Firewood Buying & Cord Measurement Guide
Species, seasoning and moisture, measuring a delivery, local rules and storing wood responsibly.
What are you measuring?
Units
Feet, or feet and inches like 8' 6"
Ground or rack base to the top
Front to back, usually the log length
stacks
Same size, side by side or notCommon log lengths
What’s a cord?
A full cord is a neat stack 8 ft long, 4 ft high and 4 ft deep: 128 cubic feet, counting the gaps between logs. It’s the usual way to compare quantities, but how firewood may be sold differs by state: in Massachusetts, sellers must quote cubic feet.
A face cord or rick is usually a single row, often 8 × 4 ft, only as deep as one log. With 16-inch logs that’s about a third of a cord, so always ask for the log length.
Not sure what to ask a seller, or whether the wood is dry? Read the Firewood Buying Guide →
Your firewood quantity
0.33
full cords
One-third of a full cord: a stack 8 ft long and 4 ft high, with 16-inch logs.
42.7 stacked cu ft · 33% of a full cord
Compared with a full cord0.33 of 1 full cord
Each tick is a quarter cord.A cord measures stacked volume, including the gaps between logs. 1 full cord = 128 cubic feet of stacked wood, the size of an 8 × 4 × 4 ft stack.
Optional planners
What does the firewood really cost?
Example comparison
Illustrative prices · not quotesSellers advertise in different units. Each offer is converted to a full-cord equivalent so you can compare like for like.
Supplier A · $180 · 1 face cord · 16 in$540per full-cord equivalent
Supplier B · $450 · 1 full cord$450per full-cord equivalent
Compare your own prices, quantities and delivery charges.
Wondering what’s typical? See what Massachusetts sellers charge per cord →
Find firewood near you
Learn more
What is a cord of firewood?
A full cord is 128 cubic feet of wood ranked and well stowed: pieces in a row, touching, parallel and stacked compactly1, traditionally 4 ft high, 4 ft deep and 8 ft long2. It measures the stack’s whole outline, air and bark included; only about 80 to 90 of those cubic feet are solid wood3.
What is a face cord?
A face cord usually means one row of wood 4 ft high and 8 ft long, with the depth set by the log length. It isn’t a fixed fraction of a cord: with 16-inch logs it’s about one-third, with 24-inch logs half3. Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont don’t allow it as a unit of sale678.
How do I compare firewood prices?
Convert each offer to full-cord equivalents, add any known delivery fee, then divide. In Massachusetts sellers must quote cubic feet, not cords4; 128 cubic feet of stacked wood is a full cord. Before choosing on price, check the wood type, log length, seasoning and the actual stacked quantity.
How do I check a delivery?
Stack the wood tightly with the pieces parallel, then multiply length × height × depth10. Ask for the delivery ticket: the model regulation and Massachusetts law require one showing the quantity and price15. A loose pile or a vehicle load can’t reliably show a cord quantity.
Questions
How many cubic feet are in a cord?
A full cord is 128 cubic feet of stacked wood, the volume of a 4 × 4 × 8 ft stack, including the gaps between logs.12
Is a face cord one-third of a cord?
Only when the logs are 16 inches long on an 8 × 4 ft face. With 12-inch logs it’s a quarter of a full cord; with 24-inch logs it’s half a full cord. Always ask for the log length.3
How many cords fit on a firewood rack?
Multiply the rack’s inside length, height and depth in feet, then divide by 128. An 8 ft rack stacked 4 ft high with 16-inch logs holds about 0.33 cords. Use the storage planner above for your own space.
How do I calculate the cost per cord?
Divide the total price, including any delivery fee, by the number of full cords in the offer. $180 for a 16-inch face cord (0.33 cords) works out to about $540 per full cord.
How much wood should I buy for winter?
It depends on your stove or fireplace, how much you heat with wood, your climate, your home’s insulation and how dry the wood is. Your own past use is the best guide; the winter planner above works from your estimate.
Is a pickup truckload a cord?
Not reliably. Truck beds vary in size, and loosely thrown wood takes more space than stacked wood: Maine law counts a loose cord of 12 to 16 inch wood as 180 cubic feet, against 128 stacked. Several states don’t allow “truckload” as a unit of sale at all. Ask the seller for stacked dimensions, then enter them here.21
How we calculate, assumptions & sourcesWorked example, formulas, conversions, 11 sources
Worked example: one stack 8 ft long × 4 ft high × 16 in deep, and two offers
- Depth: 16 in ÷ 12 = 1.333 ft
- Stacked volume: 8 × 4 × 1.333 = 42.67 cu ft
- Full cords: 42.67 ÷ 128 = 0.333 (33%)
- Face cord at $180: $180 ÷ 0.333 = $540 per full cord
- Full cord at $450: $450 ÷ 1 = $450 per full cord
The two prices are examples to show the math, not market prices.
