Question about a cord of wood

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
navycop

navycop

Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2010
Messages
2,334
Location
Virginia Beach, VA 23454
I read somewhere that a cord is 8' wide x 4' deep x 4' high. I built a rack for my firewood, but due to space limits could only build it 7' wide x 3' deep x 4' high. I am missing out on a foot wide and a foot deep if I buy a cord. What is half a cord 4'x2'x2'? I also heard of stuff called "loose stack". What I am asking is this stuff written is stone? Like 12" is always a foot. 3' is a yard.. I guess there can be variations depending were you live and who you talk to..
 
Last edited:
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Just buy a cord and make a little stack somewhere else with the rest.

As mentioned above, 4x4x4 is a half generally.

People will try to sell it in all kinds of measurements. Some do a face cord which is usually 8' long by 4' high by the width of 1 piece of wood.

Most common around me is the pickup truck bed full which can vary widely. Make sure you know what your getting. And what kind of wood.

And most importantly if you need to burn this year - is it truly dry?
 
A full cord measures 8ft in length x 4ft in height x 4ft in width (128 cubic ft.) and a full face cord (1/3 of a full cord) measures 8ft in length x 4ft in height x 16 inches width (48 cubic ft.). Three face cords = one full cord. Note in some places, generally in the urban areas, they sell what we call a cheap face cord and the width is only 12 inches vs. 16 inches.

Based on your measurement 7' wide x 3' deep x 4' high = 84 cubic ft. So your space will only hold about .66 of a full cord. You will need some extra space for the remainder.

Wade
 
Last edited:
A cord of wood is any stack or quantity of firewood containing 128 cf -- typically this is a stack of of wood 8' x 4' x 4' but that's not a requirement. Firewood is also typically cut into 16" logs, so 3 such logs make up the 4' depth.

A rick, face cord, or tier is generally 1/3 of a cord, being a stack of wood that contains 8' x 4' of these 16" logs. However, these terms are not as universal as the cord and have sometimes been manipulated by vendors to the point where some states have made it illegal to sell firewood by the rick.

All these firewood units of measure are included in my app - iGotCharts + Units & Currency Converter that many of you got a copy of a couple of months ago. A new version with a Woodworking Charts category and a letter-to-inch & metric drill size converter will be released in the next week or two. This is not intended to be a sales plug for my app - any IAP member with an iPhone or iPad who did not get a copy last go-round will have another chance to get a free copy when it's released.

Ed
 
Keep this in mind - there is NO universally accepted definition of a face cord. It is commonly 4' x 8' x ** with ** being the length the wood is cut to. 16 inches is common...but so are 14", 15" 17" etc. etc. If you are buying a face cord ask the length the wood is cut to. Additionally many places buying a face cord you will get what they will call a "loosely piled face cord" which means whatever the seller wants it to mean. I burned Coal/Wood for 30 years and when I bought wood I normally specified how long it had to be cut and normally called for an 8 ft pickup truck box filled above the sides. Which would be about a face cord.
 
Thanks guys for breaking it down. I don't burn alot of wood. The little lady likes the house cool in the fall. Last year I bought wood off a guy that will throw it in the back of my pickup truck. It was somewhat stacked but not tightly. there were still spaces between some of the logs. I still got 5'wx3h'x16" stack of it by the fence. I think it was $30.oo.
 
navycop said:
Thanks guys for breaking it down. I don't burn alot of wood. The little lady likes the house cool in the fall. Last year I bought wood off a guy that will throw it in the back of my pickup truck. It was somewhat stacked but not tightly. there were still spaces between some of the logs. I still got 5'wx3h'x16" stack of it by the fence. I think it was $30.oo.
Click to expand...
Probably not a real bad price depending on the kind of wood and how dry it was.
 
There's no universal definintion for many of the 'alternative cords' of wood. Face cord, stove cord, apartment cord, etc...

For that reason, the Canadian government is trying to encourage people (in Canada, where we use metric), to buy wood by the stacked cubic metre, instead of the cord.
 
maxwell_smart007 said:
There's no universal definintion for many of the 'alternative cords' of wood. Face cord, stove cord, apartment cord, etc...

For that reason, the Canadian government is trying to encourage people (in Canada, where we use metric), to buy wood by the stacked cubic metre, instead of the cord.
Click to expand...
A number of states here prohibit using "face cord" in advertising wood for sale some require the stacked dimension. In upstate NY and the northern border of PA we saw almost no use of face cord (now this was prior to Oct 1999 when we moved to Delaware) in classified ads. In the latter years I lived there I bought mostly by the pick-up truck load.
 
