What Is a Cord of Wood?
What is a cord of wood? A neatly stacked pile 4 feet high, 4 feet deep and 8 feet long — 128 cubic feet of logs, bark and air gaps, measured as a stack rather than as solid timber. It is the unit firewood has been sold by for centuries, and it is also one of the easiest units to be short-changed on, because a loose pile and a face cord both look like "a load of wood" until you measure them.
The full cord, measured
Four by four by eight feet multiplies to 128 cubic feet. The word itself comes from the cord used to measure and bind such a pile in the days before tape measures were common on every truck. Two details matter: the pile must be stacked, not thrown — a loose load contains far more air and far less wood — and the measurement includes the air gaps, so 128 cubic feet of stacked wood is roughly 80–90 cubic feet of actual timber, depending on how straight and uniform the logs are.
Face cords and the pricing trap
A face cord is the front face of a full cord: 4 feet high and 8 feet long, but only one log deep. With standard 16-inch logs that is about a third of a full cord; with 24-inch logs it is half. The trap is a price quoted per "cord" that turns out to be per face cord — a third of the wood for what sounds like the full-cord price. Always ask two questions before ordering: "full cord or face cord?" and "how long are the logs?" A seller who answers both plainly is usually a seller you can trust; a seller who will not is telling you something too.
Seasoned, split, and stacked tight
Seasoned wood — dried for at least six months, ideally a year — burns hotter, cleaner and with less chimney creosote than green wood, and it is lighter to handle. Check seasoning by the cracked ends, the hollow knock of two logs struck together, and bark that peels easily. Stack it yourself with the bark side up on the top row, off the ground, with air circulating — and measure your delivery while it is still stacked on the truck or in your yard, before it gets restacked into a neater, smaller-looking pile.
For lumber measured by volume rather than by the stack, see what a board foot is, and for length conversions on any building project use the feet to metres converter.
Frequently asked questions
What is a cord of wood?
A cord is a stack of cut firewood measuring 4 feet high × 4 feet deep × 8 feet long, or 128 cubic feet as stacked — wood, bark and the air gaps between logs together. It is a measure of a stacked pile, not of solid wood.
What is a face cord?
A face cord (sometimes called a rick) is one row of a full cord: typically 4 feet high and 8 feet long, but only as deep as one log length — commonly 16 inches. A face cord of 16-inch logs is about one-third of a full cord (around 42.7 cubic feet as stacked).
How much does a cord of wood weigh?
It varies widely with species and moisture: a cord of seasoned oak can weigh roughly 3,500–4,000 pounds, while softwoods like pine are much lighter. Green (unseasoned) wood weighs considerably more because of its water content — weight is a poor way to compare cords.
How long does a cord of wood last?
For a home heated primarily with wood, a cord typically lasts a few weeks of cold weather; for occasional evening fires, one cord can last a whole winter. Burn rate depends on stove efficiency, house size and how cold the season runs.
What should I check when buying a cord?
Ask whether the price is for a full cord or a face cord, confirm the log length (16 inches is standard), check the wood is seasoned (cracks at the ends, hollow sound when knocked together), and measure the stack yourself: 4 × 4 × 8 feet, neatly stacked, is the definition.