Formulas
- Stacked volume
- length (ft) × height (ft) × depth (ft) × identical stacks
- Full cords
- stacked volume ÷ 128
- Face cord
- face cords × row length × row height × log length (ft)
- Price per full cord
- (price + known delivery fee) ÷ full-cord equivalents
- Storage capacity
- length × height × depth ÷ 128 (before allowing for airflow and access)
- Metric
- 1 ft = 0.3048 m · 1 in = 2.54 cm · 1 m³ = 35.3147 cu ft
Assumptions
- A full cord is 128 cubic feet of stacked wood, including the air gaps between logs.1
- Face cords and ricks vary with log length and local usage; the log length is required to convert one. A face cord is never assumed to be a third of a cord.23
- Loose and stacked volumes aren’t interchangeable, and solid wood volume is less than stacked volume. Truckloads are never converted.23
- All math uses full precision; results are rounded only for display. Unit conversions follow NIST.11
- The calculator doesn’t check species, moisture, seasoning or quality, and doesn’t estimate how much a heating system needs. “Seasoned” has no set definition.89
- Price comparisons separate material price from delivered price, and use only the numbers you enter. The starting offers are example prices, not quotes.
- Rules on how firewood may be sold differ by state; the ones named on this page are quoted from each state’s own source. Check with your state’s weights and measures office.
Sources
- Handbook 130 (2026 edition), Uniform Regulation for the Method of Sale of Commodities, §2.4 Fireplace and Stove Wood, National Institute of Standards and Technology — §2.4.1.2: a cord is “128 ft3 when the wood is ranked and well stowed” (pieces in a row, touching, parallel and stacked compactly); §2.4.3: sold by the cord and fractional parts of a cord or the cubic meter; §2.4.4: “face cord,” “rack,” “pile,” “truckload” or similar terms “shall not be used”; §2.4.5: a delivery ticket with the quantity, price and identity of the wood.
- Maine Revised Statutes Title 10, §2302(1): Cord, Maine Legislature (Maine Weights and Measures Law) — standard cord 4 ft wide, 4 ft high and 8 ft long, or its equivalent, 128 cubic feet ranked and well stowed; a loose cord of 12 or 16 inch wood is 180 cubic feet, 24 inch is 195; a face cord is 4 ft high and 8 ft long with stick length “agreed upon by both parties”.
- Firewood Facts (January 2017), Maine Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry — a cord’s 128 cubic feet holds 80 to 90 cubic feet of solid wood, the rest mostly air and bark; a face cord is 4 ft high and 8 ft long and some variable depth: 24-inch pieces make 0.5 cord, 16-inch pieces 0.33 cord.
- General Laws Chapter 94, Section 298: Sale of cordwood; standard units of measure, Massachusetts Legislature — firewood is “advertised, offered for sale and sold only in terms of cubic feet or cubic meters” of closely stacked wood; “cord”, “face cord”, “pile”, “truckload” or similar terms “shall not be used”.
- General Laws Chapter 94, Section 299: Delivery ticket or sales invoice for cordwood or firewood, Massachusetts Legislature — a delivery ticket at delivery with the seller and purchaser, the quantity in cubic feet or cubic meters, the date and the price.
- Firewood and Stove Wood Regulations, Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection — adopts NIST Handbook 130 §2.4: the 128 cubic foot cord, the ban on “face cord,” “rack,” “pile” and “truckload,” and the delivery ticket.
- Things to Know Before Purchasing Firewood (January 7, 2022), UNH Cooperative Extension, relaying the NH Division of Weights & Measures — firewood “may only be sold by a cord or a fraction of a cord and may never be sold as a ‘truckload’, ‘face cord’, ‘rack’, or ‘pile’”; ask for a receipt with the species, volume and price.
- Guide to Buying & Selling Firewood, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, Weights & Measures — “The only legal measurement in Vermont is the cord”; “face cord,” “rack,” “stovecord” and “truckload” are not allowed; for dry, seasoned and green “there is not set definitions”.
- Burning Dry Firewood Saves Money and Improves Air Quality (October 19, 2020), Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation — green, seasoned, dried and kiln-dried are relative terms; wood is ready to burn at 20% moisture or less; “seasoned wood” is the least well defined term.
- Avoid Getting Burned When Buying Firewood (consumer flyer), National Conference on Weights and Measures, hosted by NIST — stack the wood with pieces touching and parallel; if width × height × length equals 128 cubic feet, you have a cord; “truckload,” “face cord,” “rack” and “pile” have no legally defined meaning (industry source).
- Guide to the SI, Appendix B.8: factors for units listed alphabetically, NIST Special Publication 811 — foot = 0.3048 m; inch = 2.54 cm; cubic foot = 0.02831685 m³.
- Last reviewed:
- October 2026
- Last updated:
- October 19, 2026
- Calculator version:
- 1.0