Face cord calculator
A face cord is a face, not a volume — one row of wood 4 feet high and 8 feet long, however long the pieces happen to be. Enter the piece length and this page tells you what fraction of a real cord you were quoted: 1/3 at 16 inches, 1/4 at 12, 1/2 at 24. The seller who quotes one without saying the length has not told you how much wood you are buying.
The piece length is the only thing that turns a face cord into a volume. 16 in is the length the extension literature calls usual; no regulation names one, so ask the seller.
The face — 4 × 8 ft unless the seller says otherwiseMaine, the one state that defines the term, makes it a 4 ft by 8 ft face, 32 square feet. A "face cord" stacked to any other size is that size — change the numbers to match what is in front of you.
- A face cord is a face: 4 ft × 8 ft = 32 square feet
- One row of 16-inch pieces: 32 × 16 ÷ 12 = 42.7 cubic feet per face cord
- ÷ 128 cubic feet per cord = 1/3 of a cord each, so 3 face cords make a full cord
A face cord is an area, and the law says so
The only definition of the term in any weights and measures law this site could find is Maine's, and it is worth reading the unit at the end: "A face cord is a unit of measure 4 feet high and 8 feet long, or its equivalent, containing 32 square feet." Square feet. The statute defines a cord in the same section as a volume — "4 feet wide, 4 feet high and 8 feet long, or its equivalent, containing 128 cubic feet when the wood is ranked and well stowed" — and the face cord as the face of that stack, with no depth at all.
That is why the piece length is the first input above. Multiply the 32 square feet face by the piece length and divide by 128, and a face cord of 16-inch wood is 1/3 of a cord; of 12-inch wood, 1/4; of 24-inch wood, 1/2. The same words, twice the firewood. The cord of wood calculator measures a whole stack from its three dimensions; this page exists for the moment a seller names a face cord and you need to know what that means before the truck arrives.
| Piece length | One face cord holds | Fraction of a cord | Face cords per cord |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 in | 32 cubic feet | 1/4 | 4 |
| 16 in | 42.7 cubic feet | 1/3 | 3 |
| 18 in | 48 cubic feet | 3/8 | 2.67 |
| 24 in | 64 cubic feet | 1/2 | 2 |
The federal model regulation takes the other route and bans the word. NIST Handbook 130, in its uniform regulation on fireplace and stove wood, requires that fuel wood be sold "only by measure, using the term 'cord' and fractional parts of a cord or the cubic meter", and then: "The terms 'face cord,' 'rack,' 'pile,' 'truckload,' or terms of similar import shall not be used when advertising, offering for sale, or selling wood for use as fuel." States that adopt the model — the Washington State Department of Agriculture publishes it verbatim — enforce that through their weights and measures offices. Maine's approach and the model's approach agree on the substance: a face cord is not a quantity until the piece length is on the ticket.
Data used, with sources
| Value | Used as | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 face cord = a 4 ft × 8 ft face, 32 square feet | the face whose area is multiplied by the piece length — Maine, 10 M.R.S. §2302: "A face cord is a unit of measure 4 feet high and 8 feet long, or its equivalent, containing 32 square feet." One state’s definition, shown as such; the federal model regulation (NIST Handbook 130 §2.4.4) prohibits the term for sale. | Maine State Legislature ; National Institute of Standards and Technology ; University of Illinois Extension |
| 1 cord = 128 cubic feet, ranked and well stowed | the divisor that turns a face cord's volume into a fraction of a cord — The federal model regulation (NIST Handbook 130 §2.4.1.2), adopted by states such as Washington; Maine’s own statute defines the standard cord identically. | National Institute of Standards and Technology ; Washington State Department of Agriculture ; Maine State Legislature ; University of Illinois Extension |
Rick, face cord, stove cord
The names are regional and the thing is the same: one row of wood. The University of Illinois Extension gives the usual reading — "A rick of firewood is one-third of a full cord based on pieces being 16 inches in length" — and, in the same piece, the reason the reading cannot be trusted on its own: face cords "have the same height and length of a full cord and half-cord, but the depth varies from 12 to 18 inches." A rick of 12-inch wood is a quarter of a cord and a rick of 18-inch wood is three-eighths, and both are sold under the same word.
So the calculator defaults to 16 inches because that is what the extension literature treats as usual, not because any regulation says so, and the chips above it are the lengths the sources actually name: Maine's statute lists 12, 16 and 24 for loose wood, Illinois gives 12 to 18 for a face cord. If your wood is cut to something else, type it.
Half cords and quarter cords
These, unlike the face cord, are volumes: "fractional parts of a cord" are exactly what the model regulation allows a seller to quote. A half cord is 64 cubic feet and a quarter cord 32, in whatever shape the stack takes. The calculator shows each as a single row of your pieces, because that is how a delivery usually gets stacked: at 16-inch wood a half cord is a 48 square foot face — 4 feet high by 12 feet long — and a quarter cord is a 4 by 6 foot face, which is also what a face cord of 12-inch wood contains. Stack it, measure it, and the cubic yard calculator will convert the cubic feet if the seller works in yards.
Common mistakes
- Assuming a face cord is a third. It is a third only of 16-inch wood. Ask the length before you accept the fraction.
- Paying a cord price for three face cords of short wood. Three face cords of 12-inch pieces are three quarters of a cord. The arithmetic above makes the shortfall visible before you pay.
- Comparing prices across sellers by the face cord. Two sellers' face cords are only comparable at the same piece length. Convert both to cords first.
- Stacking it loose and calling it short. A face cord is a stacked measure like the cord. Thrown wood takes more room; stack it "ranked and well stowed" before measuring.
- Treating the word as a legal unit. It is defined in Maine as an area and prohibited in the model regulation as a term of sale. The delivery ticket should say cords, or a fraction of one.
Frequently asked
What is a face cord of wood?
How many face cords are in a full cord?
What is a rick of wood?
Face cord vs full cord: which one am I being sold?
How big is a half cord of wood?
How big is a quarter cord of wood?
Is it legal to sell firewood by the face cord?
Sources
- NIST Handbook 130 (2026 edition), Uniform Regulation for the Method of Sale of Commodities, §2.4 Fireplace and Stove Wood — National Institute of Standards and Technology, accessed Sep 20, 2026.
- Firewood — Weights and Measures — Washington State Department of Agriculture, accessed Sep 20, 2026.
- Maine Revised Statutes, Title 10, §2302: Definitions (standard cord, face cord, loose cord) — Maine State Legislature, accessed Sep 20, 2026.
- How to measure and handle firewood (Richard Hentschel, 2020) — University of Illinois Extension, accessed Sep 20, 2026.
Quantities on this page are planning estimates, not engineering advice or a purchase guarantee — product sizes vary by producer, so confirm coverage with your supplier before ordering. This converts a face to a volume; it does not settle a sale. The face-cord definition is one state's statute and the prohibition is a model regulation; whether either applies where you live is a question for your state's weights and measures office. Read the methodology for how sources are chosen.