πͺ΅ Cord of Wood Calculator
Stack dimensions to full cords and face cords.
Firewood Volume
How to Use the Cord of Wood Calculator
Measure your stacked wood in feet: length, height, and depth. Press Calculate for full cords, face cords, and cubic feet. Measure the stack as stacked, including air gaps; a cord is defined on stacked volume, not solid wood. For multiple stacks, add the cubic feet together first.
Depth is usually the cut length of the logs: 16-inch wood stacks about 1.33 ft deep per row. Two rows of 16-inch wood is 2.67 ft deep. If rows vary, average the depth. The calculator assumes a neatly stacked rectangular pile; loose thrown wood occupies about 30% more space per cord.
The Formulas
The 128-cubic-foot cord is the legal standard in most of the US. A face cord has no single legal definition, but the common 4Γ8 ft face of 16-inch wood holds 42.7 cubic feet, exactly one-third of a cord. Always convert seller "face cord" or "rick" quotes to full cords before comparing prices.
Worked Example
A stack 12 ft long, 4 ft high, with two rows of 16-inch wood (2.67 ft deep): 12 Γ 4 Γ 2.67 = 128 cubic feet = exactly 1 full cord = 3 face cords. A single row 8 ft long and 4 ft high of 16-inch wood: 8 Γ 4 Γ 1.33 = 42.7 cubic feet = one-third cord = 1 face cord. The calculator confirms both instantly.
Buying Firewood Without Getting Burned
Price per full cord is the only fair comparison. A $120 face cord sounds cheaper than a $300 full cord until you convert: three face cords at $120 is $360 per cord. Ask every seller for the stacked dimensions or the cord fraction, and beware "truckload" pricing, which is unstandardized by design.
Specify seasoned wood and verify with a moisture meter: split a log and test the fresh face, which should read under 20%. Green wood costs the same to buy but delivers far less heat, since energy boils off water instead of warming your house. Paying extra for genuinely seasoned wood is usually the better deal.
Stacking for Seasoning
Split wood seasons; rounds barely do. Split to 4-6 inch pieces, stack bark-side up on pallets or rails off the ground, in single rows with sun and wind exposure. Cover only the top: tarping the sides traps moisture and grows mold. Good airflow matters more than any cover.
Stack in early spring for next winter. Most species need a full summer; oak wants two. A moisture meter ($25) ends all arguments about readiness. Properly seasoned wood lights easily, burns hot with little smoke, and keeps creosote out of your chimney.
Heating With Wood: How Much?
A cord of seasoned hardwood holds roughly 20-25 million BTU, but stove efficiency (60-80% for modern EPA stoves) decides how much reaches the room. A moderately insulated 1,500 sq ft home in a cold climate might burn 3-5 cords heating full-time; a weekend fireplace sips a fraction of a cord per season.
Species matter: oak, hickory, and maple pack the most heat per cord; pine and poplar burn fast and cooler. Burn the dense hardwoods in deep winter and save softwoods for shoulder seasons. Never burn construction lumber, painted wood, or driftwood: chemicals and salt destroy stoves and lungs.
Storing Your Stack
Keep firewood 20+ feet from the house to discourage termites and carpenter ants from relocating indoors. Raise every stack off the soil; ground contact rots the bottom row within a season. A simple woodshed with a roof and open sides is ideal, but pallets plus a top tarp work fine for most homes.
Label stacks by species and date with a lumber crayon on the end grain. Burning the right wood at the right time, oldest and softest first, stretches every cord further through the heating season.
Rotate stock: burn the oldest first, since even seasoned wood slowly degrades after 2-3 years. Keep a week worth near the door under cover for convenience, and bring tomorrow wood inside tonight so it burns better. Dry wood is a system, not a purchase.
Chainsaw and Splitting Basics
If you process your own wood, a sharp chain matters more than a big saw: a dull chain makes dust instead of chips and exhausts you. Split when green; most species split far easier fresh than after drying. A splitting maul handles straight grain, while twisted grain may need a wedge or hydraulic splitter.
Safety gear is non-negotiable: chaps, eye and ear protection, gloves, and steel-toe boots. Cut at waist height on a sawbuck, never on the ground, and keep both feet out of the cutting line. A morning of careful work beats a season of regret.
Worked Example: Heating a Winter on Wood
A house in a cold climate burns 4 full cords a winter as primary heat. At $300 a cord, the season costs $1,200. Stack math: 4 cords = 512 cubic feet. Two rows of 16-inch wood (2.67 ft deep), stacked 4 ft high: each foot of length holds 10.7 cubic feet, so 48 running feet of stack holds the winter. Build two 24-foot stacks and the season is covered.
Buy it in spring, not October. Spring prices run lower, and the wood gets a full summer to season down under 20 percent moisture. Fall-bought wood at $300 a cord is often green wood at seasoned prices: it hisses, smokes, and delivers a fraction of its rated heat while coating the chimney in creosote. A $25 moisture meter pays for itself on the first delivery you reject.
Hardwood vs. Softwood: The BTU Comparison
Not all cords are equal. Dense hardwoods like oak, hickory, and maple deliver roughly 24 to 28 million BTU per cord when seasoned. Pine-family softwoods deliver roughly 15 to 18 million. That means a cord of oak heats like nearly two cords of pine, which reframes every price comparison: $350 oak beats $250 pine on heat per dollar, and you stack and haul half the wood.
