Firewood cord calculator
A full cord is a stack 4 ft high, 4 ft deep and 8 ft long. Measure your stack to see how many full cords or face cords it holds.
Enter your measurements
More options: Seller’s price is… · Price (optional)
- Face cords (4 × 8 ft rows)
- 1 face cord
- Stacked volume
- 42.7 cu ft (1.21 m³)
- This face cord is … of a full cord
- 33%
8 ft × 4 ft × 1.333 ft (16 in) = 42.7 cu ft ÷ 128 = 0.33 cords
Cords ÷ 33% (one face cord at this piece length) = 1 face cord
- At this piece length, one 4 × 8 ft face cord is 33% of a full cord. Always ask a seller what piece length their face cord uses.
- Loose-thrown wood takes more room than the same wood stacked: Maine law, for example, counts 180 cu ft of loose 12–16 in wood as one cord. Switch to “Thrown loose” to measure a truckload.
Quick answers for common sizes
| Example | Answer |
|---|---|
| How much wood is in a face cord or rick | 0.33 cords |
| How big is a full cord of firewood | 1 cord |
| How much does a cord of oak weigh | 3,587 lb |
| How much firewood is in a 4 m × 1.5 m stack of 33 cm logs | 0.55 cords |
| How much wood is in a half cord | 0.5 cords |
Cords by stack length (at the height and piece length above)
| Stack length | Stacked volume | Full cords | Face cords (4 × 8 ft rows) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 ft | 21.3 cu ft | 0.17 cords | 0.5 face cords |
| 8 ft | 42.7 cu ft | 0.33 cords | 1 face cord |
| 12 ft | 64 cu ft | 0.5 cords | 1.5 face cords |
| 16 ft | 85.3 cu ft | 0.67 cords | 2 face cords |
| 24 ft | 128 cu ft | 1 cord | 3 face cords |
| 32 ft | 171 cu ft | 1.33 cords | 4 face cords |
A full cord is a tidy stack of 128 cubic feet, including the air between pieces. A face cord is one row 4 × 8 ft of whatever piece length the seller cuts, usually 16 in, so it is only a third of a cord. New to this? Words explained.
Cords, face cords and ricks
A cord is a legal unit of stacked firewood in the US and Canada: 128 cubic feet of wood “ranked and well stowed”, traditionally 4 × 4 × 8 ft. Anything else — face cord, rick, rank, “truckload” — is a local term whose size depends on the piece length and the seller. In some states that matters legally: California’s Division of Measurement Standards (CDFA), for example, allows firewood to be sold only by the cord or a fraction of a cord and says “face cord”, “rack” and “truckload” have no legally defined meaning.
cords = length (ft) × height (ft) × piece length (ft) ÷ 128 face cords = length (ft) × height (ft) ÷ 32 1 cord ≈ 3.62 m³ stacked
| Piece length | One 4 × 8 ft row (face cord) | Share of a full cord |
|---|---|---|
| 12 in | 32 cu ft | 1/4 |
| 16 in | 42.7 cu ft | 1/3 |
| 18 in | 48 cu ft | 3/8 |
| 24 in | 64 cu ft | 1/2 |
| 48 in | 128 cu ft | 1 (a full cord) |
Worked examples: How big is a full cord of firewood, How much wood is in a face cord or rick, How much wood is in a half cord and, in metric, How much firewood is in a 4 m × 1.5 m stack of 33 cm logs.
How to measure a woodpile
- Measure the length along the ground and the height at several points; use the average height if the top is uneven.
- Measure the piece length — the depth of the stack — from several pieces. Sellers who cut at “16 in” vary.
- For a pile with a mounded top, measure to where the stack is still solid rather than to the peak.
- Measure right after delivery if you are checking a seller’s quantity; stacks settle and shrink as wood dries.
Thrown loose in a truck
Wood tossed into a pickup or trailer takes up more room than the same wood stacked, because the pieces don’t nest. Few places put a number on it; Maine law is one that does. There, fuel wood sold loose is measured by the loose cord: the wood, bark and air in 180 cu ft for 12 or 16 in pieces, or 195 cu ft for 24 in pieces. Choose Thrown loose, enter the inside of the bed and the average height of the load, and the calculator divides by that loose cord.
For scale, University of Missouri Extension says a standard pickup bed about 5.5 × 8 ft, loaded level with its 20 in sides, holds about half a cord, and a smaller 4 × 6 ft bed about a third. Thrown in loose rather than stacked, the same full-size bed comes to about 0.41 cord by Maine’s rule. California, by contrast, says “truckload” has no legal meaning at all, so the reliable check is still to stack the delivery and measure it.
How much solid wood is in a cord?
A cord is 128 cu ft of stacked wood including air gaps. How much of that is actual wood depends on piece size, straightness and how carefully it is stacked. Virginia Cooperative Extension’s guide to measuring timber puts a stacked cord at roughly 80 to 90 cu ft of solid wood; small, crooked pieces sit at the low end or below.
