How much wood is in a cord?

A full cord is a stack 4 ft high, 4 ft deep and 8 ft long: 128 cubic feet of stacked wood, bark and air. University of Maryland Extension notes the solid wood in it is only about 65–90 cubic feet, depending on how straight and tightly stacked the pieces are.

What is a face cord or a rick of wood?

A face cord is a stack 8 ft long and 4 ft high but only one piece deep, so its size depends on the piece length. With 16 in pieces it is one third of a full cord (42.7 cu ft); with 24 in pieces it is half a cord. "Rick" is used loosely for the same thing, so always ask the seller for the length, height and piece length.

How many cords of wood do I need for a winter?

Work from the heat your house used last winter. EIA's 2025–26 outlook puts a typical oil-heated home at 399 gallons. At 138,500 Btu per gallon in an 83% furnace that is about 45.9 million Btu of heat; oak at 25.3 million Btu per cord burned in a 63% EPA-certified stove delivers about 15.9 million Btu per cord, so heating with wood alone would take roughly 2.9 cords. Heating part of the house or part of the season takes proportionally less.

Which firewood gives the most heat?

Dense hardwoods. University of Maryland Extension lists oak at 25.3 million Btu per cord, ash 23.6, walnut 21.8, elm 21.4, sycamore 20.7 and white pine 19.0. EIA uses 20 million Btu as an average cord. Dry wood matters as much as species: buy wood split and seasoned to under 20% moisture.

How much firewood fits in a pickup truck?

Less than most sellers claim. University of Maryland Extension puts a pickup load at 1/5 to 1/2 of a cord depending on bed size and stacking. Multiply the bed length × width × stacked height in feet and divide by 128 to get the fraction of a cord.

Volume & Weight

Firewood Calculator

A full cord is 128 cubic feet of stacked wood — 4 ft high, 4 ft deep and 8 ft long. Enter your stack's length, height and depth to get cords and face cords, then tell the calculator what heated your house last winter: it converts that fuel to heat with EIA's Btu values, and divides by the heat in a cord of your species (University of Maryland Extension) burned in your stove (EPA default efficiencies).

Next calculatorSnow Removal Cost CalculatorNext winter job: price the plowing.

Cord, face cord and rick sizes

Measure	Stack	Cubic feet	Share of a cord
Full cord	4 × 4 × 8 ft	128	1
Face cord, 12 in pieces	8 ft × 4 ft × 12 in	32	0.25
Face cord, 16 in pieces	8 ft × 4 ft × 16 in	42.67	0.33
Face cord, 18 in pieces	8 ft × 4 ft × 18 in	48	0.38
Face cord, 24 in pieces	8 ft × 4 ft × 24 in	64	0.5

A face cord (often called a rick) is one row of wood 8 ft long and 4 ft high, so its size depends on the piece length: with 16 in pieces it is a third of a cord. University of Maryland Extension notes a cord holds only about 65–90 cubic feet of solid wood, and that a pickup bed holds 1/5 to 1/2 of a cord.

How many cords to heat a winter

EIA's 2025–26 outlook puts a typical oil-heated home at 399 gallons a winter. Burned in an 83% furnace that is about 45.87 million Btu of heat. Delivering the same heat from a 63% EPA-certified stove takes:

Species	Million Btu per cord	Cords for the winter	16 in face cords
Oak	25.3	2.88	8.6
Ash	23.6	3.08	9.3
Walnut	21.8	3.34	10
Elm	21.4	3.4	10.2
Sycamore	20.7	3.52	10.6
Mixed / unknown (EIA average)	20	3.64	10.9
White pine	19	3.83	11.5

Heating only the living room, or burning wood on weekends, scales the answer down with the "share of heat" input. Splitting and stacking your own? The cubic feet calculator converts any pile, and the fire pit calculator sizes the gravel pad around an outdoor pit.

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Frequently asked questions

How much wood is in a cord?: A full cord is a stack 4 ft high, 4 ft deep and 8 ft long: 128 cubic feet of stacked wood, bark and air. University of Maryland Extension notes the solid wood in it is only about 65–90 cubic feet, depending on how straight and tightly stacked the pieces are.
What is a face cord or a rick of wood?: A face cord is a stack 8 ft long and 4 ft high but only one piece deep, so its size depends on the piece length. With 16 in pieces it is one third of a full cord (42.7 cu ft); with 24 in pieces it is half a cord. "Rick" is used loosely for the same thing, so always ask the seller for the length, height and piece length.
How many cords of wood do I need for a winter?: Work from the heat your house used last winter. EIA's 2025–26 outlook puts a typical oil-heated home at 399 gallons. At 138,500 Btu per gallon in an 83% furnace that is about 45.9 million Btu of heat; oak at 25.3 million Btu per cord burned in a 63% EPA-certified stove delivers about 15.9 million Btu per cord, so heating with wood alone would take roughly 2.9 cords. Heating part of the house or part of the season takes proportionally less.
Which firewood gives the most heat?: Dense hardwoods. University of Maryland Extension lists oak at 25.3 million Btu per cord, ash 23.6, walnut 21.8, elm 21.4, sycamore 20.7 and white pine 19.0. EIA uses 20 million Btu as an average cord. Dry wood matters as much as species: buy wood split and seasoned to under 20% moisture.
How much firewood fits in a pickup truck?: Less than most sellers claim. University of Maryland Extension puts a pickup load at 1/5 to 1/2 of a cord depending on bed size and stacking. Multiply the bed length × width × stacked height in feet and divide by 128 to get the fraction of a cord.

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