How Much Is a Cord of Wood?
A full cord is 128 cubic feet — a stack 4 feet high, 4 feet deep and 8 feet long. That much is standardised, and in most US states it is the only firewood measure defined in law.
The problem is the other word. A "face cord" is not a fixed amount of wood, and two yards can both sell you a face cord at the same price while one gives you twice as much as the other.
Why a face cord means nothing on its own
A face cord is 4 feet high and 8 feet long — the front face of a full cord — but only one log deep. So its volume depends entirely on how long the logs are cut, which nobody puts on a price list.
| Log length | Face cord is | Fraction of a full cord |
|---|---|---|
| 12 in | 32 cu ft | One quarter |
| 14 in | 37 cu ft | 0.29 |
| 16 in | 43 cu ft | One third |
| 18 in | 48 cu ft | 0.38 |
| 20 in | 53 cu ft | 0.42 |
| 24 in | 64 cu ft | One half |
Put that in money. At $120 a face cord, the cost of a full cord works out at:
- 12 in logs — four face cords, $480
- 16 in logs — three face cords, $360
- 24 in logs — two face cords, $240
Same advertised price, double the wood. So the question to ask is never "how much is a face cord" — it is "how long are the logs, and what fraction of a full cord is that?"
"Rick" and "rank" mean the same thing as face cord, with the same ambiguity. "Truckload" means even less: it depends on the truck.
What a cord actually costs
A full cord of seasoned hardwood generally runs $250–$500 delivered, with the spread driven by species, how well seasoned it is, and how far it travels. Softwood is cheaper and green wood is cheaper still, for reasons covered in seasoned vs green firewood.
Three things move the price more than the wood does:
- Delivery distance. Firewood is heavy and low-value per pound, so mileage matters more than it does for most materials.
- Stacking. Most yards tip it in a pile. Stacking is often an extra $25–75, and it is worth asking, because a cord is a real afternoon to stack by hand.
- Seasoning. Properly dry wood commands a premium and is worth it.
How much a cord weighs
This is the part that catches anyone planning to collect it themselves.
| Species | Seasoned cord | Heat output |
|---|---|---|
| Oak | ~3,700 lb | ~27M BTU |
| Maple | ~3,600 lb | ~24M BTU |
| Ash | ~3,400 lb | ~24M BTU |
| Birch | ~3,200 lb | ~20M BTU |
| Pine | ~2,200 lb | ~17M BTU |
A half-ton pickup is rated around 1,500 lb of payload. A cord of seasoned oak is therefore two and a half trips, and green oak — which can weigh 5,500 lb a cord — is closer to four. One trip with a cord in the bed is well over the limit, whatever it looks like.
How much you need for a winter
| How you burn it | Per winter |
|---|---|
| Occasional fires, weekends by the hearth | 1 cord |
| Regular evening fires | 2 cords |
| Primary heat, mild climate | 3 cords |
| Primary heat, cold climate | 4–6 cords |
Buy in spring if you can. Firewood is cheapest out of season, and wood bought in April has all summer to finish drying — which is the single biggest thing you can do for how well it burns.
Checking what turned up
Stack it and measure. A full cord stacks to 4 × 4 × 8 feet; if your stack is 4 high and 8 long, it needs to be 4 feet deep. Loosely thrown wood occupies roughly a third more space than a neat stack, so judging a tipped pile by eye will mislead you in the seller's favour.
Measure before you start burning, the same way you would measure a load of topsoil, and raise it the same day if it is short.
Find firewood suppliers near you on Topsoil.com, and ask each one the three questions that decide the bill: price per full cord, log length, and whether delivery and stacking are included.