What is a face cord of wood?
A face cord is a single row of split firewood stacked 4 feet high and 8 feet long — the same face as a full cord, but only one piece deep instead of four feet. A full cord is 4 × 4 × 8 ft, 128 ft³ of wood, bark and air. A face cord has the same 32 ft² of face and whatever depth the pieces happen to have.
That missing dimension is the whole story. Two stacks sold as "a face cord" can differ by a factor of two for the same money, simply because one seller cuts to 12 inches and the other to 24. The name tells you the face and nothing about the volume.
How many face cords are in a full cord?
Divide 48 inches (the depth of a full cord) by the piece length. With 16-inch pieces, three face cords make a cord; with 12-inch pieces, four; with 24-inch pieces, two.
| Piece length | Share of a cord | Face cords per cord | $100 a face cord, per cord | Seasoned weight, lb | Heat, million Btu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 in 30 cm | 1/4 32.0 ft³ | 4 | $400 | 830–930 | 3.0 |
| 14 in 36 cm | 0.292 37.3 ft³ | 3.43 | $343 | 960–1,090 | 3.5 |
| 16 in 41 cm | 1/3 42.7 ft³ | 3 | $300 | 1,100–1,240 | 3.9 |
| 18 in 46 cm | 3/8 48.0 ft³ | 2.67 | $267 | 1,240–1,400 | 4.4 |
| 20 in 51 cm | 5/12 53.3 ft³ | 2.4 | $240 | 1,380–1,550 | 4.9 |
| 24 in 61 cm | 1/2 64.0 ft³ | 2 | $200 | 1,650–1,860 | 5.9 |
Weight runs from a normally stacked cord to a tightly stacked one, as on the Cord of Wood Weight Calculator. Heat is what a stove delivering half the energy in the wood puts into the room, as on the Firewood Cord Calculator; the three pages share the same formulas.
How much is a face cord of wood?
Firewood prices change with the region, the season, the species, delivery and stacking. The one official benchmark we found, Maine's statewide average, is on the Cord of Wood Price page with its history since 2022. What you can do is make two quotes comparable, and that takes one multiplication: price per face cord × face cords per cord = price per full cord.
Example, with prices chosen only to show the method: a face cord of 16-inch red oak at $120 is $360 per full cord. A full cord of the same wood offered at $330 is therefore the better deal by 9.1 %, even though $120 looks like the smaller bill. Had the face cord been cut to 12 inches, it would have cost $480 per cord.
Species changes the answer again, because a cord of dense hardwood holds far more heat than a cord of softwood. The same $120 face cord comes to $30.42 per million Btu delivered in red oak and $54.76 in eastern white pine: the pine heat costs 80 % more. That is why the calculator compares offers both ways, per cord and per million Btu.
Is a rick the same as a face cord?
In practice, yes. "Rick" and "rack" are used the same way: a single row whose depth is the piece length, left unstated. Neither has a fixed volume. California names "rick" and "tier" among the terms a firewood seller may not use; elsewhere they fall under the model regulation's "terms of similar import". Treat a rick exactly like a face cord: ask for the piece length, then use this calculator.
Is it legal to sell firewood by the face cord?
Under the model regulation most states build on, no. NIST Handbook 130, section 2.4, defines the cord as
128 ft³ and states that the terms ‘face cord,’ ‘rack,’ ‘pile,’ ‘truckload,’ or terms of similar import
shall not be used
when advertising, offering or selling wood for fuel. Firewood is to be sold by the cord
and its fractions, or by the cubic metre. States adopt, amend or replace that text, and they do not all say
the same thing:
| State | Face cord | How firewood must be sold |
|---|---|---|
| California | Prohibited, with rack, rick, tier, pile, truck-load and any other unspecified unit | Cord, fraction or percentage of a cord |
| Maine | Defined: 32 ft² of face, stick length agreed upon by both parties | Standard cord of 128 ft³ with voids deducted, or loose measure |
| Massachusetts | Prohibited, as are cord, pile and truckload | Cubic feet or cubic metres only |
| Minnesota | Not addressed: the statute sets volumes instead of banning words | Cord volumes set by processing; by weight at 79 ft³ of solid wood per cord |
| New Mexico | Prohibited, with load, truckload, rack, pile and loose cord | Cord or fraction of a cord |
| Rhode Island | Prohibited, as are cord, pile and truckload | Cubic feet or cubic metres only |
| Washington | Prohibited, with truckload, rack and pile | Cord or fraction of a cord |
Maine is the instructive exception: its face cord becomes a lawful unit only because the missing dimension has to be agreed. Everywhere the term is banned, the compliant way to say the same thing is a fraction and a length — "one third of a cord, cut to 16 inches". If a seller will write that on the ticket, you know exactly what you are buying. Sources, delivery-ticket rules and the procedure for a short load are on firewood sale law, state by state.
