Cord of Wood Calculator — Firewood Volume
Measure your firewood pile in feet and instantly see how many full cords and face cords it contains, plus the total volume in cubic feet and cubic metres.
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Volume ÷ 128 cu ft (1 cord = 4 ft × 4 ft × 8 ft)
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cords- 1
Stack volume
8 × 4 × 4 = 128 cu ft - 2
Full cords
128 ÷ 128 = 11 cord = 4 ft × 4 ft × 8 ft = 128 cu ft.
How does this calculator work?
Divide your stacked pile volume (length × height × depth in feet) by 128 to get full cords. A standard cord equals 4 ft × 4 ft × 8 ft = 128 cubic feet. Logs cut to 16-inch lengths give face cords — three 16-inch face cords make one full cord. Enter your dimensions above and the result appears immediately.
Formula
How this is calculated
A cord is the standard North American unit for measuring firewood. One full cord is a neatly stacked pile exactly 4 feet tall, 4 feet deep, and 8 feet long — a total volume of 128 cubic feet. Because logs are never perfect solids, only 80–90 % of that volume is actual wood; the rest is air space. The cord measures stacking volume, not solid wood.
A face cord (also called a rick) is any stack that is 4 ft tall and 8 ft long but whose depth equals the length of one log — usually 16 inches (1.33 ft). Three face cords of 16-inch logs equal one full cord. The face-cord count in this calculator equals (L × H) ÷ 32, because each face cord occupies a 4 ft × 8 ft = 32 sq ft face area.
To get an accurate result, measure the pile dimensions in feet — length along the longest horizontal edge, height vertically, and depth as the cut length of each log. Stacks should be reasonably tight; loosely thrown wood can appear to be a cord but contain 20–30 % less actual timber.
Frequently asked questions
A standard (full) cord is exactly 128 cubic feet — a 4 ft × 4 ft × 8 ft stack. The actual solid wood content is roughly 80–90 cubic feet; the rest is air gaps between logs.
A face cord (or rick) looks like a full cord from the front (4 ft tall, 8 ft long) but has a depth equal to the cut log length — typically 16 inches. Since a full cord is 4 ft deep, one full cord contains about three 16-inch face cords.
Prices vary widely by region, species, and seasoning. In the United States a full cord typically runs $150–$500, with seasoned hardwoods like oak or hickory at the higher end because they produce more BTUs per cord than softwoods.
Also known as
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). Cord of Wood Calculator — Firewood Volume [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/cord-wood-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "Cord of Wood Calculator — Firewood Volume." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/cord-wood-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "Cord of Wood Calculator — Firewood Volume," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/calculator/cord-wood-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_cord_wood_calculator, title = {Cord of Wood Calculator — Firewood Volume}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/calculator/cord-wood-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
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