Table of Contents
What is Dimensional Lumber?
Dimensional lumber is simply lumber that is produced with standardized dimensions. Standardized lumber dimensions such as “2 x 4” allow for a multitude of efficiencies in construction.
Subcategories of dimensional lumber include appearance framing lumber, beams, joists, light framing lumber, planks, posts, stringers, structural light framing lumber, studs, and timbers. The lumber weight chart below has values for lumber sizes that cover all of these.
Dimensional lumber is used for wall framing, rafters, and many other building components. Lumber weight is an important factor in various structural design considerations.
Dimensional Lumber Weight Calculator
Note: While this calculator allows you to calculate weights using a large selection of wood species, it does not include options for wood species that are not typically used for dimensional lumber.
Dimensional Lumber
Weight Calculator
About the Lumber Weight Chart
The following table provides the approximate weight (dead load, self-weight) per linear foot of the various sizes of dimensional lumber (also called “structural lumber” or “finished lumber”) used in building construction in the US.
The table provides the air-dried weight of lumber produced from three commonly used tree species: Sitka Spruce, Douglas Fir, and Southern Yellow Pine.
The values given in the table are meant to provide a general idea of typical lumber weights, and should not be used if precise values are needed for critical engineering calculations.
When precision is necessary, always refer to the specification sheet for the actual, specific product you intend to use, or contact the technical department of the producer.
You can see actual dimensional lumber products on the websites of the Home Depot or Lowe’s. The approximate weights of the actual pieces of lumber for sale are often given in the product descriptions, so this can be a pretty good resource for calculating lumber weights.
Note: Longleaf Pine is a very heavy pine. See weights for other pines here. You can also see Weight of a 2×6 by Wood Type and Length if you want to compare the weights of different kinds of wood.
Nominal vs. Actual Lumber Dimensions
For an explanation of the difference between nominal lumber dimensions and actual dimensions, see this Lumber Dimensions Table.
Table: Lumber Weight by Wood Type and Board Dimensions
| Weight of Dimensional Lumber | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominal Dimensions of Lumber in Inches | Actual Dimensions of Lumber in Inches | Sitka Spruce Air Dried Lumber Weight (12% Moisture Content) | Douglas Fir (Coast Variety) Air Dried Lumber Weight (12% Moisture Content) | Southern Yellow Pine (Longleaf Variety) Air Dried Lumber Weight (12% Moisture Content) |
| Cubic Foot | 12 x 12 x 12 | 28 Pounds per Cubic Foot | 34 Pounds per Cubic Foot | 41 Pounds per Cubic Foot |
| Board Foot | 12 x 12 x 1 | 2.33 Pounds per Board Foot | 2.83 Pounds per Board Foot | 3.41 Pounds per Board Foot |
