How to Calculate Wood for Drawers

Drawer units are a great way to add storage components to any piece of furniture or home installation, such as desks, beds or wall units. Due to the various layers of wood that are used when adding drawers to a project, it is important to understand fully how much material will be used before beginning a project to make sure that you do not run out of wood at a crucial time when you have the desire to keep building but cannot get more material from a store. Accurate estimation of the required materials is also necessary to properly budget the costs of the project in advance.

Calculator

Instructions

- 1
  Multiply the length and width of the rear drawer board, and note it. Multiply the length and width of the side drawer boards, multiply that number by two and note the product. Multiply the length and width of the bottom drawer board, and record the product. Multiply the length and width of the front shelf board, as this is sometimes different in dimension from the rear board, and note the product. Add all of these products together to find the total number of board feet needed for each drawer.
- 2
  Multiply the number of board feet needed for each drawer by the number of drawers you will be constructing to find the total board feet requirements for the drawers themselves.
- 3
  Consult the plans, and determine how much wood is required by the drawer supports by multiplying the length and width of each drawer support board and adding all the totals together.
- 4
  Add up the totals of the support boards and the drawer materials to find the total number of board feet required. Determine how many sheets of wood are necessary to provide that total number of board feet, and purchase at least one extra sheet to ensure that there will be enough wood when the unused edges and scraps are accounted for.

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