How many cubic feet are in a cord of firewood?

128, and that is a definition rather than an estimate. A full cord is 128 cubic feet of stacked wood, and the classic stack that satisfies it is 4 ft high, 8 ft long and 4 ft deep, because 4 by 8 by 4 is 128. Put that stack into the fields here and the page returns exactly 1 full cord. In metric the same cord is 3.625 m³, and one cubic metre of stacked wood comes back the other way as 0.276 of a cord.

Is a face cord the same as a cord?

No, and a face cord is not even a fixed volume. A face cord is a 4 ft by 8 ft face of wood, 32 square feet, cut to whatever length the seller cuts to. At 16 in logs that face is 42.67 cu ft, which is 0.333 of a cord. At 24 in it is 64 cu ft, which is 0.50. At 12 in it is 32 cu ft, which is 0.25. Three different quantities under one name, which is why this page reports every face cord with the log length that produced it.

How many face cords are in a cord?

It depends on the log length, and only on the log length. Three faces of 16 in logs make a cord: set the log length to 16 in and the stacks to 3, and the page returns 128 cu ft, exactly 1 full cord. Two faces of 24 in logs do the same. Four faces of 12 in logs do the same. Anyone who says a face cord is a third of a cord is quoting the 16 in case and leaving out the measurement that decides it.

How do I measure a stack of firewood?

Measure the face you can see, its height and its length, then the depth of the row, which is the length the logs were cut to. Those three multiply to the stacked volume, and the volume divided by 128 is the cords. Work in feet, inches, metres or centimetres, with the log length in its own unit, and write a tape reading as a fraction if that is how you took it down: 4 1/2 reads as four and a half. Several identical rows go in the stacks field.

How much is a rick of wood?

A rick, a row and a face cord all name the same thing in most of the country: a 4 ft by 8 ft face at whatever length the logs were cut to. None of them fixes a volume on its own. Ask for the log length before you compare two prices, then type it in here, and the page prints the face cords and the full cords side by side so a rick of 16 in logs at 0.333 of a cord is never mistaken for a rick of 24 in logs at 0.50.

Can I convert a loose pile of firewood to cords?

Not with a number this page invented, because there is no standard one. How far a thrown load stacks down moves with the split, the log length and how hard the truck was tipped. Switch the measurement to loose, measure the heap or the truck bed, and you get the loose volume on its own, with the cord figure held back and the reason stated. If your seller quotes a packing factor, type it in and the conversion is theirs: 128 cu ft of loose space at 70 percent is 89.6 cu ft stacked, which is 0.70 of a cord.

Does a cord include the air between the logs?

Yes. The 128 cubic feet is the space the stack takes up, gaps and all, which is what makes a cord a measure of stacked volume rather than of wood. How much solid wood sits inside it moves with the species, the split and how tightly the row was built, and this page does not estimate that. It measures the stack you describe, in the units you describe it in, and stops there.

Does the calculator work in metric?

Yes. Pick metres or centimetres for the stack, and the log length keeps its own unit, so a stack measured in metres with logs cut at 33 cm is read as it stands. Volumes are printed in cubic feet, because the cord is defined in cubic feet, and the working on the stage carries the cubic metre figure beside them: a full cord is 3.625 m³, and a stere, which is one cubic metre of stacked wood, is 0.276 of a cord.

Firewood Calculator

Type the stack: how high, how long, and the length the logs were cut to, because that last measurement is the depth of the row, and it is the one that decides what a face cord actually holds. A full cord is 128 cubic feet of stacked wood, the 4 ft high by 8 ft long by 4 ft deep stack the definition describes, and it is the only fixed number in this trade. A face cord is not fixed at all: the same 4 by 8 ft face comes to 42.67 cu ft at 16 in logs, which is 0.333 of a cord, 64 cu ft at 24 in, which is 0.50, and 32 cu ft at 12 in, which is 0.25. So a face cord is printed here with its log length beside it and never on its own. A loose, thrown pile gets its measured volume and nothing more: there is no standard conversion from thrown wood to a stacked cord, so none is invented, and the packing factor your seller quotes is yours to enter if you want the conversion made.

Stack 4 x 8 ftLogs 16 in1 stack

stack       4 ft high  x  8 ft long
log length  16 in  =  1.3333 ft
stacks      1

volume      42.67 cu ft  =  1.208 m³
full cord   128 cu ft by definition
full cords  0.333

face cords  1.00  at a 16 in log length

Stacked volume: 42.67 cu ft
Full cords: 0.333
Face cords: 1.00 at 16 in
A cord is: 128 cu ft

The stack is 4 ft high and 8 ft long, and the row is as deep as the logs are long, 16 in, which is 1.3333 ft.
A full cord is 128 cubic feet of stacked wood, which is the one fixed definition here: 4 ft high by 8 ft long by 4 ft deep.
A face cord, a rick and a row all name the same thing: a 4 ft by 8 ft face, 32 sq ft, at whatever length the logs were cut to. That is why the 1.00 above is printed with the 16 in beside it and never on its own.
The volume is the space the wood takes up, air gaps and all, which is what a cord measures. How much solid wood sits inside it moves with the species, the split and how tightly the row was built, and none of that is measured here.

