Lumber Load Sheet
Real dimensions, not nominal. And plan for the green weight if you are near a limit.
BFCBrilliance · bfcbrilliance.com/tools/lumber-weight-calculator
The numbers
- WEIGHT
- actual volume (ft³) x density (lb/ft³)
- Volume of one board
- thick x wide (in) x length (ft) x 12 ÷ 1728
- Nominal → ACTUAL
- 2→1.5 · 4→3.5 · 6→5.5 · 8→7.25
- — continued
- 10→9.25 · 12→11.25
- Softwood, kiln-dried
- about 25-32 lb/ft³
- Softwood, green
- about 40-50 lb/ft³
- ⚠ Using nominal sizes
- overstates a 2x4's volume by ~52%
- ⚠ Board feet are a PRICE unit
- they will not give you weight
- ⚠ Payload includes YOU
- and fuel, tools and passengers
This load
| Item | Actual size | Length | Qty | lb each | Total lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The trip
- Date
- Yard
- Vehicle
- PAYLOAD from door sticker
- Less passengers and fuel
- AVAILABLE
- Load weight dried
- Load weight green
- Which am I buying?
- % of payload
- Overhang
- Flagged?
- Straps used
Before loading
- Used ACTUAL dimensions, not the nominal name
- Density chosen for the species AND the moisture
- Pressure-treated treated as GREEN — it is wet from the process
- Payload read from the door jamb sticker, not the brochure
- Passengers, fuel and tools subtracted from the payload first
- Planned against the GREEN weight if anywhere near the limit
- Overhang measured and local marking rules checked
- Straps or ratchets on hand before leaving, not after loading
- Weight distributed over the axle rather than hanging off the back
A 2x4 is not 2 by 4
It is 1.5 by 3.5 — nominal sizes describe the board before drying and planing and survive only as names. Calculating weight from the nominal figures overstates a 2x4's volume by about 52%, which on a real load is the difference between fitting your payload and being over it. The sheet shows both so the size of that error is visible.
Moisture beats species
Green lumber can carry more than half its weight in water, so the same board might be 30 lb/ft³ kiln-dried and 45 or more green — a load comfortably inside your payload dry can be well over it green. Pressure-treated timber is the trap: it is wet from the process and behaves like green wood for weeks, while looking and pricing like finished stock.