Understanding how much firewood is in a cord is essential for making informed purchases, ensuring fair transactions, and maximizing efficiency when using firewood. A full cord measures 4 feet high × 4 feet wide × 8 feet long (128 cubic feet), but factors like stacking method, log size, and wood type can affect the actual burnable volume.
A full cord of firewood measures 4 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 8 feet long, totaling 128 cubic feet. If you already knew that, you are ahead of most people who call to place their first order. The confusion is not usually in the definition. It is in everything around it: how a cord compares to a face cord, what 128 cubic feet actually looks like when it lands in your driveway, whether a cord is even the right amount for your situation, and how to know you received what you paid for when the truck pulls away.
We run kilns and deliver firewood across SE Wisconsin. We answer these questions on every order we take. This guide covers all of it.
A cord is a standardized unit of firewood volume. The official definition, recognized across the United States and Canada, is a stack measuring 4 feet high by 4 feet wide by 8 feet long, totaling 128 cubic feet.
The 128 cubic feet figure is the space the stack occupies, not the volume of solid wood. Because split firewood pieces are irregular in shape, air gaps between them account for roughly 30 to 40 percent of the total stack. The actual solid wood in a well-stacked cord runs closer to 75 to 90 cubic feet. That gap matters when comparing prices between suppliers. Two sellers can both call it a cord, stack their wood with different density, and give you meaningfully different amounts of burnable fuel.
Firewood gets sold under a lot of different names, and not all of them are standardized the way a cord is. The table below covers the most common units, with dimensions, cubic feet, and piece counts based on 16-inch logs at a standard residential split size. The piece counts come from our own experience: we personally counted pieces during customer stack jobs over years of deliveries in SE Wisconsin, and these ranges held up consistently across species.
| Unit | Dimensions (stacked) | Cubic Feet | Approx. Pieces | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Cord | 4 ft H × 8 ft L × 4 ft D (3 rows) | 128 | 560–600 | Primary heating, full-season supply, restaurant and commercial use |
| Half Cord | 4 ft H × 12 ft L × 16 in D | 64 | 280–300 | Supplemental heating, regular seasonal burning |
| Face Cord (Rick) | 4 ft H × 8 ft L × 16 in D | ~42.7 | 180–200 | Most common residential order, occasional to moderate use |
| Half Face Cord | 2 ft H × 8 ft L × 16 in D | ~21.3 | 90–100 | A few weeks of fires, small storage footprint |
| Retail Bundle | Approx. 12 in H × 16 in L, varies | ~0.75 | 4–6 pieces | Single campfire sessions, convenience use |
Piece counts based on 16-inch log length at a standard residential split size. Numbers shift with split width and species density. Narrower splits produce more pieces per cord; wider splits produce fewer.
Here is what each size looks like when stacked:
Dimensions help, but most people need to see it before the scale clicks. Here is what a cord looks like in real Wisconsin delivery situations.
Stacked against a house wall, a full cord covers roughly 8 feet of exterior siding at waist height. In most Wisconsin homes that is a solid stretch of garage wall or one full section of the house exterior. It is more wood than most people picture the first time they order.
A dumped pile always looks more manageable than it is. You cannot see what is buried underneath. After a few wheelbarrow loads in, when the pile has barely changed, that is when the volume becomes real. Customers who have never received a full cord before consistently underestimate the pile until they are halfway through stacking it.
Worth noting about that garage photo: that pile was not even a full cord, and it still took up most of the usable floor space in one bay. A full cord stored inside a two-car garage needs a dedicated section of wall space cleared for it. This is a common planning oversight we see from customers ordering for the first time. If indoor storage is limited, a face cord is usually the more practical choice.
The most common reaction we hear when a full cord arrives for the first time is some version of "that is a lot of wood." We have had customers tell us we delivered the wrong amount, that there was too much, that this could not possibly be one cord. In nearly every one of those situations, they had been ordering firewood for years and simply had never received the full amount they paid for from previous suppliers.
A full cord is all three rows: 128 cubic feet, 4 feet deep, 8 feet wide, 4 feet tall. A face cord is one of those rows: about 42.7 cubic feet at 16-inch log length, or one-third of a full cord. A half cord is two rows, or 64 cubic feet, sometimes stacked as a single longer row to make the footprint more manageable.
Face cord is by far the most commonly ordered size among residential customers, both here in SE Wisconsin and at our Chicago-area location. It fits standard firewood racks, stores without taking over a garage bay, and is a practical amount for homeowners who are supplementing a furnace rather than running a wood stove full-time. When someone calls us asking for a cord, we follow up roughly half the time to confirm they mean a full cord and not a face cord, because the two terms get used interchangeably even though they are very different quantities.
One note on 12-inch lengths: while 16 inches is the industry standard for most fireplaces and wood stoves, 12-inch pieces are increasingly common for smokeless fire pits, which have smaller fireboxes. If you are ordering for a smokeless pit, confirm the log length before ordering. It makes a real difference in both fit and cost per unit.