The stack

Wood stacked in a row: the depth of the row is the length the logs were cut to.

Measured as

Measured in

Stack heightStack lengthLog lengthLog length in

How many stacks

The log length is the depth of the row, and it is what turns a face of wood into a volume. A face cord is a 4 ft by 8 ft face at whatever that length is, so 16 in logs come to 0.333 of a cord and 24 in logs come to 0.50.

Worked examples

Each one runs through the same function as your own numbers. Load one to see it in the fields.

4 x 4 x 8 ft stackedthe classic stack
128 cu ft, exactly 1 full cord
4 x 8 ft face, 16 in logsone face cord
42.67 cu ft, 0.333 full cords
A loose thrown pileno stack dimensions
128 cu ft loose, not converted without your packing factor

A measurement, not a rating. Exact arithmetic on the stacked dimensions you enter, against the one fixed number in this trade: a full cord is 128 cubic feet. A face cord is not a fixed unit, so it is only ever reported next to the log length that defines it. Loose or thrown wood has no standard conversion and none is invented here: you supply a packing factor or you get stacked volume only.

Common questions

How many cubic feet are in a cord of firewood?: 128, and that is a definition rather than an estimate. A full cord is 128 cubic feet of stacked wood, and the classic stack that satisfies it is 4 ft high, 8 ft long and 4 ft deep, because 4 by 8 by 4 is 128. Put that stack into the fields here and the page returns exactly 1 full cord. In metric the same cord is 3.625 m³, and one cubic metre of stacked wood comes back the other way as 0.276 of a cord.
Is a face cord the same as a cord?: No, and a face cord is not even a fixed volume. A face cord is a 4 ft by 8 ft face of wood, 32 square feet, cut to whatever length the seller cuts to. At 16 in logs that face is 42.67 cu ft, which is 0.333 of a cord. At 24 in it is 64 cu ft, which is 0.50. At 12 in it is 32 cu ft, which is 0.25. Three different quantities under one name, which is why this page reports every face cord with the log length that produced it.
How many face cords are in a cord?: It depends on the log length, and only on the log length. Three faces of 16 in logs make a cord: set the log length to 16 in and the stacks to 3, and the page returns 128 cu ft, exactly 1 full cord. Two faces of 24 in logs do the same. Four faces of 12 in logs do the same. Anyone who says a face cord is a third of a cord is quoting the 16 in case and leaving out the measurement that decides it.
How do I measure a stack of firewood?: Measure the face you can see, its height and its length, then the depth of the row, which is the length the logs were cut to. Those three multiply to the stacked volume, and the volume divided by 128 is the cords. Work in feet, inches, metres or centimetres, with the log length in its own unit, and write a tape reading as a fraction if that is how you took it down: 4 1/2 reads as four and a half. Several identical rows go in the stacks field.
How much is a rick of wood?: A rick, a row and a face cord all name the same thing in most of the country: a 4 ft by 8 ft face at whatever length the logs were cut to. None of them fixes a volume on its own. Ask for the log length before you compare two prices, then type it in here, and the page prints the face cords and the full cords side by side so a rick of 16 in logs at 0.333 of a cord is never mistaken for a rick of 24 in logs at 0.50.
Can I convert a loose pile of firewood to cords?: Not with a number this page invented, because there is no standard one. How far a thrown load stacks down moves with the split, the log length and how hard the truck was tipped. Switch the measurement to loose, measure the heap or the truck bed, and you get the loose volume on its own, with the cord figure held back and the reason stated. If your seller quotes a packing factor, type it in and the conversion is theirs: 128 cu ft of loose space at 70 percent is 89.6 cu ft stacked, which is 0.70 of a cord.
Does a cord include the air between the logs?: Yes. The 128 cubic feet is the space the stack takes up, gaps and all, which is what makes a cord a measure of stacked volume rather than of wood. How much solid wood sits inside it moves with the species, the split and how tightly the row was built, and this page does not estimate that. It measures the stack you describe, in the units you describe it in, and stops there.
Does the calculator work in metric?: Yes. Pick metres or centimetres for the stack, and the log length keeps its own unit, so a stack measured in metres with logs cut at 33 cm is read as it stands. Volumes are printed in cubic feet, because the cord is defined in cubic feet, and the working on the stage carries the cubic metre figure beside them: a full cord is 3.625 m³, and a stere, which is one cubic metre of stacked wood, is 0.276 of a cord.

Exact arithmetic on the stacked dimensions you enter, against the one fixed number in this trade: a full cord is 128 cubic feet. A face cord is not a fixed unit, so it is only ever reported next to the log length that defines it. Loose or thrown wood has no standard conversion and none is invented here: you supply a packing factor or you get stacked volume only.