber by.  The last ones I bought were sold for a flat rate, the board already cut to a certain length.  In addition, if the boards thickness is less than 3/4 inch, it is sold by the linear foot.

After some research, I'm told some stores do sell lumber by the board foot while others sell lumber by the linear foot.   Using this information and other pieces, its possible to come up with some questions students can explore.

1.  If the volume of a board foot is 144 inches square, how many different measurements can a board foot have?  Which ones are more likely than other?  Explain your choices.

2.  If you have a board that is 8 inches wide, 8 feet long, and 1 inch thick, how many board feet is that?

3.  If you have a board that is 2 inches wide, 3 inches deep, 8 feet long and costs $5.00 per board foot, how much will the board cost?

4.  If the board you have is 8 inches wide, 3/4 inch thick and 8 feet long,  how many board feet is it?  What would it cost if the hardware store charges $4.75 per board inch.

So a real life application of board feet.  let me know what you think?  Have a good day.