14. A contractor is looking to purchase hardwood for the floors in a one story 143 square meter house. The new owner wants 2" thick hardwood floors. Estimate how many board feet of oak timber will the contractor need.

Step 1 ：First, we need to understand what a board foot is. A board foot is a unit of volume for timber in the United States and Canada. It is equal to the volume of a one-foot length of a board one foot wide and one inch thick.

Step 2 ：So, to calculate the number of board feet, we need to convert the dimensions of the house from meters to feet, and then multiply by the thickness of the hardwood.

Step 3 ：Convert the area of the house from square meters to square feet using the conversion factor 10.764. So, \(143 \times 10.764 = 1539.252\) square feet.

Step 4 ：Convert the thickness of the hardwood from inches to feet using the conversion factor 0.08333333333333333. So, \(2 \times 0.08333333333333333 = 0.16666666666666666\) feet.

Step 5 ：Finally, calculate the volume in board feet by multiplying the area in square feet by the thickness in feet. So, \(1539.252 \times 0.16666666666666666 = 256.542\) board feet.

Step 6 ：Final Answer: The contractor will need approximately \(\boxed{256.542}\) board feet of oak timber.