How Much Wood is a Cord of Firewood?

Have you heard the term "cord" of wood andSince most people do not need a full cord of
wondered what that could possibly mean?firewood either lying around their backyard, or
Firewood purchasing can be confusing enough witheven neatly organized in a firewood holder,
all the different species of wood available, anddealers sell firewood in fractions of a cord as well.
that you need to purchase 'seasoned' woodYou'll often see a ¼ cord, 1/3 cord, or a ½
instead of green firewood. But then to be facedcord for sale, and to relate this to a firewood
with buying a ¼ cord or a ½ cord or even arack storage system, a ¼ cord will fit into a 4'
full cord becomes just too much for many people.rack, a 1/3 cord into a 6' rack, and a ½ cord will
This article serves as a basic guide to thefit into a 8' firewood rack.
measurements of firewood.To make matters slightly more confusing,
The generally accepted definition of a full cord is aalthough we have learned about a full cord of
pile of wood measuring four feet high by fourwood, that measurement isn't often relevant to
feet wide by eight feet long (4' x 4' x 8'). Inour normal life because it presupposes that the
mathematical terms this means 128 cubic feet, sofirewood logs will be four feet long. Often the
it doesn't matter really if the pile was 128 feetactual firewood logs will be 16 inches long, which
wide by one foot deep by one foot tall, that's stillthen makes a 4' tall by 8' wide by 16" deep pile 1
a cord of firewood. Most serious firewood3 of a cord. This is often referred to as a face
owners, and thus fire-making aficionados, will gocord or a stove cord. So if you see a pile of that
out and purchase a firewood log rack to storesize, you should assume it is 1/3 of a cord and
their firewood. A full cord will generally fit intoplan your firewood rack needs accordingly.
what's known as a 16' firewood rack.