How to measure a stack of firewood
Stack the wood first. A cord is a stacked measure, and the definition in NIST's Handbook 130 asks for pieces placed in a line or row, touching and parallel, and stacked compactly. A heap on the driveway cannot be measured. A crisscross pile holds less wood than a parallel one, and Minnesota's advice is not to try measuring one at all.
Measure the length of the stack, and the height in several places, since the top is never level. Then measure a handful of logs and use the average length as your depth. Do all this before you burn any wood, because once you have, there is no way to show what you were delivered.
Watch for the units. Most stacks are measured in feet, but log length is usually spoken of in inches, so 16 inches has to go into the sum as 1.33 feet. The calculator handles that for you.
A worked example
Here is what often gets sold as a cord: a stack 8 feet long and 4 feet high, with 16 inch logs, at $100. These lines come from the same formula the calculator above runs.
8 by 4 ft stack, 16 in logs, $100
- Volume: 8 × 4 × (16 ÷ 12) = 42.67 cu ft
- In cords: 42.67 ÷ 128 = 0.33 cord
- Real price: about $300 per full cord
That stack is a third of a cord, and many sellers would call it a face cord. It is not dishonest in itself, as long as you know what you are comparing. The price per full cord is what lets you compare two sellers fairly. To see what the wood does to a winter's bill, use the heating cost calculator to compare your other fuels.
What a 4 by 8 foot stack really is
This is the same stack face with different logs. The face looks identical from the driveway, which is exactly why log length matters so much.
| Log length | Cubic feet | Share of a cord | Full cords in 3 stacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 in | 32.0 | 0.25 | 0.75 |
| 16 in | 42.7 | 0.33 | 1.00 |
| 18 in | 48.0 | 0.38 | 1.13 |
| 20 in | 53.3 | 0.42 | 1.25 |
| 24 in | 64.0 | 0.50 | 1.50 |
| 48 in | 128.0 | 1.00 | 3.00 |
Mistakes that cost you wood
- Buying by a word. NIST's model rule bars face cord, rack, pile and truckload in sales, because none of them is a fixed amount.
- Paying a full-cord price for a third. The face of the stack looks like a cord. Only the depth tells you.
- Measuring before it is stacked. Loose wood takes up far more room, which is why a load in a truck tells you little.
- No delivery ticket. NIST's rule requires one, with the seller, the buyer, the date, the quantity and the price. Ask for it.
- Assuming every state is the same. Most follow 128 cubic feet, but Minnesota sets different figures by how the wood is cut and stacked.
Questions
How big is a cord of wood?
A cord is 128 cubic feet of tightly stacked wood, usually 4 feet high, 4 feet deep and 8 feet long. Any shape that multiplies out to 128 counts, such as 2 by 4 by 16 feet. NIST's Handbook 130 defines it as ranked and well stowed.
What is a face cord?
A face cord is a stack 4 by 8 feet at whatever length the logs are, so with 16 inch logs it is only a third of a full cord. The name has no legally defined meaning, and NIST's model rule bars it in sales. Ask for the amount in cords.
Is my delivery really a full cord?
Stack it tightly and measure it. If length times height times depth, in feet, comes to 128, it is a cord. Do this before you burn any, keep your delivery ticket, and contact your state's weights and measures office if it comes up short.
How much is a rick of wood?
A rick is usually about a third of a cord, as University of Kentucky Forestry describes it, but the meaning changes from place to place. Do not pay by that word. Measure the stack and use the real volume.
How much firewood is in a 1/4 cord?
A quarter cord is 32 cubic feet, such as a stack 4 feet long, 6 feet high and 16 inches deep. Enter your own sizes to check, because a bundle or a small delivery is often less than the name suggests.
Does a cord mean 128 cubic feet of solid wood?
No. It is 128 cubic feet of stacked wood and air, and University of Kentucky Forestry puts the solid wood at about 85 cubic feet. That is why tight, parallel stacking matters, and why a crisscross pile holds less.
This cord figure is a planning estimate for wood ranked in tight rows, and a crisscross pile holds less. Terms like rick and face cord have no fixed meaning, and states set their own firewood rules. Stack it before you burn any, keep the delivery ticket, and ask your supplier to state the amount in cords, since a label or an ad that says truckload tells you nothing.
