There are three main measurements that each carpenter and contractor must be prepared calculate in a second’s discover. Not solely do it’s essential to know methods to calculate board foot, sq. foot, and linear foot, however you additionally have to know when to make use of every.
Should you swing by the lumberyard you’ll discover totally different objects offered in every of those codecs and if you happen to are available asking for 20 sq. toes of two×4’s or 50 linear toes of plywood you’ll get laughed out of the shop and picked on relentlessly. Sure, the lumberyard counter continues to be a bit like approaching the cool youngsters desk in highschool. You higher know the suitable solution to speak otherwise you’ll be ridiculed.
On this put up, I’ve bought calculators for every of their respective sections so you may bookmark this web page and reserve it future reference. As well as, I’ve bought the formulation for every as a result of in my view it’s greatest if you happen to perceive the ideas and formulation even if you happen to don’t want a pencil and paper to do the maths.
Board Foot Calculator
Calculating board toes is all about discovering the quantity of the wooden. Usually tough lumber is offered by the board foot since will probably be milled down into a selected product later. Identical to discovering the quantity of water in a pool, calculating board toes of lumber encompasses three totally different measurements.
Right here’s a breakdown of the variables:
- Thickness: The thickness of the wooden in inches.
- Width: The width of the wooden in inches.
- Size: The size of the wooden in toes.
When calculating board toes, you sometimes use these dimensions to seek out the quantity of the wooden in cubic inches (thickness × width × size) after which divide by 144 (12 inches × 12 inches) to transform to board toes. This method is usually used within the lumber trade for estimating the quantity of usable wooden in a log or a bit of lumber.
Needless to say when you have a number of items of wooden, you’ll calculate the board toes for each bit individually after which sum them as much as get the entire board toes for all items.
Sq. Foot Calculator
The method for calculating sq. toes relies on the form of the world you’re measuring. Usually in building we’re targeted on squares and rectangles, however that isn’t at all times the case. Should you can spherical out your data by studying to calculate the sq. footage of circles and triangles then you may determine absolutely anything on a building website.
Sq. foot calculations are used for locating the portions of most issues utilized in building for issues like wooden flooring, sheathing, drywall, paint protection, roofing supplies, tile, glass, and extra. Don’t neglect that there’ll at all times be waste so after getting a sq. footage calculation be sure you add round 10-20% further to account for off-cuts relying on how efficient the structure is.
Sq. or Rectangle
Squares and rectangles are a bit of cake to calculate sq. toes. The method is under. In contrast to board toes you’re solely calculating is 2 dimensions so the method is easier.
Space (in sq. toes) = Size (in toes) × Width (in toes)
Circle
Circles are a ache in building, however they do exist and also you want to have the ability to determine the sq. footage of a circle or a half circle, or some other round-ish component. There are two choices for determining the sq. footage of a circle under relying on which works greatest in your state of affairs.
Right here’s a breakdown of the variables:
- Diameter: The size from one aspect of the circle to the opposite
- Radius: The size from the middle of the circle to at least one aspect (1/2 of the diameter)
- π (Pi): An irrational quantity you simply should memorize
Anyone who remembers their highschool geometry will acknowledge that bizarre image at the start of every method. It stands for “Pi” and it stands for 3.14 (the entire quantity goes on ceaselessly like 3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197…., however utilizing 3.14 is ample for many situations except you’re a mathematician).
Triangle
Discovering the sq. footage or space of a triangle is useful as a result of quite a lot of occasions you may break irregular shapes down right into a rectangle and a triangle. The method for locating the world of a triangle is under:
It’s necessary to know that for a triangle you want to discover the peak on the highest level which will not be the peak of the tallest aspect, however quite the very best level on the entire form.
Irregular Form: For irregular shapes, you might want to interrupt the world into smaller, extra common shapes after which sum their particular person areas.
Keep in mind to make use of constant items (e.g., toes) when plugging in values into these formulation. When you have dimensions in inches, you might have to convert them to toes by dividing by 12 since there are 12 inches in a foot.
Linear Foot Calculator
Calculating the linear footage (generally referred to as the lineal footage) of an object is easiest of all as a result of it doesn’t contain math however quite counting. In terms of linear footage you’ll probably be coping with constructing parts like plumbing, electrical, siding, and trim.
Linear footage doesn’t account for the thickness or width of a selected merchandise like board footage and sq. footage do. To calculate linear footage you might be involved solely with the size of the merchandise.
For instance, if you happen to want 10 items of 16’ clapboard then you definately want 160 linear toes of siding (10 X 16 = 160). Linear footage yields the least details about the merchandise. You could possibly have 4”, 6”, or 8” broad clapboards, however when wanting on the linear footage you’d by no means know with out additional info.
So when coping with linear footage it’s essential to be particular in your request: 160 linear toes of 8” clapboard siding, 400 linear toes of 1/2” copper pipe, and many others.
I hope this put up has helped make clear among the variations between these three objects as a result of I see quite a lot of confusion surrounding when to make use of which and what every one stands for. Maintain this put up helpful and also you’ll be able to sort out any building calculation.
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Founder & Editor-in-Chief
I like previous homes, working with my fingers, and educating others the excitment of doing it your self! Every little thing is teachable if you happen to solely give it the prospect.