| Pounds Per Linear Foot: | Pounds Per Linear Foot: | Pounds Per Linear Foot: | ||
| 1 inch x 2 inch | 0.75 x 1.5 | 0.22 lb | 0.27 lb | 0.32 lb |
| 1 x 3 | 0.75 x 2.5 | 0.36 lb | 0.44 lb | 0.53 lb |
| 1 x 4 | 0.75 x 3.5 | 0.51 lb | 0.62 lb | 0.75 lb |
| 1 x 6 | 0.75 x 5.5 | 0.80 lb | 0.97 lb | 1.17 lb |
| 1 x 8 | 0.75 x 7.25 | 1.10 lb | 1.34 lb | 1.61 lb |
| 1 x 10 | 0.75 x 9.25 | 1.35 lb | 1.64 lb | 1.98 lb |
| 1 x 12 | 0.75 x 11.25 | 1.64 lb | 1.99 lb | 2.40 lb |
| 2 x 2 | 1.5 x 1.5 | 0.44 lb | 0.53 lb | 0.64 lb |
| 2 x 3 | 1.5 x 2.5 | 0.73 lb | 0.89 lb | 1.07 lb |
| 2 x 4 | 1.5 x 3.5 | 1.02 lb | 1.24 lb | 1.49 lb |
| 2 inch x 6 inch | 1.5 x 5.5 | 1.60 lb | 1.94 lb | 2.34 lb |
| 2 x 8 | 1.5 x 7.25 | 2.11 lb | 2.56 lb | 3.09 lb |
| 2 x 10 | 1.5 x 9.25 | 2.70 lb | 3.28 lb | 3.95 lb |
| 2 x 12 | 1.5 x 11.25 | 3.28 lb | 3.98 lb | 4.80 lb |
| 2 x 14 | 1.5 x 13.25 | 3.86 lb | 4.69 lb | 5.65 lb |
| 2 x 16 | 1.5 x 15.25 | 4.45 lb | 5.40 lb | 6.52 lb |
| 3 x 4 | 2.5 x 3.5 | 1.70 lb | 2.06 lb | 2.49 lb |
| 3 x 6 | 2.5 x 5.5 | 2.67 lb | 3.24 lb | 3.91 lb |
| 3 x 8 | 2.5 x 7.25 | 3.52 lb | 4.27 lb | 5.15 lb |
| 3 x 10 | 2.5 x 9.25 | 4.50 lb | 5.46 lb | 6.59 lb |
| 3 inch x 12 inch | 2.5 x 11.25 | 5.47 lb | 6.64 lb | 8.01 lb |
| 3 x 14 | 2.5 x 13.25 | 6.44 lb | 7.82 lb | 9.43 lb |
| 3 x 16 | 2.5 x 15.25 | 7.41 lb | 9.00 lb | 10.85 lb |
| 4 x 4 | 3.5 x 3.5 | 2.38 lb | 2.89 lb | 3.49 lb |
| 4 x 6 | 3.5 x 5.5 | 3.74 lb | 4.54 lb | 5.48 lb |
| 4 x 8 | 3.5 x 7.25 | 4.93 lb | 5.99 lb | 7.22 lb |
| 4 x 10 | 3.5 x 9.25 | 6.30 lb | 7.65 lb | 9.23 lb |
| 4 x 12 | 3.5 x 11.25 | 7.66 lb | 9.30 lb | 11.22 lb |
| 4 x 14 | 3.5 x 13.25 | 9.02 lb | 10.95 lb | 13.21 lb |
| 4 x 16 | 3.5 x 15.25 | 10.38 lb | 12.60 lb | 15.20 lb |
| 6 inch x 6 inch | 5.5 x 5.5 | 5.88 lb | 7.14 lb | 8.61 lb |
| 6 x 8 | 5.5 x 7.25 | 7.75 lb | 9.41 lb | 11.35 lb |
| 6 x 10 | 5.5 x 9.25 | 9.89 lb | 12.01 lb | 14.48 lb |
| 6 x 12 | 5.5 x 11.25 | 12.03 lb | 14.61 lb | 17.62 lb |
| 6 x 14 | 5.5 x 13.25 | 14.17 lb | 17.21 lb | 20.75 lb |
| 6 x 16 | 5.5 x 15 | 16.04 lb | 19.48 lb | 23.49 lb |
| 8 x 8 | 7.25 x 7.25 | 10.22 lb | 12.41 lb | 14.97 lb |
| 8 x 10 | 7.25 x 9.25 | 13.04 lb | 15.83 lb | 19.09 lb |
| 8 x 12 | 7.25 x 11.25 | 15.86 lb | 19.26 lb | 23.22 lb |
| 8 x 14 | 7.25 x 13.25 | 18.68 lb | 22.68 lb | 27.35 lb |
| 8 inch x 16 inch | 7.25 x 15 | 21.15 lb | 25.68 lb | 30.97 lb |
| 8 x 18 | 7.25 x 17 | 23.97 lb | 29.11 lb | 35.10 lb |
| 10 x 10 | 9.25 x 9.25 | 16.64 lb | 20.21 lb | 24.37 lb |
| 10 x 12 | 9.25 x 11.25 | 20.23 lb | 24.57 lb | 29.62 lb |
| 10 x 14 | 9.25 x 13.25 | 23.83 lb | 28.94 lb | 34.89 lb |
| 10 x 16 | 9.25 x 15 | 26.98 lb | 32.76 lb | 39.51 lb |
| 10 x 18 | 9.25 x 17 | 30.58 lb | 37.13 lb | 44.78 lb |
| 12 x 12 | 11.25 x 11.25 | 24.61 lb | 29.88 lb | 36.04 lb |
| 12 x 14 | 11.25 x 13.25 | 28.98 lb | 35.19 lb | 42.44 lb |
| 12 x 16 | 11.25 x 15 | 32.81 lb | 39.84 lb | 48.04 lb |
Lumber Weight Factors
Lumber weight depends on the length and cross-sectional dimensions of the board, the moisture content of the wood, and which tree species the lumber was made from.