The number you will see cited most often online is 600 to 800 pieces per cord. Our own count puts the real figure lower for standard residential split sizes: roughly 560 to 600 pieces per full cord at 16-inch lengths. We counted this personally during customer stack jobs in the early years of our operation and revisited the numbers periodically as a check. A face cord consistently came out to 180 to 200 pieces. A half face cord ran about 90 to 100 pieces.
That number moves depending on split width and species. Narrower splits mean more pieces per cord. Wider pieces mean fewer. A cord of dense oak will have fewer pieces by count than a cord of lighter birch at the same split dimensions, because each oak piece is heavier and takes up more volume per unit. For a full breakdown by split size and species, see our firewood species and burn guide.
A standard retail firewood bundle, the kind sold at Kwik Trip, Sam's Club, or most campground stores, holds approximately 0.75 cubic feet of wood. Here is how that translates to cord equivalents:
At three to five bundles per fire, burning two to three times a week through a Wisconsin winter puts you well past 100 bundles for the season, often closer to 150. Buying by the cord or face cord brings the per-fire cost down substantially, and the wood quality is typically better than what sits in a convenience store parking lot through rain and frost. For a full comparison of bundle math and how to convert between units, see our firewood bundles page.
This depends more on how often and how long you burn than it does on what size you order. Here is what we see from actual residential customers across SE Wisconsin.
For a complete guide to estimating how much firewood you need for your specific situation, see our firewood ordering guide.
Pricing varies by region, species, drying method, and delivery distance. Nationally, a full cord of mixed hardwood typically runs between $200 and $500. Kiln-dried wood carries a premium over air-seasoned because of the real investment in equipment and energy, and because the moisture content is consistent and verifiable rather than estimated. For current Best Burn Firewood pricing by cord and face cord, including delivery options across SE Wisconsin, visit our firewood pricing and ordering page..
The only reliable way to verify a delivery is to stack the wood and measure before the truck leaves. Be cautious of sellers who quote in terms like "truckload," "pile," or "rick" without defining dimensions.
For a complete guide to verifying a delivery and knowing what to do if the cord comes up short, see our guide on using a moisture meter to verify firewood quality.
A cord of green wood and a cord of kiln-dried firewood occupy the same 128 cubic feet. They do not deliver the same heat output.
Green or poorly seasoned wood can hold 40 to 50 percent moisture by weight. Before it burns efficiently, the fire has to boil off that water first. The result is more smoke, lower heat, and significantly more creosote buildup in your flue. Every BTU spent evaporating moisture is a BTU that does not reach your living room.
The same standard holds across every face cord and full cord we deliver, from residential customers in Waukesha County to the 20 wood-fired restaurants we supply across SE Wisconsin, including Smoke Shack in Milwaukee and Council Oak at Hard Rock Casino in Bristol. When a kitchen is burning through a cord of wood in a single service shift, consistency in moisture content is not optional.
A cord of firewood is a standardized unit of volume equal to a stack measuring 4 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 8 feet long, totaling 128 cubic feet. Most firewood is cut to 16-inch lengths, so a cord is typically three rows deep.
A full cord is 128 cubic feet, stacked three rows deep at 16-inch log length. A face cord is one of those three rows: approximately 42.7 cubic feet at 16-inch depth, or one-third of a full cord. Face cord is the most common residential order size.
At 16-inch log length and a standard residential split size, a full cord typically contains 560 to 600 pieces. A face cord runs about 180 to 200 pieces. A half face cord comes out to around 90 to 100 pieces. These numbers shift based on split width and species density.
A standard retail bundle holds about 0.75 cubic feet. A full cord of 128 cubic feet equals approximately 170 retail bundles. A face cord equals about 57 bundles, and a half cord equals about 85 bundles.
At two to three fires per week for typical evening burns, a face cord lasts about six to eight weeks. A full cord used as supplemental heating at that pace would last four to six months. For primary wood heat, plan on three to five full cords for a Wisconsin winter, depending on home size and insulation.
Rick is another term for face cord in most markets: a single row of firewood 4 feet high, 8 feet long, and one log-length deep, usually 16 inches. The term is not legally standardized, so always ask for the specific log length and cubic feet when comparing quotes.
Nationally, a full cord of mixed hardwood typically runs between $200 and $500. Kiln-dried wood costs more than air-seasoned because of the drying process and the consistency it delivers. Local pricing varies by species, delivery distance, and time of year.
Stack the wood and measure before the truck leaves. A full cord at 16-inch depth should be 8 feet wide and 4 feet tall. If the dimensions come up short, you were shorted. Avoid sellers who use vague terms like "truckload" or "pile" without specifying dimensions.
Yes. Kiln-dried wood burns more completely and produces more usable heat per piece because each piece is burning at full efficiency from the start rather than spending energy evaporating moisture. You will often get more fires out of a cord of kiln-dried wood than a cord of green or poorly seasoned wood at the same piece count.
For occasional to moderate use: one to two face cords for the season. For regular supplemental heating with a fireplace: two to three face cords. For primary heat with a wood stove running daily: three to five full cords, depending on home size and insulation. When in doubt, start with a face cord, track how long it lasts, and order accordingly.
Know what size you need? View current pricing and schedule delivery across SE Wisconsin.