How much does a face cord of wood weigh?
A face cord of 16-inch seasoned red oak weighs about 1,100 to 1,240 lb, white oak 1,190 to 1,340 lb, shagbark hickory 1,260 to 1,420 lb, and eastern white pine only 610 to 690 lb. Green wood weighs a good deal more. For any species, green or dry, and the number of trips your truck needs, use the Cord of Wood Weight Calculator with the unit set to "Face cord".
How much heat is in a face cord?
A face cord of 16-inch seasoned red oak holds about 7.9 million Btu, of which a stove delivering half the heat puts about 3.9 million Btu into the room. Hickory gives about 4.5, live oak 5.5, red maple 3.4, and white pine 2.2. To know how many face cords a winter takes, the Firewood Consumption Calculator works in full cords — divide by the share in the table above. Every species, ranked by heat per cord, is on the Firewood BTU Chart.
How do you measure a face cord delivery?
- Stack it first, in a single tight row, pieces parallel and touching. A loose heap cannot be compared with a stacked measure.
- Measure the height and the length of the face, in several places if the top is uneven, and take the average.
- Measure ten pieces and take a typical length. Ends are rarely cut square.
- Enter the three numbers in the calculator, under "A stack that is not 4 × 8 ft" for the face.
- If the result is short of what you paid for, do not burn any of it yet, photograph the stack and contact the seller with the delivery ticket. The steps are on firewood sale law.
Frequently asked questions
Is a face cord one third of a cord?
Only when the pieces are 16 inches long. A face cord is 4 by 8 ft and one piece deep, so it is a quarter of a cord in 12-inch pieces, three eighths in 18-inch pieces and half a cord in 24-inch pieces.
How many face cords make a full cord?
Three with 16-inch pieces, four with 12-inch pieces, two with 24-inch pieces. In general, 48 divided by the piece length in inches.
How big is a face cord in cubic feet?
32 ft² of face times the piece length: 32.0 ft³ with 12-inch pieces, 42.7 ft³ with 16-inch pieces, 64.0 ft³ with 24-inch pieces. A full cord is 128 ft³.
How do I compare a face cord price with a full cord price?
Multiply the face cord price by the number of face cords per cord for its piece length — three for 16-inch pieces. A $120 face cord of 16-inch wood is $360 per full cord.
What is the difference between a face cord and a full cord?
Depth. Both are 4 ft high and 8 ft long; a full cord is 4 ft deep (128 ft³), a face cord is only as deep as one piece of wood. The full cord is the legal unit; the face cord is not, except in Maine, where the stick length must be agreed.
Is a rick of wood the same as a face cord?
In practice, yes: a single row whose depth is the piece length. Neither has a fixed volume, and California prohibits "rick" as a unit of sale. Ask for the piece length and convert to a fraction of a cord.
Sources
- NIST Handbook 130-2023, Uniform Regulation for the Method of Sale of Commodities, section 2.4 "Fireplace and Stove Wood" — the 128 ft³ cord and the prohibited terms.
- 10 M.R.S. §2302 — Maine's definition of a face cord.
- California, 4 CCR §§4530–4532, Massachusetts Division of Standards, Minn. Stat. §239.33, New Mexico Department of Agriculture, R.I. Gen. Laws §47-12-3 and Washington State Department of Agriculture — the state rules in the table, each read on 13 September 2026.
- Miles & Smith (2009), USDA Forest Service Research Note NRS-38 — wood density and green weight for the 146 species, from which every weight and heat figure is computed.
- University of Arkansas Extension FSA-1091, Basics of Heating with Firewood — the 8,600 Btu per ovendry pound and the 50 % efficiency used for heat delivered.