How big is a cord of wood? Dimensions and fractions

The full cord: 4 x 4 x 8 feet

A cord is a volume, not a number of pieces or a weight. Canada's Weights and Measures Regulations define it as 128 cubic feet of stacked roundwood, whole or split, with or without bark, "containing wood and airspace", with pieces of similar length piled regularly and roughly parallel². The US model rule, NIST Handbook 130, agrees: 128 cubic feet of wood "ranked and well stowed", pieces in a row, touching and parallel¹.

The classic shape is a pile 4 ft high, 4 ft deep and 8 ft long: 4 x 4 x 8 = 128. Maine's law spells out those dimensions and adds "or its equivalent"⁵, so a stack 2 ft high and 16 ft long, 4 ft deep, is also a cord. What matters is the volume.

Air is part of the measure, so tight stacking of straight pieces gets you more wood in the same space. Piece length doesn't change the cord either: 12-inch, 16-inch or 24-inch wood, it is still 128 cubic feet, only the number of rows changes.

In metric

Canada's Weights and Measures Act defines the yard as 0.9144 metre and the foot as a third of a yard⁶, so one foot is 0.3048 m. A cord is 128 x 0.3048³ = 3.62 cubic metres of stacked wood. Measurement Canada uses a rounder figure for quick checks: divide stacked cubic metres by 3.6 to get cords³

Half, third and quarter cords

Fractions of a cord are legal in Canada and in states that follow NIST Handbook 130⁸¹. Keep the 4 ft x 8 ft face and shrink the depth. The cubic metres are worked out from 128 cubic feet with the exact foot.

Face cord, rick, run, bush cord and "a truckload"

Face cord and rick

A face cord is a stack 4 ft high and 8 ft long, as deep as the pieces are long. With 16-inch pieces it is a third of a cord. With 12-inch pieces it is a quarter, and with 24-inch pieces it is half. The Illinois Extension describes a rick the same way: a third of a cord, based on 16-inch pieces⁹. To compare a face cord price with a full cord price for any piece length, use the face cord calculator.

Run, bush cord and truckload

You may also hear a run, a bush cord, a stove cord or "a truckload". None is a legal unit in Canada: the Weights and Measures Act allows in trade only units it defines or the regulations authorize⁶, and for firewood those are the stacked cubic metre, the cubic foot and the cord or its fractions⁴. In the US, NIST Handbook 130 names "face cord", "rack", "pile" and "truckload", plus "terms of similar import", as terms not to be used when selling firewood¹

How to measure a stack

1. Stack the wood in a tight rectangle, pieces parallel and facing the same way³.
2. Measure the length, the height and the depth (the piece length). On an uneven top, take a few heights and use the average.
3. Multiply the three numbers.
4. Convert to cords.

Measurement Canada's two worked examples³:

• In inches: 96 x 48 x 12 in = 55,296 cubic inches. Divide by 1,728 to get 32 cubic feet, then by 128: a quarter cord.
• In centimetres: 200 x 100 x 100 cm = 2,000,000 cm³ = 2 m³. Divide by 3.62, the cubic metres in a cord: about 0.55 cord (Measurement Canada's rounder 3.6 gives 0.56).

Loose vs stacked wood

Wood thrown loose takes much more room than the same wood stacked. Maine writes this into law: wood sold by the loose cord must fill 180 cubic feet if the pieces average 12 or 16 inches, and 195 cubic feet if they average 24 inches⁵. That is 180 ÷ 128 = about 1.4 times the stacked volume.

So a loose pile the size of a stacked cord holds well under a cord. The cord in Canadian rules and NIST Handbook 130 is a stacked measure²¹: stack the wood, then measure it.

How much fits in a pickup?

Less than most people think. The University of Illinois Extension says a full-size pickup with an 8-foot bed holds about one third to one half of a cord, depending on how it's loaded⁹. Alameda County's weights and measures office in California puts it this way: a pickup cannot hold a cord, an 8-foot bed holds half a cord and a 6-foot bed barely a third¹². A "full cord" in a standard pickup is worth measuring twice.

What the law says about selling by the cord

Canada

Firewood units are set federally. The units allowed are the stacked cubic metre, the cubic foot and the cord (128 cubic feet) or fractions of a cord⁴, and the cord and stacked cubic metre are defined in the regulations as stacked measures². Measurement Canada recommends selling by the stacked cubic metre, and calls "face cord" and "stove cord" illegal terms that some sellers use for less than 128 cubic feet⁴.

United States

There is no single national firewood law. NIST Handbook 130 is a model regulation that states can adopt. It says firewood is sold only by the cord and fractions of a cord or by the cubic metre, bans "face cord", "rack", "pile" and "truckload", and requires a delivery ticket or invoice with the seller and buyer, the date, the quantity, the price and the kind of wood¹.

States set their own versions. Ohio's rules, as published by the Hamilton County Auditor, also forbid "rick" and require an invoice showing the price per cord¹³. Maine, on the other hand, defines a face cord and a loose cord in its statute

How to avoid being shorted

A few habits protect both the buyer and the seller:

• Order in legal units. Ask for a full cord, a half cord or a number of stacked cubic metres, and confirm the piece length.
• Compare by the full cord. Convert any face cord price with the face cord calculator before you compare sellers.
• Ask for it stacked so you can measure before it's unloaded, and be there for the delivery⁸.
• Keep new wood separate from wood you already have, and write down the delivery vehicle's licence plate¹⁴.
• Get a receipt with the quantity and type of wood, the seller's name, address and phone number, and the price⁸.
• If it's short, don't burn it. Call the seller first. In Canada, if that doesn't settle it, you can complain to Measurement Canada⁸. In the US, call your state or county weights and measures office¹²

Questions