A full cord of firewood is 128 cubic feet of stacked wood, a pile 4 feet high, 4 feet deep and 8 feet long. A face cord is the same 4 feet high and 8 feet long, but only one row deep, so it’s usually a third of a full cord when the logs are 16 inches long. That depth is the part sellers don’t always mention, and it’s the first thing you should ask about.
What is a face cord of firewood?
Think of a face cord as one “face” of a full cord: the 4 by 8 foot wall of wood you see when you look at the front of a stack. How deep that wall is depends on how long the logs are cut. At 16 inches, you get one third of a full cord. At 12 inches it’s a quarter. At 24 inches it’s half. Same name, very different amounts of wood.
That’s why “face cord” and “rick” and “stove cord” mean different things depending on who you ask and what state you’re in. The only number that never changes is the full cord: 128 cubic feet, stacked tight, no matter what anyone calls it.
Our Face Cord of Kiln Dried Wood is 4 feet high, 8 feet long and about 16 inches deep, which works out to roughly 42 cubic feet stacked. We say the depth up front so you can compare it fairly with any other quote.
Face cord vs. full cord: the numbers side by side
| Measure | Height | Length | Depth | Stacked volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full cord | 4 ft | 8 ft | 4 ft | 128 cu ft |
| Half cord | 4 ft | 8 ft | 2 ft | 64 cu ft |
| Face cord (16″ logs) | 4 ft | 8 ft | about 16 in | about 42 cu ft |
| Quarter cord (16″ logs) | 4 ft | 6 ft | about 16 in | about 32 cu ft |
| City cord (6 boxes) | about 3 ft | about 2 ft | 16 in | about 12.8 cu ft |
The table follows the sizes on our product pages. If you’re comparing to a seller outside our shop, the depth column is the one to match.
How do you know you’re getting a fair deal?
Price per cord is only useful when both sellers mean the same cord. Before you compare, ask three things:
- What’s the depth of the stack? If it’s 16 inches, you’re buying a third of a cord. If the seller won’t say, assume the smaller number.
- Is it kiln-dried or seasoned? Wood that’s already dry burns right away. Green wood has to sit, often for a year or more, before it burns well.
- How is it delivered? Stacked wood is measured by volume. Dumped wood settles and is harder to judge, and a “cord” that arrives in a loose pile is usually less than it sounds.
A simple check when it arrives: stack it and measure. Height times length times depth, divided into 128. If the number is off by a lot, you have your answer.
Which size should you buy?
It comes down to how often you burn and where you’ll put it.
Burning now and then for the fireplace or fire pit
A single bin of kiln-dried firewood is about 2.15 cubic feet, roughly 20 to 30 pieces. That’s a couple of evenings. If you want more without committing to a stack, the City Cord is six boxes, one tenth of a full cord, and it fits on a porch or the end of a garage.
Burning every weekend
The quarter cord is built for lighter users. If you burn once or twice a week, it’s plenty.
Burning most evenings or heating with a stove
Start with a face cord, then see how fast you go through it. Your own burn rate is the best guide, since it depends on your stove, how well the house holds heat, and how cold your winter is. If the face cord disappears in a month, you’ll know to order more. A half full cord is 64 cubic feet and about one and a half face cords, so it makes sense once you know you burn steadily.
Not sure where you land? Browse everything in Heating Firewood, or the full Firewood category.
Will it fit where you want to put it?
A face cord is 8 feet long. That’s a long wall of wood. Before you order, measure the spot. A 4 by 4 rack won’t hold it, and stacking against a fence or the house isn’t ideal because wood needs air moving around it.
A steel rack keeps the stack off the ground and tidy. The Woodhaven 8 ft rack is listed as holding a half cord, and the 4 ft rack as holding a quarter cord of 24-inch splits. Note that those capacities are based on 24-inch splits, so 16-inch wood fills them differently. Check the product page for details before you choose.
If your rack is small, our Fill Your Firewood Rack option is sized for that.
Does the length of the log matter?
Yes, and it’s worth checking against your stove or fireplace. Ours are about 16 inches, which fits most standard stoves and fireplaces. If your firebox is small, you’ll want shorter pieces. Our 12 inch shorties are cut for that.
Want to know more about getting wood dry? Our guide on how to season firewood faster covers what to do if you’re not buying kiln-dried.
What about wood species?
Size isn’t the only variable. Dense hardwoods like oak and hickory pack more heat into the same stacked volume than lighter woods. Our hickory firewood is listed at about 27.7 million BTUs per cord, similar to oak. So two sellers can both sell you a “face cord” and you can still end up with different amounts of heat, depending on the wood. When you compare, ask what species is in the stack, how dry it is, and how long the pieces are. Those four answers, plus the stack depth, tell you far more than a price tag does.
If you want the most flexibility, a mixed hardwood stack is a good all-around choice for stoves and fireplaces, and it’s what our face cord contains.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a face cord compared to a full cord?
With 16-inch logs, a face cord is one third of a full cord, about 42 cubic feet against 128. The ratio changes if the logs are a different length.
Is a face cord the same as a rick?
Often, but not always. “Rick” and “stove cord” are local terms and the size varies. Ask for the dimensions instead of relying on the name.
How many bins are in a face cord?
Roughly 20 of our 2.25 cubic foot bins, or around 50 bundles, according to our product page.
How long will a face cord last?
That depends on your stove, your house and the weather. Burning most evenings, a face cord goes faster than people expect. Use your first one to learn your burn rate.
Do I need to season kiln-dried firewood?
No. Kiln-dried wood is already dry. Keep it off the ground with the top covered and the sides open to air, and it stays that way.
Do you ship firewood nationwide?
Yes. We ship across the country, and during our seasonal sale shipping is free.
What’s the smallest amount I can order?
Bundles and single bins are the smallest. A bundle of firewood is 0.75 cubic feet.
The bottom line
Buy by the dimensions, not the name. If you want a good first order for regular burning, the Face Cord of Kiln Dried Wood is a good place to start, and you can step up to a half cord once you know how much you use.
