How to Measure a Cord of Wood (and What a Face Cord Really Is)

Stack the wood tightly, measure length, height and depth in feet, and multiply: 128 cubic feet is a cord. A 4 by 4 by 8 foot stack is exactly one. A single row 4 feet high and 8 feet long of 16 inch pieces is a third of a cord, often sold as a "face cord", a term Connecticut bars in firewood sales.

The legal cord

NIST Handbook 130, as Connecticut adopts it: a cord is the amount of wood in 128 cubic feet when the wood is ranked and well stowed. Connecticut requires firewood to be sold by the cord and fractions of it (or by the cubic meter) and prohibits "face cord", "rack", "pile", "truckload" or similar terms.

Worked examples

Stack	Volume	Cords
4 x 4 x 8 ft	128 cu ft	1
4 ft high, 8 ft long, 16 in pieces, one row	42.7 cu ft	1/3
4 ft high, 8 ft long, 16 in pieces, two rows	85.3 cu ft	2/3
4 ft high, 8 ft long, 24 in pieces, one row	64 cu ft	1/2

Delivery tickets

Connecticut requires a delivery ticket or invoice for unpackaged firewood showing the seller and buyer, date, quantity delivered, price and a description of the wood. Ask for one, then stack and measure before paying.

Calculator: firewood cord calculator. Heat per cord: firewood BTU chart.