That solid volume is what sets the weight. Pick a species above and the calculator multiplies 80 cu ft per cord — the conservative end of that range — by the species’ density at 20% moisture, typical of seasoned firewood, worked out with the USDA Wood Handbook’s specific-gravity method. A cord of red oak comes out near 3,600 lb, the same figure University of Missouri Extension gives for seasoned oak, and white pine nearer 2,100 lb (How much does a cord of oak weigh has the detail). The green line uses the Handbook’s average moisture content for freshly cut wood of that species: about 5,000 lb for the same cord of red oak. Check your truck’s or trailer’s payload before you offer to haul it yourself.
Heat per cord and cost per million Btu
Dense wood holds more heat per cord. University of Missouri Extension puts the available heat of hardwood at about 8,600 Btu per pound of ovendry wood (9,050 for resinous softwoods such as shortleaf pine), so the calculator takes the dry-wood weight of a seasoned cord and multiplies. On that basis a cord of red oak holds about 25.7 million Btu, hickory about 29.2 million and white pine about 15 million. Enter a price and it also gives the cost per million Btu, which is the fair way to compare a cheap cord of pine with a dearer cord of oak — or with a gas or oil bill. These are figures before stove losses: MU Extension puts an open fireplace at about 10% efficient and airtight stoves at about 55%.
What you’ll need
- Wood moisture meterMid-range price
Tells you whether lumber is dry enough to build with and firewood dry enough to burn. Readings vary by species — check the meter’s correction settings.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - Firewood log rackMid-range price
Keeps wood off the ground so it dries and stays measurable — an 8 ft rack 4 ft high is exactly a face cord.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab) - Splitting maulMid-range price
A heavy, wedge-shaped head that splits rounds rather than cutting them. Wear eye protection and keep your stance wide.
See options on Amazon (opens in a new tab)
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Links to products are affiliate links — they cost you nothing extra and help keep these calculators free.
Frequently asked questions
How big is a cord of wood?
128 cu ft of stacked wood — 4 ft high, 4 ft deep and 8 ft long, about 3.62 m³. See How big is a full cord of firewood for other stack shapes.
How many face cords are in a cord?
With 16 in pieces, three face cords make one full cord. With 12 in pieces it takes four; with 24 in pieces, two.
Is a rick the same as a face cord?
Usually, yes — one 4 × 8 ft row whose depth is the piece length. Ask for the piece length; How much wood is in a face cord or rick converts it.
How much does a cord of wood weigh?
At about 20% moisture, roughly 3,600 lb for seasoned red oak, about 4,100 lb for hickory and 2,100 lb for white pine — see How much does a cord of oak weigh. Freshly cut wood weighs much more: nearer 5,000 lb for the red oak.
How many cords is a pickup truck load?
University of Missouri Extension puts a standard bed (about 5.5 × 8 ft, 20 in deep) loaded level with the sides at about half a cord, and a 4 × 6 ft bed at about a third. Thrown in loose, the full-size bed holds less — about 0.41 cord by Maine’s legal loose cord of 180 cu ft. Choose “Thrown loose” above to measure yours, or stack the load and measure that.
How much heat is in a cord of firewood?
Seasoned to about 20% moisture, roughly 25.7 million Btu for red oak, 29.2 million for hickory and 15 million for white pine, using University of Missouri Extension’s 8,600 Btu per pound of ovendry wood. How much of that warms the house depends on the stove.
Related guides
Sources
- California Department of Food and Agriculture, Division of Measurement Standards — Firewood (opens in a new tab) — A cord is 128 cu ft of neatly stacked wood; in California firewood may be sold only by the cord or fractions of a cord, and “face cord”, “rack”, “pile” and “truckload” have no legally defined meaning.
- Maine Revised Statutes, Title 10 §2302 — Definitions (weights and measures) (opens in a new tab) — Fuel wood sold loose, not ranked and well stowed: a loose cord of 12 or 16 in wood is the wood, bark and air in 180 cu ft; of 24 in wood, 195 cu ft.
- Maine Forest Service — How is wood measured and sold? (Firewood facts, 2017) (opens in a new tab) — Thrown cord scale: 180 cu ft for 12 or 16 in bolts, 195 cu ft for 24 in; a stacked cord holds 80–90 cu ft of solid wood.
- University of Missouri Extension G5450 — Wood Fuel for Heating (reviewed 2025) (opens in a new tab) — About 8,600 Btu of available heat per ovendry pound of hardwood (9,050 for resinous softwoods such as shortleaf pine); air-dried firewood at about 20% moisture; about 80 cu ft of solid wood per cord; seasoned oak about 3,600 lb per cord; a standard pickup bed (about 5.5 × 8 ft, 20 in deep) loaded level holds about half a cord.
- Virginia Cooperative Extension 420-085 — Forest Landowner’s Guide to the Measurement of Timber and Logs (opens in a new tab) — A stacked cord generally contains about 80 to 90 cu ft of solid wood; the rest is air space.
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory — Wood Handbook (FPL-GTR-282), Chapter 4: Moisture relations and physical properties of wood (opens in a new tab) — Density at a given moisture content (eqs. 4-13, 4-14) and the average moisture content of green wood by species (table 4-1), used for the weight estimates.