converting lineal feet to square feet
by robert on 02/01/02 at 12:33:39

:-/ Hi, out there!

I'm pricing wood for my porch and know the square feet (500).  The pricing sometimes is given to me per lineal foot.

How do I convert lineal feet to square feet for this purpose?

Thanx.

-Robert

Re: converting lineal feet to square feet
by Robert Fogt on 02/02/02 at 14:27:12

Lineal feet, same as linear feet, means feet in a straight line.

You'll need to just multiply the linear feet by the width of the board to get square feet.

If you have 10 linear feet of wood, and the wood is 1 foot wide, you have 10 X 1 = 10 square feet of wood.

Re: converting lineal feet to square feet
by Doug Bowman on 03/25/02 at 09:03:18

Okay, I'm a bit confused.  I have a porch that is 21 ft. by 10 ft.  The Southern Yellow Pine T & G flooring I will be using has about 3" exposed (minus the tongue) and is .58 cents per lineal foot.

I took the 21 ft. width, converted that to inches (252"), then divided that by 3" (the width of the board exposed).  That gave me 84--the number of boards I will need (at 10 ft. in length each).

Now I'm really confused!  I know the price of the wood at lineal feet, but don't know how many lineal feet the porch is.  And knowing the square feet of the porch confusses me as my price is in lineal feet.  HELP!

Re: converting lineal feet to square feet
by Doug (again) on 03/25/02 at 09:09:48

If 3" is exposed, then it takes four boards across to equal one foot.  Thus, if I take 4 times 58 cents, I get $2.32 per square foot, right?

Then, taking that times my porch's total square footage (210 sq. ft), I get $487.20.  Does that seem correct?

Doug

Re: converting lineal feet to square feet
by Robert Fogt on 03/25/02 at 10:06:59

If each board is 10 lineal feet, and you need 84 boards, it would be:
84*10*0.58 = $487.20

Which is what you have so your answer appears correct.

Re: converting lineal feet to square feet
by Roy O on 08/06/02 at 03:18:15

One board foot means a 12" by 12" by 1"thick board.
everyone gets confused because they are using a different size maybe, like for example;
      you need 10 pieces of 8 foot long 2 by 4's

step 1)   2times4 divide by 12 = .66666666666
       2)   .66666666 times 8 feet = 5.3333328
       3)   5.3333328 times 10 pieces = 53.333328

      Thats it, 10 pieces of 8 foot long 2 by4's = 53.3bf

Tip - Remember a 1by12 footlong is one bf, (12/12=1)
          1by6 foot long is half a board foot  (6/12 =1/2)
          2by6 foot long is one board foot     (12/12=1)
                           

Go Back | Archive Index