How much wood is in a face cord (or rick)?
A face cord (or rick) of 16 in firewood — one row 4 ft high and 8 ft long — holds about 42.7 cubic feet of stacked wood, which is 0.33 cords: one-third of a full 128 cubic foot cord.
How to work it out
- 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
A face cord looks like a cord from the front — same 4 × 8 ft face — but it is only one row deep. Sellers price face cords differently from full cords, so multiply a face-cord price by three (for 16 in wood) before you compare. “Rick”, “rank” and “rack” are regional names for the same single row; ask the seller for the log length.
Adjust for your project
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%
- 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.
One 4 × 8 ft row (face cord), by piece length
| Piece length | Stacked volume | Full cords |
|---|---|---|
| 12 in | 32 cu ft | 0.25 cords |
| 14 in | 37.3 cu ft | 0.29 cords |
| 16 in | 42.7 cu ft | 0.33 cords |
| 18 in | 48 cu ft | 0.38 cords |
| 20 in | 53.3 cu ft | 0.42 cords |
| 24 in | 64 cu ft | 0.5 cords |
What to know about buying a face cord of 16 in wood
The “16 in” is a target, not a measurement. Wood from a firewood processor comes out fairly even; hand-cut wood can run anywhere from about 14 to 18 in. That swing moves a single row from 37.3 to 48 cubic feet, more than a tenth either way, so measure a dozen pieces and use the average piece length.
- Price it as a third of a cord. Multiply the face-cord price by three for a full-cord equivalent, then compare sellers on that basis. Under More options, choose “Per face cord” and enter the price, and the calculator does it for you.
- Get it in writing. In some states the term has no legal standing — California’s Division of Measurement Standards (CDFA), for example, says “face cord” and “rack” have no legally defined meaning and firewood must be sold by the cord or a fraction of one. A receipt reading “1/3 cord, 16 in pieces” is something you can check; “one rick” is not.
- Use a rack as a gauge. An 8 ft long rack filled 4 ft high is exactly one face cord at whatever piece length you stack in it, which makes a delivery easy to check.
- Weight. A face cord of seasoned red oak comes to roughly 1,200 lb, a lot for a small SUV or light utility trailer. Check the payload before you load it yourself.
Buying more than one row? Three of them make How big is a full cord of firewood, and one and a half make How much wood is in a half cord. For the full weight picture by species, see How much does a cord of oak weigh.
Different size? Use the full Firewood Cord Calculator.
What you’ll need
- 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) - 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) - 25 ft tape measureBudget price
A 25 ft tape with a stiff blade and a readable 1/16 in scale covers everything from cut lists to deck layout.
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 much is a face cord of 12 inch firewood?
One 4 × 8 ft row of 12 in pieces is 32 cu ft — 0.25 cords, so four of these rows make a full cord.
How much wood is in a face cord of 24 inch logs?
64 cu ft — 0.5 cords. With 24 in logs, two face cords make a full cord.
How many face cords of 16 inch wood fit in a row 20 ft long?
A 20 ft row stacked 4 ft high is 2.5 face cords — 107 cu ft, or 0.83 cords.
Other common sizes
- 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
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.