Wood Density Table: What Every Species Weighs (kg/m³ and lb/ft³)
Density of 18 woods and panels, air-dry, with pounds per cubic foot and kilograms per board foot — the table behind every weight the calculators return.
How much does wood weigh?
Air-dry wood runs from about 380 kg/m³ (western red cedar) to 770 kg/m³ (white oak) — a factor of two between the lightest and the heaviest common species. Weight is simply density × volume, so one cubic metre of white oak weighs 770 kg while the same cubic metre of cedar weighs 380 kg. Every figure below is quoted air-dry, at roughly 12% moisture content.
Density table — 18 woods and panels
Air-dry density by species, with the two units the trade actually uses and the weight of a single board foot:
| Species | kg/m³ | lb/ft³ | kg per board foot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar (western red) | 380 | 23.7 | 0.90 |
| Poplar | 420 | 26.2 | 0.99 |
| Spruce | 450 | 28.1 | 1.06 |
| Fir | 480 | 30.0 | 1.13 |
| Pine | 500 | 31.2 | 1.18 |
| Douglas fir | 530 | 33.1 | 1.25 |
| Plywood | 540 | 33.7 | 1.27 |
| Cherry | 600 | 37.5 | 1.42 |
| Mahogany | 600 | 37.5 | 1.42 |
| Birch | 620 | 38.7 | 1.46 |
| Walnut | 650 | 40.6 | 1.53 |
| Teak | 660 | 41.2 | 1.56 |
| Ash | 700 | 43.7 | 1.65 |
| Hard maple | 700 | 43.7 | 1.65 |
| Beech | 720 | 44.9 | 1.70 |
| Red oak | 750 | 46.8 | 1.77 |
| MDF | 750 | 46.8 | 1.77 |
| White oak | 770 | 48.1 | 1.82 |
Density, specific gravity and specific weight
Three terms describe the same property. Density is mass per volume in kg/m³ (or lb/ft³). Specific gravity is that density divided by the density of water, so oak at 750 kg/m³ has a specific gravity of 0.75 — a dimensionless number that fits every unit system. Specific weight is strictly force per volume (N/m³), but in day-to-day workshop and timber-trade use it means the same figure as density. Whichever term a supplier uses, ask what moisture content it refers to: without that, the number is unusable.
Green wood weighs up to 1.5× more
The densities above are air-dry. Freshly felled timber carries a great deal of free water: green oak approaches 1,000 kg/m³ and green softwood can be 1.5× its dry weight. That is exactly the multiplier the Lumber weight calculator and Firewood calculators apply for the fresh setting. Structural timber is normally dried to 18–20% moisture, furniture stock to 8–12%; the drier it is, the closer it sits to the table.
What that means for a board, a beam and a pallet
A 2×4 (38 × 89 mm) at 2.4 m is 0.0081 m³, so it weighs about 3.7 kg in spruce and 6.1 kg in oak. An oak beam 100 × 200 mm × 3 m is 0.06 m³ — 45 kg, a two-person lift. A pallet of 100 board feet of white oak comes to 182 kg (400 lb) before the pallet itself. Use the Lumber weight calculator calculator for any size and species, or Board feet calculator when you are buying by the board foot.
Where these numbers come from
The values follow published averages for air-dry timber — the USDA Forest Products Laboratory Wood Handbook for North American species, and DIN 68364 / EN 350 style trade figures for European ones. They are the same table the calculators on this site use, so an article and a tool can never quote you different numbers. For stacked firewood, where roughly 30% of a stacked cubic metre is air rather than wood, see Firewood.