Last edited:
corrections

zig613 said:
A full cord measures 8ft in length x 4ft in height x 4ft in width (128 cubic ft.) and a full face cord (1/3 of a full cord) measures 8ft in length x 4ft in height x 16 inches width (48 cubic ft.). Three face cords = one full cord. Note in some places, generally in the urban areas, they sell what we call a cheap face cord and the width is only 12 inches vs. 16 inches.

Based on your measurement 7' wide x 3' deep x 4' high = 84 cubic ft. So your space will only hold about .66 of a full cord. You will need some extra space for the remainder.

Wade[/quote
A rick is 8 ft.x4 ftx 16 inches. It takes 3 rows to make a cord of 16" wood. a pick up load ,Fleet side , stacked and slitely rounded will hold about 1/2 cord BUT if its just thrown in the pickup, it will be way short of 1/2 cord
Click to expand...
 
Frank Nemke sr. said:
zig613 said:
A full cord measures 8ft in length x 4ft in height x 4ft in width (128 cubic ft.) and a full face cord (1/3 of a full cord) measures 8ft in length x 4ft in height x 16 inches width (48 cubic ft.). Three face cords = one full cord. Note in some places, generally in the urban areas, they sell what we call a cheap face cord and the width is only 12 inches vs. 16 inches.

Based on your measurement 7' wide x 3' deep x 4' high = 84 cubic ft. So your space will only hold about .66 of a full cord. You will need some extra space for the remainder.

Wade[/quote
A rick is 8 ft.x4 ftx 16 inches. It takes 3 rows to make a cord of 16" wood. a pick up load ,Fleet side , stacked and slitely rounded will hold about 1/2 cord BUT if its just thrown in the pickup, it will be way short of 1/2 cord
Click to expand...

Frank,

I work in forestry in southern Ontario (Canada) and the term face cord is how cut and split firewood is generally advertised in local newspapers. As many have noted in this thread the width of the face cord can range from 12-16 inches. So it can be buyer beware... you need to ask.

Although Canada doesn't use the imperial rule any longer the forestry industry working on private land in many parts of Ontario continues to buy and sell timber in board feet and firewood by the cord. But any work that I do on Crown land we buy timber, firewood and pulpwood by the cubic metre from the provincial government.



Wade
Click to expand...
 
Oh my gosh...a cord is 48"x48" 8' DRY!!! It's not rocket work. You can always stack it higher. Go to a muffler shop with some 2" tubing...have them bend it for you x 2...big U shapes. Get 3 2x2 square tubes 4' wide and weld those to the bottom. Strap the ends with 1/4x2...bam...wood rack.
 
Frank Nemke sr. said:
zig613 said:
A full cord measures 8ft in length x 4ft in height x 4ft in width (128 cubic ft.) and a full face cord (1/3 of a full cord) measures 8ft in length x 4ft in height x 16 inches width (48 cubic ft.). Three face cords = one full cord. Note in some places, generally in the urban areas, they sell what we call a cheap face cord and the width is only 12 inches vs. 16 inches.

Based on your measurement 7' wide x 3' deep x 4' high = 84 cubic ft. So your space will only hold about .66 of a full cord. You will need some extra space for the remainder.

Wade[/quote
A rick is 8 ft.x4 ftx 16 inches. It takes 3 rows to make a cord of 16" wood. a pick up load ,Fleet side , stacked and slitely rounded will hold about 1/2 cord BUT if its just thrown in the pickup, it will be way short of 1/2 cord
Click to expand...
There is no universally accepted definition of face cord...I've seen them with wood lengths from 12 to 20 inches.
Click to expand...
 
As far as the tightnest or loosenest of the stack, I always heard when
I was growing up: A cord is 4' X 4' X 8' stacked tight enough that the squirrel can run through but not the cat that is chasing him.
 
There may be no universally accepted definition of a "face cord", but there is a universally accepted definition of a cord of wood. And as stated by some people already, it is 8'x4'x4'. In the area that I live in there is no such measurement as a face cord, if you want to purchase firewood, you buy either buy the cord or by the 1/2 cord.
Len
 
Lucky2 said:
There may be no universally accepted definition of a "face cord", but there is a universally accepted definition of a cord of wood. And as stated by some people already, it is 8'x4'x4'. In the area that I live in there is no such measurement as a face cord, if you want to purchase firewood, you buy either buy the cord or by the 1/2 cord.
Len
Click to expand...
We have all agreed what a cord of wood is...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom