Wood Weight Calculator

The formula, shown

Weight = volume (ft³) × density (lb/ft³), with volume = T/12 × W/12 × L. Worked example: a red-oak board 1″ × 6″ × 8 ft is exactly 1/3 ft³, and 1/3 × 44 = 14.7 lb. Handy cross-check: that board is 4.0 board feet, and red oak runs ~3.7 lb/BF — 4 × 3.7 ≈ 14.7. ✓

How much does a board foot of wood weigh?

A board foot of red oak weighs about 3.7 lb at 12% moisture content; cherry runs 2.9 lb and eastern white pine 2.1 lb. A board foot is 144 in³, or 1/12 ft³, so pounds per board foot = density (lb/ft³) ÷ 12. Furniture hardwoods (oak, maple, ash, walnut, cherry) run 2.9–3.9 lb per board foot; softwoods (pine, cedar) run 1.9–3.0. The table is sorted heaviest first; multiply by your board feet (the board foot calculator gives the count) or drop exact dimensions into the calculator above.

Weight follows the wood you actually have, not the wood you bought: a 1″ rough board planed to 13/16″ carries 81% of the wood the table assumes for the same length and width.

Densities at 12% moisture content, the reference condition the FPL Wood Handbook tabulates. Teak, ipe, and mahogany are imported species; their densities are cross-checked against published importer data. Individual boards vary about ±10%.

Green vs. kiln-dried: why the same board can weigh twice as much

A board weighs its dry wood plus the water inside it. The Wood Handbook defines moisture content as water weight ÷ oven-dry weight, so for any one piece: weight at MC m = oven-dry weight × (1 + m/100). The table above sits at 12%.

Worked example, same piece of wood throughout. That 14.7 lb red-oak board is 13.1 lb of wood (14.7 ÷ 1.12) plus 1.6 lb of water. Green red-oak heartwood averages 80% moisture, so the same board weighs 13.1 × 1.80 = 23.6 lb, or 1.6× the table figure. Softwood sapwood is wetter: green ponderosa-pine sapwood averages 148%, taking a 9.3 lb pine board to 20.7 lb, 2.2× as heavy.

Going the other way, hardwood for furniture and cabinets is usually dried to 6–8%. At 7% the oak board is 14.0 lb, about 4.5% under the table. Softwood framing lumber targets a 15% average and may reach 19%, which is 2.7–6.2% over it.

One caution: a board measured green is slightly bigger than it will be dry, because wood shrinks once it falls below about 30% moisture. Scaling the calculator’s result by a moisture factor is exact for one piece of wood, but it runs a bit high if you plug in the size of a wet board.

How much does a 2x4 weigh? Framing lumber weights by size

An 8 ft 2x4 weighs about 10.5 lb in southern yellow pine, 9.9 lb in Douglas-fir, and 7.3 lb in eastern white pine, at the 12% moisture content behind this page’s densities. Per linear foot that is 1.31, 1.24, and 0.91 lb.

A 2x4 is not 2″ × 4″. The softwood lumber standard (PS 20) dresses it to 1-1/2″ × 3-1/2″, so the weight formula uses the actual size: weight = thickness × width ÷ 144 × length × density. For a 2x4, 5.25 in² ÷ 144 = 0.0365 ft² of cross-section, and × 36 lb/ft³ = 1.31 lb per foot in southern pine.

Densities at 12% moisture; actual sizes are the PS 20 minimum dressed dry sizes. Southern yellow pine is the data’s loblolly row, Douglas-fir the coast type. Spruce-pine-fir and hem-fir are not in our density data.

Store-bought framing lumber is usually not at 12%. PS 20 defines dry lumber as seasoned to a maximum of 19% moisture, and the Wood Handbook puts the drying target for softwood framing at a 15% average. Using the Handbook’s density relation, which also counts the size change with moisture (the log table uses it too), a southern-pine 2x4 at 15% weighs 1.01× the table figure and at 19% 1.03×, a smaller gain than the same-piece factors above. That puts the 8 ft piece near 10.8 lb at the ceiling. Green lumber is wetter: the Handbook averages 33% moisture for green loblolly-pine heartwood and 110% for sapwood, and PS 20 cuts a green 2x4 slightly larger (1-9/16″ × 3-9/16″). A green southern-pine 8 ft 2x4 therefore weighs 12.2–19.3 lb, or 1.2–1.8× the table, depending on how much sapwood it holds. Pressure-treated lumber weighs more than the same piece untreated because it carries preservative and sometimes extra water; this page has no sourced figure for either, so weigh a piece if it matters.

How much does a log weigh? Green log weight by diameter

A 6 ft log 12″ across weighs about 306 lb if it is freshly cut red oak. It is a cylinder of 4.71 ft³ (π × 0.5² × 6), and green red-oak heartwood runs about 64.9 lb/ft³.

The formula is weight = π × (diameter ÷ 24)² × length (ft) × green density; dividing the diameter in inches by 24 gives the radius in feet. Green density starts from the 12% density in the calculator: scale it by (1 + MC/100) ÷ 1.12 for the water, then by (1 − S/100), where S is the volumetric shrinkage a 12%-moisture piece has already undergone (0.6 × the Handbook’s figure, since shrinkage starts near 30% moisture). The second step matters because a green log is bigger than the same wood at 12%. It is why red oak comes out at 64.9 lb/ft³ here rather than the 70.7 lb/ft³ the same-piece moisture factor above would give.

Pounds for a 6 ft log. Assumes a straight cylinder with no taper and no bark, measured at its mid-length diameter, at the Wood Handbook’s average green moisture content.

The assumptions matter. Oak uses the heartwood averages (80% red, 64% white); sapwood averages differ (69% red, 78% white) and a real log has both. Pine is shown as a range because loblolly runs from 33% in heartwood to 110% in sapwood. The Handbook calls variation within and between trees considerable, real logs taper, and a log that has been drying weighs less, so treat the table as a planning figure. Weight scales with the square of the diameter and linearly with length: a 16″ log weighs 4.0× an 8″ log, and the 12″ oak log at 8 ft instead of 6 ft is about 408 lb.

How much does a cubic yard of wood weigh?

A solid cubic yard of red oak weighs about 1,188 lb at 12% moisture. A cubic yard is 27 ft³, so the weight is 27 × density: 675 lb for eastern white pine, 972 lb for southern yellow pine, 1,188 lb for red oak, 1,269 lb for white oak, and 1,863 lb for ipe. Lumber is sold in board feet, and one cubic yard is 324 BF of solid wood (27 × 12), so 324 × lb per board foot gives the same answer. Green red oak is heavier, about 1,752 lb per solid yard.

This is solid wood, not stacked or loose volume. A yard of firewood stacked in a pile, or of chips or sawdust, includes air gaps and weighs less, by an amount that depends on piece size, stacking, and moisture. This page has no sourced figure for those, so it does not give one; for stacked firewood use the firewood cord calculator.

How much does a sheet of plywood or MDF weigh?

A 4×8 sheet of 3/4″ plywood weighs roughly 50–75 lb, and 3/4″ MDF roughly 87–112 lb. The math is weight = 32 ft² × (thickness ÷ 12) × density, with density = specific gravity × 62.43 lb/ft³ (water). The specific-gravity ranges below are the Wood Handbook’s for each panel family.

Approximate pounds per 4×8 sheet at nominal thickness. The ranges are wide because panels vary by species, resin, and manufacturer.

The Handbook’s Douglas-fir and Southern Pine plywood samples (specific gravity 0.53 and 0.57) sit at the heavy end of the plywood band, about 66–71 lb at 3/4″. Weight scales with thickness, so measure the sheet you have; for a sheet you must lift alone, trust the manufacturer’s spec over any table.

Estimating weight for shipping or a truck load

Multiply board feet by pounds per board foot. At 12% moisture, 100 BF is about 367 lb in red oak, 392 lb in white oak, 292 lb in cherry, and 208 lb in eastern white pine. A 500 BF red-oak load is about 1,833 lb before the pallet and strapping. For stock at any other moisture content, multiply by (1 + MC/100) ÷ 1.12: lumber at 20% moisture weighs 1.07× the table, or 393 lb per 100 BF of red oak. Compare the total with your truck’s rated payload, not its bed size. Firewood is a different game: it’s sold by stacked volume, so use the firewood cord calculator for cords.

Where the number matters

• Shipping quotes: carriers bill dimensional or actual weight, whichever is higher — know both before you list that slab.
• Wall shelving: the shelf’s own weight counts toward its load; a 2″ slab shelf can weigh more than the books.
• Racking: a 200 BF red-oak haul is about 733 lb — check the trailer and the lumber rack, not just the wallet.
• Workholding: heavy species change how you clamp, carry, and flatten. Nobody flips a 100 lb top casually.