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Hardwood Lumber Weight per Board Foot: Green and Kiln Dried

Kiln dried to 12% moisture, a board foot of US hardwood weighs about 2.2 lb (1.0 kg) for basswood and 4.2 lb (1.9 kg) for mockernut hickory. White oak is near 4.0 lb, hard maple 3.7 lb, black walnut 3.2 lb and yellow-poplar 2.4 lb. Green lumber weighs more, about 3.0 to 5.7 lb per board foot.

Typical values for clear wood, calculated from USDA Wood Handbook data as of October 2026. Real lumber varies, so confirm weight with your supplier before you book freight.

Kiln dried at 12% moisture

Source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook FPL-GTR-190 (2010; 2018 errata), Table 5-3b specific gravity at 12% moisture (volume at 12%). Density = specific gravity x 1.12 x 62.4 lb/ft³ (the water density that reproduces Wood Handbook Table 4-6b); 1 board foot = 1/12 cubic foot. Calculated by Hardwood Vendor, typical values only.

Green lumber

Source: Wood Handbook FPL-GTR-190, Table 5-3b specific gravity based on ovendry weight and green volume, Table 4-1 average moisture content of green wood (percent of ovendry weight; mockernut hickory and eastern cottonwood use the table rows "Hickory, mockernut" and "Cottonwood"). Weight = specific gravity x (1 + moisture/100) x 62.4 lb/ft³ x 1/12. Black cherry has a heartwood value only. Where heartwood and sapwood give different results the table shows the range.

How to read the tables

Specific gravity is the ovendry weight of the wood divided by the weight of an equal volume of water. The Wood Handbook gives it on two volume bases: green, and at 12% moisture. Wood shrinks as it dries, so the same piece has a higher specific gravity on the 12% basis than on the green basis, and the two columns in the tables are not interchangeable.

Density is the weight of the wood plus its water per unit of volume. At 12% moisture it is the specific gravity multiplied by 1.12 and by the weight of water. The Wood Handbook says the result is an approximation because of the variability of the inputs.

Weight per board foot divides the density by 12, because a board foot is 144 cubic inches, which is one twelfth of a cubic foot (Penn State Extension). Multiply by the tally to get a load: 1,000 board feet of white oak at 12% is about 3,960 lb (1,800 kg), and 1,000 board feet of yellow-poplar is about 2,450 lb (1,110 kg).

Green lumber is shown as a range because heartwood and sapwood hold different amounts of water. Sweetgum is the extreme case in the table: 79% moisture in heartwood and 137% in sapwood, which gives about 4.3 to 5.7 lb per board foot.

Common mistakes

• Using the green weight for a kiln dried quote, or the other way round. Green or air dried stock weighs more per board foot, so ask which moisture content the supplier weighed at.
• Treating a board foot as a fixed volume of dried wood. Lumber is tallied on its nominal thickness. Rough lumber shrinks during drying and surfaced lumber is thinner than its tally thickness, so a tallied board foot of finished stock can hold less wood than the 144 cubic inches used here and weigh less than the table.
• Reading one species figure as exact. The Wood Handbook gives a coefficient of variation of about 10% for ovendry density within common domestic species.
• Ignoring packaging. Bundle strapping, stickers and pallets are not in the figures.

What to write on an RFQ

State the species, thickness, grade, tally in board feet or cubic meters and the moisture content you expect at shipment, then ask for the weighed or calculated gross weight of the load. That figure feeds your freight quote, the container limits and your landed cost. For loading limits, see hardwood container loading. For the cost side, see hardwood lumber landed cost. For the board foot arithmetic, see board feet and hardwood pricing.

When you are ready, send one lumber spec. We pass it to up to 3 mills or yards that carry it, and you hear back within 24 business hours.

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