The basic formula for calculating area is Length times Width (LxW). If you are estimating the area for a rectangle you’ll always use LxW. If you are calculating the area for a square you can multiply the length of one Side times itself, or (S2).
The illustration above shows a room 12′ wide by 20′ long.
Area calculated as:
L X W = AREA
20 X 12 = 240 SQUARE FEET
When calculating the area for a structure with multiple sections, like an L-shaped home, divide the structure into two sections, then calculate the area for each section and add them together.
For example, in the L-shaped structure above the two sections have been divided to calculate the total area. Section one is 28 X 48. Section two is 20 X 16. The area calculation is:
SECTION ONE 28 X 48 = 1344 SQFT
SECTION TWO 20 X 16 = 320 SQFT
TOTAL = 1664 SQFT
When a structure has multiple ells or sections you can use a calculator with the memory feature to calculate the total square footage. First, divide the structure into logical square or rectangular sections. Then calculate the square foot area for each section, adding the calculation for each into memory plus on the calculator as you go.
FAQs
Calculating the amount of wood in square feet can be done by first determining the area of the wood surface . This can be done by multiplying the length and width of the wood in feet . For example , if a piece of wood is 10 feet long and 5 feet wide , the area would be 50 square feet ( 10 x 5 = 50 ) .
How do you calculate how much lumber you need? ›
Board Footage. TIP: To calculate board feet: rough standard thickness X actual width X actual length divided by 144. Use the thickness of the material you intend to start with, not end with. For example, the 3/4″ top will start from 4/4 lumber.
What is the formula for the area of a door? ›
The basic formula for calculating area is Length times Width (LxW). If you are estimating the area for a rectangle you'll always use LxW. If you are calculating the area for a square you can multiply the length of one Side times itself, or (S2).
How do you calculate wood work area? ›
Here's a basic wood calculator formula to get you started: Area in sq ft equals length (ft) x width (ft). A room 10 feet wide by 10 feet long has a square footage of 100 square feet. Multiply the width (10 ft) by the length to get the square footage (10 ft).
How to figure out square footage of lumber? ›
Multiply width in feet by height in feet. Square footage is the same as area to be covered.
What is the formula for lumber estimating? ›
Using the lumber calculator: an example
Choose the dimensions of the boards. For example, a piece of hardwood can be 8 feet long, 10 inches wide, and 1.25 inches thick. Substitute these numbers into the board foot formula to find the board footage per piece: board feet = length(ft) × width(in) × thickness(in) / 12.
How many boards to cover an area? ›
To determine the number of deck boards you need to build your deck: Take the area of your deck (as shown in Step 1) and divide that number by the board area (Step 3). Deck Depth (in inches) / Board Width (inches) = Number of deck boards needed.
What is the formula of lumber? ›
For instance a 2 x 6 also equals one board foot for each foot of length. Board footage is calculated by multiplying the nominal thickness in inches (T) by the nominal width in inches (W) by the actual length in feet (L) and dividing by 12. The formula is: T x W x L = Board ft.
How is area of a place calculated? ›
What is the formula for calculating land area? The square feet are calculated by multiplying the length by the width. Here's a simple formula to remember: Area in square feet = length (in feet) x breadth (in feet).
How do you calculate wood for a door? ›
- This will simply depend upon the thickness of board.
- Formula to calculate is simply length * breadth * height.
- If thickness is 1 inch which is 0.083 feet.
- Then, 7 * 4 * 0.083 = 2.33 cubic feet.
- If thickness is 0.5 inch which is 0.0416.
- Then wooden required will be.
- 7 * 4 * 0.0416 = 1.1648 cubic feet.
Area Formulas
Area of a rectangle is the length times the width. Area of a parallelogram is base times the height. Area of a trapezoid is one half the sum of the two bases times the height. Area of a circle is π times the square of the radius.
How do you manually calculate area? ›
The simplest (and most commonly used) area calculations are for squares and rectangles. To find the area of a rectangle, multiply its height by its width. For a square you only need to find the length of one of the sides (as each side is the same length) and then multiply this by itself to find the area.
What is the rule for calculating area? ›
What is the formula for area?
| Shape | Area Formula |
|---|
| Square/Rectangle | A = l x w |
| Circle | A = πr^2 |
| Triangle | A = ½ (b x h) |
| Parallelogram | A = b x h |
1 more rowSurface measure (SM) is the surface area of a board in square feet. To determine surface measure, multiply the width of the board in inches by the length of the board in feet and divide the sum by 12, rounding up or down to the nearest whole number.
What is the formula for measuring wood? ›
The formula is (Width x length x thickness) / 144. All measurements must be converted to inches for this formula to work. You can also convert to feet first and then leave out the division by 144.
What is the general formula of wood? ›
In actuality wood is mostly cellulose, which are long chains of interlinked glucose molecules. There are many other elements – essential plant nutrients – caught up in the wood. If we add Calcium (Ca) on the reactant side of the equation, representing a key nutritional element, our final wood formula is: C6H12O6 + Ca.
How do you find the cross sectional area of wood? ›
Cross-sectional area is determined by squaring the radius and then multiplying by 3.14. For example, if a tree is measured as 10” DBH, the radius is 5”. Multiplying 5 by 5 equals 25, which when multiplied by 3.14 equals 78.5. Thus, the cross-sectional area of a 10” DBH tree is 78.5.
