Raised bed lumber calculator

How it works

For every course (layer of boards) a bed needs two long sides at the full length and two ends that fit between them, so each end is the width minus two board thicknesses (2 × 1½ in for 2× lumber). The calculator packs the pieces onto stock boards, longest first, allowing ⅛ in for each saw cut, and shows which pieces come from which board. Corner posts are not included.

Worked example

Worked example: a 4 × 8 ft bed, two boards high, needs four long sides of 96 in and four ends of 45 in. The long sides take four 8 ft boards; two 45 in ends fit on each further 8 ft board (45 + ⅛ + 45 = 90⅛ in), so the sides need six 8 ft boards in total.

The results are estimates for planning and shopping. Check your measurements, and buy a little extra rather than too little.