How much wood is in a half cord?
A half cord of firewood is 64 cubic feet of stacked wood — with 16 in logs, a single row 4 ft high and 12 ft long, which is 1.5 face cords.
How to work it out
- 12 ft × 4 ft × 1.333 ft (16 in) = 64 cu ft ÷ 128 = 0.5 cords
- Cords ÷ 33% (one face cord at this piece length) = 1.5 face cords
Half cords are a common order for fireplaces and occasional stove use, and they are easy to get wrong: a half cord is not one 8 ft row. With 16 in wood it takes one and a half 4 × 8 ft rows, and the receipt should say “1/2 cord” with the piece length.
Adjust for your project
More options: Seller’s price is… · Price (optional)
- Face cords (4 × 8 ft rows)
- 1.5 face cords
- Stacked volume
- 64 cu ft (1.81 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.
A 12 ft row of 16 in wood, by stack height
| Stack height | Stacked volume | Full cords | Face cords (4 × 8 ft rows) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 ft | 32 cu ft | 0.25 cords | 0.75 face cords |
| 3 ft | 48 cu ft | 0.38 cords | 1.13 face cords |
| 4 ft | 64 cu ft | 0.5 cords | 1.5 face cords |
| 5 ft | 80 cu ft | 0.63 cords | 1.88 face cords |
| 6 ft | 96 cu ft | 0.75 cords | 2.25 face cords |
What to know about ordering a half cord
Sixty-four cubic feet can take several shapes, and the one that fits your wood shed decides how you stack it.
- Shapes that make 64 cubic feet. A 12 ft row of 16 in wood 4 ft high; an 8 ft row of 24 in wood; or two 8 ft rows of 12 in wood side by side. If your shelter is only 8 ft wide, 16 in logs have to go 6 ft high to hold a half cord in one row.
- Price check. Double the half-cord price and compare it with the same seller’s full-cord price. Small orders often cost more per cord, because the delivery run is spread over less wood.
- Weight and hauling. Seasoned red oak comes to about 1,794 lb for a half cord, which can be close to or over the payload of many half-ton pickups once people are aboard. Read the sticker on the door jamb.
- The legal wording. Where firewood must be sold by the cord or its fractions — California’s CDFA is one example — “1/2 cord” on the invoice is the clean way to buy it.
Scaling up or down: How big is a full cord of firewood doubles this, How much wood is in a face cord or rick is two-thirds of it with 16 in logs, and How much does a cord of oak weigh compares species.
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) - 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 long is a half cord stacked 4 ft high with 12 inch logs?
A single row 16 ft long: 64 cu ft, or 0.5 cords.
How much does a half cord of seasoned oak weigh?
Roughly 1,794 lb for red oak, assuming about 80 cubic feet of solid wood per full cord.
Are two face cords of 16 inch wood more than a half cord?
Yes — two 4 × 8 ft rows of 16 in wood are 85.3 cu ft, or 0.67 cords: a sixth of a cord more than a half cord.
Is a full-size pickup of thrown firewood a half cord?
Usually not. Thrown loose into a 5.5 × 8 ft bed and filled level with 20 in sides, that is 73.3 cu ft of loose wood — about 0.41 cords by Maine’s legal loose cord of 180 cu ft for 16 in wood. Stacked tight in the same bed, it would be closer to half a cord.
Other common sizes
- 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
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.