Moisture will increase lumber weight. Green lumber has a higher moisture content than air-dried lumber, and air-dried lumber has a higher moisture content than oven-dried lumber.
Since almost all lumber will eventually reach the air-dried lumber weight, I just show the weights for air-dried lumber in the chart.
Different tree species produce wood with naturally different densities. Common construction lumber boards with the exact same dimensions but produced from different tree species may vary as much as 50% in weight, even with the same moisture content percentage.
An air-dried 2×4 x 8-foot-long lumber board made out of Douglas Fir weighs about 10 pounds. A board with the same dimensions made out of Sitka Spruce only weighs around 8 pounds.
Almost all lumber used for construction in the U.S. is made from spruce, pine, and fir, so the chart has weights for three representative wood species. The calculator has many more, but you can’t fit that much in a table on a web page.
Green or Oven-Dry Lumber Weights
Since almost all lumber tends to eventually arrive at the air-dried moisture content, variations in moisture content can be considered a temporary factor.
Green lumber has a higher moisture content than air-dried lumber, and air-dried lumber has a higher moisture content than oven-dried lumber.
Green lumber has a moisture content above 19% by definition.
Depending on the actual moisture content of a particular piece of lumber, which can be well above 100% due to the way the moisture content of wood is calculated, green lumber can weigh over 50% more than the same lumber when air-dried.
The typical weight of green lumber is roughly 10% to 30% more than the dried weight of lumber made from the same wood species.
Oven-dried wood (also called kiln-dried wood) normally starts off with a somewhat lower moisture content than air-dried wood, but tends to slowly absorb enough moisture from its environment to eventually reach the same moisture content as air-dried wood in the same environment.
For help figuring out the weight of green or oven-dry lumber for different wood species, to read more about how these weights are calculated, or to see an extensive list of the weights of other types of wood, see “Weights of Various Woods Grown in the United States” from the Forest Products Laboratory, United States Forest Service.
How to Calculate Lumber Weight
The formula for the weight of lumber is simply density x volume. Determining the weight of an actual board is a little more involved.
Step 1: Determine the wood type.
To determine lumber weight, you need to know what kind of wood the lumber is made from.
Step 2: Look up the density of the wood.
Once you know the species of the wood that you’re dealing with, look up the density of that wood.
Wood density, at least in the United States, is expressed as pounds per cubic foot.
Weights of Various Woods Grown in the United States contains an extensive list of wood species you can refer to. There are plenty of other resources on the internet with the same information.
Step 3: Calculate the volume in cubic inches of a one-foot-long section of the board.
You will need this value to figure out what percentage of a cubic foot a one-foot-long piece of your lumber is by volume.
Don’t use the nominal size of the board for this, be sure to look up the actual dimensions for the lumber in question.
As an example, let’s say you’re trying to figure out the weight of a piece of 2×2 lumber. Since a 2×2 is actually 1.5 inches by 1.5 inches, a one-foot-long 2×2 will have a volume in cubic inches of 1.5 inches x 1.5 inches x 12 inches, or 27 cubic inches.
Step 4: Determine what percentage of a cubic foot the volume of a one-foot-long section of your board is.
A cubic foot is equal to 12 inches x 12 inches x 12 inches, or 1,728 cubic inches. To continue our example, we know that a one foot long 2×2 is 27 cubic inches.
So:
27 is 1/64 of 1,728, or 1.5625% of a cubic foot (27/1728 x 100 = 1.5625).
Step 5. Multiply the density in pounds per cubic foot of your wood species by the percentage from the previous step.
Let’s say you’re trying to figure out the weight of a 2×2 made out of Sitka spruce. You look up the density of Sitka spruce and see that it’s 28 pounds per cubic foot.
You then multiply 28 pounds by 1.5625% (28 x 0.015625) to get 0.4375 pounds. (We’d round this to 0.44 to be practical.)
0.44 pounds is the weight of a one foot section of 2×2 lumber made from Sitka spruce.
Step 6: Multiply the weight of the one foot section by the length of the board.
If your 2×2 is 12 feet long, multiply 12 by 0.44 to get 5.28 pounds.
And there you go, a 12-foot Sitka spruce 2×2 weighs 5.28 pounds.
And that’s how you can calculate lumber weight.
References for Dimensional Lumber Weight
- Weights of Various Woods Grown in the United States – Forest Products Laboratory, United States Forest Service, USDA
- Wood Handbook, Wood as an Engineering Material – Forest Products Laboratory, United States Forest Service, USDA