Sources and review
- Handbook 130, Uniform Regulation for the Method of Sale of Commodities, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2026 edition.
- Get what you pay for: how to protect yourself when buying firewood, National Conference on Weights and Measures, no date shown, read November 2026.
- Measuring and stacking firewood, University of Kentucky Forestry, no date shown, read November 2026.
- Firewood, Minnesota Department of Commerce, no date shown, read November 2026.
Checked in November 2026. Spotted a wrong number? Report it and it goes in the corrections log.
How this is calculated
Every figure below is read from the code that produces the answer, so what is written here is what the calculator ran. The constants were last checked against their sources in November 2026.
The arithmetic
Cords
Cords = Length × Height × Depth ÷ 128
- Depth
- The log length, in feet
- 128
- Cubic feet in a legal cord
Worked through: 8 × 4 × 4 ÷ 128 = 1 cord
Real price per cord
Price per cord = What you paid ÷ Cords
- Cords
- From the stack you measured, not the word on the ad
Worked through: 100 ÷ 0.25 = 400
The constants, and where they come from
CUBIC_FEET_PER_CORD
Published figureCubic feet in one legal cord
Applies to: Wood ranked and well stowed, in states following NIST's rule. Some differ
Source: Handbook 130, Uniform Regulation for the Method of Sale of Commodities, National Institute of Standards and Technology, published 2025-12, read 2026-11.
Also from: Get what you pay for: how to protect yourself when buying firewood, National Conference on Weights and Measures, no date on the page, read 2026-11.
Section 2.4.1.2 of the 2026 edition. Minnesota uses other figures for sawed and split or loose wood, so your state's weights and measures office has the last word.
FACE_CORD_SQ_FT
Published range, narrowedFace of a face cord, in square feet
Applies to: An informal term, whose depth depends on the logs
Source: Measuring and stacking firewood, University of Kentucky Forestry, no date on the page, read 2026-11.
NIST's section 2.4.4 bars face cord, rack, pile and truckload in sales, and NCWM says the term has no legally defined meaning. Maine defines it in statute, which we saw only in an excerpt.
SOLID_WOOD_PER_CORD
Published range, narrowedSolid wood in a cord, in cubic feet
Applies to: A typical stack. The rest is air
Source: Measuring and stacking firewood, University of Kentucky Forestry, no date on the page, read 2026-11.
University of Kentucky Forestry states approximately 85 cubic feet. It varies with how straight and how split the wood is.
INCHES_PER_FOOT
DefinitionalInches in one foot
Applies to: Definitional, everywhere
True by definition, so there is nothing to cite. The derivation is below.
Twelve inches make a foot by definition, so a log length in inches is divided by 12.
What the labels mean
- Published figure:
- taken directly from the source named beside it.
- Published range, narrowed:
- a source publishes a range and this calculator uses a representative value from it.
- Definitional:
- true by definition, like the number of inches in a foot, so there is nothing to cite.
If a figure here looks wrong, it may be. Tell us what you found and we will check it against the source and publish a correction if it needs one. How constants are chosen and how often they are reviewed is set out in our methodology.
How to use the firewood calculator
- 1
Stack the wood tightly in rows, before you burn any
- 2
Measure the length and height of the stack
- 3
Measure several logs to get the average length
- 4
Read how much of a full cord you have
- 5
Enter what you paid to see the real price per full cord
What this calculator assumes
Every estimate here rests on the assumptions below. Where your job differs from one of them, the figure will differ too.
- The wood is stacked in tight, parallel rows, which is what a legal cord means
- A cord is 128 cubic feet of stacked wood and air, with about 85 cubic feet of it solid
- A face cord is 4 by 8 feet at your own log length, and it has no legal meaning in most states
- Rules vary by state. Minnesota, for one, uses other figures for sawed and split wood
Pro tips
- Ask for the price per full cord and the log length before delivery
- Get a delivery ticket with the seller's name, the quantity and the price
- Stack it off the ground, under cover on top, with the sides open to air