Softwood still has jobs. It lights fast, splits easy, and burns hot and quick, which makes it ideal for shoulder-season fires and for kindling that gets the hardwood going. The classic setup is softwood to start, hardwood to cruise. What neither should be is green: unseasoned wood of any species wastes up to half its energy boiling off its own water, and the steam carries creosote up the flue. Species is a preference. Seasoning is the requirement.
Worked Example: The Face Cord Confusion
A seller offers a "cord" that is stacked 4 feet high and 8 feet long with 16-inch logs. That is a face cord: 4 Γ 8 Γ 1.33 feet = 42.7 cubic feet, exactly one-third of a full 128-cubic-foot cord. At $120 for the face cord, the full-cord equivalent is $360. Knowing the conversion turns a confusing offer into a comparable price.
The face cord exists because 16-inch firewood is the standard stove length, and a 4Γ8 face is easy to visualize. It is a legitimate unit, but only if both sides know what it is. Always confirm: "Is that a full cord (4Γ4Γ8) or a face cord?" Get the stack dimensions in the listing or the text thread. A seller who will not give dimensions is a seller to skip.
Seasoning Science: Why 6 to 12 Months
Fresh-cut wood is about 50 percent water by weight; seasoned firewood is under 20 percent. Burning wet wood wastes energy boiling off water instead of heating your home, and it coats the chimney with creosote, the main cause of chimney fires. The 6-to-12-month rule is the time it takes split, stacked, top-covered wood to drop below 20 percent in most climates.
Splitting matters more than time: a whole log barely dries in a year, while split pieces dry in months because the exposed interior releases moisture fast. Stack bark-side up, off the ground, with air gaps between rows, and cover only the top (sides need airflow). A $25 moisture meter removes all guesswork: under 20 percent burns clean, over 25 percent waits another season.
Buying by the Cord vs. by the Truckload
"Truckload" is not a unit, which is exactly why some sellers prefer it. A full-size pickup with 6.5-foot bed, stacked level, holds roughly half a cord; heaped, maybe two-thirds. Without stack dimensions you cannot compare a $180 truckload to a $300 cord. The cord is defined (128 cubic feet stacked); the truckload is whatever fits.
The fair move: ask any truckload seller for the stacked dimensions or the cord equivalent. Reputable sellers know their truck's capacity and will say "about half a cord." If the price per cord-equivalent beats the cord sellers, buy it; if the seller gets vague, walk away. Standard units exist to protect buyers. Use them.
Pro Tips for First-Time Buyers
Buy in spring for next winter. Spring wood is cheaper (sellers want it gone), and you get a full summer of seasoning on your own stack. Buying in October means paying peak prices for wood of uncertain dryness.
Learn to spot seasoned wood: cracked ends, hollow sound when knocked together, bark peeling loose, and light weight for the size. Green wood looks fresh, feels heavy, and hisses in the fire. And always confirm hardwood vs. softwood in the listing; the BTU difference is roughly 2x, so "mixed" at hardwood prices is a bad deal.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big is a cord of wood?
A full cord is 128 cubic feet: typically a stack 4 ft high Γ 4 ft wide Γ 8 ft long. It is a legal unit of measure in most states. The calculator converts any stack dimensions to cords. Stacked 4x4x8 feet is the image to memorize; anything sold as a cord should match that volume.
What is the difference between a cord and a face cord?
A face cord is one-third of a full cord: 4 ft high Γ 8 ft long but only as deep as the cut length (usually 16 in). Three face cords of 16-inch wood equal one full cord. Sellers often quote face cords, so convert before comparing prices.
How do you calculate cords of wood?
Multiply stack length Γ height Γ width in feet, then divide by 128. A stack 8 ft long, 4 ft high, and 2 ft deep is 64 cubic feet, or half a cord. The calculator does this instantly. For loose thrown wood in a truck bed, expect about 30 percent more volume per cord than stacked.
How much wood do I need for winter?
A typical home heating primarily with wood in a cold climate burns 3-6 full cords per winter. Occasional fireplace users need under one cord. Your stove size, insulation, and climate set the real number. Supplemental evening fires might burn half a cord all season; full-time heating is a different sport.
How much does a cord of wood weigh?
Roughly 2,000-3,000 lbs depending on species and moisture. Green oak can exceed 5,000 lbs per cord; seasoned softwood runs lighter. Weight matters for delivery trucks and trailer limits. Green wood can be nearly double the seasoned weight, which is why it hisses instead of heating.
What is a rick of wood?
A regional term, usually meaning a face cord or a stack 4 ft high Γ 8 ft long of cut firewood. Because it is not standardized, always confirm the actual dimensions before buying a "rick." Get the stacked length, height, and depth in writing before money changes hands.
How long does it take to season firewood?
Six to twelve months for most species when split, stacked off the ground, and top-covered. Oak can need 18-24 months. Properly seasoned wood reads under 20% moisture on a meter and burns cleanly. Split wood seasons dramatically faster than rounds; splitting is the single biggest accelerator.
Is it legal to sell wood by the truckload?
Many states require firewood sales by the cord or fraction of a cord, not vague truckloads. A "pickup load" varies wildly. Ask for the stacked cubic footage or cord fraction to compare prices fairly. When a deal sounds too good, convert to price per full cord and the illusion usually evaporates.