How Much Is a Cord of Wood? Check a Short Delivery

A full cord of wood is 128 cubic feet of compactly stacked firewood, commonly arranged 4 feet high, 4 feet deep, and 8 feet long. HomeGuide’s January 2026 cost guide prices split, seasoned hardwood at $275 to $400 per cord, including delivery within 15 miles.

What exactly counts as a full cord of wood?

NIST Handbook 130 (2026), the model weights-and-measures regulation intended for adoption by US jurisdictions, defines a cord as the amount of wood occupying 128 cubic feet when “ranked and well stowed.” NIST explains that the pieces are placed in rows, touching and parallel, then stacked compactly. The cord measures the occupied stack, including its ordinary air spaces. It does not mean 128 cubic feet of solid wood fiber.

HomeGuide’s 2026 guide uses a pile 4 feet high, 4 feet deep or wide, and 8 feet long as the typical form because `4 × 4 × 8 = 128`. Those dimensions are a useful visual reference, rather than the only permitted shape. A 2-foot-high pile could still be a cord if its other dimensions multiplied to 128 cubic feet. Height, face length, and total depth decide the quantity.

Cut length changes the number of rows. With 16-inch splits, one row measuring 4 feet high by 8 feet long occupies 42.67 cubic feet: `4 × 8 × (16 ÷ 12)`. Three such rows total 128 cubic feet. If the seller leaves the rows separate, measure each row; if they are tight against one another and the splits are consistent, measure the combined 4-foot depth.

Neither piece count nor weight establishes a cord. Two stacks can both occupy 128 cubic feet while containing different numbers of splits because diameters and splitting patterns differ. Moisture and species also change weight. A seller may provide those details to describe the fuel, but the quantity test for ordinary cordwood remains the compact stack’s cubic volume.

Handbook 130 also provides for a delivery ticket or sales invoice for unpackaged firewood. Its model wording calls for vendor and purchaser names and addresses, delivery date, quantity delivered, any different quantity on which the price is based, the delivered amount’s price, and the wood’s commercial identity. State adoption and enforcement vary, so treat the handbook as the measurement reference and your state or local weights-and-measures office as the authority for a dispute.

Why can a face cord or rick be smaller than expected?

A face cord or rick usually describes a single visible face of wood, often 4 feet high and 8 feet long. The name leaves out depth, which is commonly the cut length. That missing measurement can turn the same-looking face into one-third, three-eighths, or one-half of a cord.

| Advertised amount | Height × face length × depth | Stacked volume | Share of a full cord | |---|---:|---:|---:| | Full cord | Any compact stack totaling 128 ft³ | 128 ft³ | 1 cord | | Face cord or rick, 16-inch splits | 4 ft × 8 ft × (16/12 ft) | 42.67 ft³ | 1/3 cord | | Face cord or rick, 18-inch splits | 4 ft × 8 ft × 1.5 ft | 48 ft³ | 3/8 cord | | Face cord or rick, depth unstated | 4 ft × 8 ft × unknown | Cannot be calculated | Cannot be calculated |

NIST’s model regulation prohibits “face cord,” “rack,” “pile,” “truckload,” and similar terms in firewood sales. That provision matters even where local custom still uses “rick”: custom does not supply the omitted inches. Ask the seller to state the quantity as a cord fraction or in cubic feet, then put the actual stacked dimensions on the invoice.

Price comparisons need the same correction. A hypothetical 16-inch face cord at $150 works out to $450 per full-cord equivalent because it takes three. An 18-inch face at $160 occupies 48 cubic feet, so `128 ÷ 48 × $160` gives $426.67 per cord. The second sticker price is higher; the equivalent-cord price is lower.

For sixteen years at salvage intake, I trusted a drawer joint before a grand period label. I use the same order here. “Face cord seasoned hardwood” sounds specific, yet the verifiable clues are the pile’s three dimensions, the cut length, and the moisture reading.

How do you measure a delivered cord?

Measure after the wood is stacked. A loose mound in a dump trailer contains larger and less consistent air spaces, so its outside dimensions cannot be compared directly with NIST’s ranked-and-well-stowed cord.

1. Keep the advertisement and delivery ticket, then photograph the load before moving it. If the seller promised one cord of firewood delivered, the ticket should say “1 cord” rather than “one truckload.”
2. Stack the splits in compact, parallel rows with adjacent pieces touching. Do not crush natural gaps or fill hollows with chips; ordinary spaces between irregular splits belong in a stacked cord.
3. Measure the pile’s height and face length in feet. Measure total row depth as well. Where piece lengths vary, take measurements in several parts of the stack and use a defensible average rather than selecting the longest split.
4. Multiply height by face length by total depth. Convert inches to feet first by dividing by 12, then divide the resulting cubic feet by 128 to find the cord fraction. Photograph the tape in place and record the arithmetic beside the delivery date.

The useful formulas are:

`stacked cubic feet = height × face length × total depth`

`cords delivered = stacked cubic feet ÷ 128`

Suppose three rows are each 4 feet high and 8 feet long, but the average split is 15 inches instead of the quoted 16. Their combined volume is `4 × 8 × (15 ÷ 12) × 3 = 120 cubic feet`. The delivery is 0.9375 cord, short by 8 cubic feet or 6.25 percent. If the pile merely has an unfamiliar shape and still reaches 128 cubic feet, it is a full cord.

An uneven top calls for sections, not a generous reading from the highest split. Imagine an 8-foot face that is 4 feet high across its first 4 feet and 3.5 feet high across the next 4, with a uniform 4-foot depth. Calculate `(4 × 4 × 4) + (3.5 × 4 × 4) = 120 cubic feet`. A photograph of each section with the tape visible makes that arithmetic repeatable.

Measure vertical height and horizontal length. A tape laid along a leaning end or sloping top records a diagonal longer than the stack’s true dimension. If the pile is too irregular to divide cleanly, restack it into straighter rows, then repeat the vertical and horizontal measurements.

Do not subtract every visible hole between crooked splits. NIST deliberately defines the sale by compact stacked volume, not by liquid displacement or the amount of sawdust the wood could become. Parallel rows and honest outside measurements are the reproducible test.

What should you do when the stack comes out short?

Send the seller one compact record: the promised amount, invoice, photographs, measured height, face length, depth, calculated cubic feet, and shortage. “The stack is 120 cubic feet, or 0.9375 cord” gives both parties something they can check. “The truck looked small” does not.

Ask first for the missing volume to be delivered. In the 120-cubic-foot example, that is 8 stacked cubic feet. A proportional refund is another possible settlement, though delivery and stacking charges may have been priced separately. Keep those fees outside the volume calculation unless the invoice combines everything into one indivisible price.

For a single-price $400 cord that measures 6.25 percent short, the wood-only proportion is $25. That calculation is useful evidence, not an automatic legal remedy. A replacement delivery often produces the cleaner outcome because it restores the quantity on the ticket without asking either side to assign a new value to mileage or labor.

Give the seller a chance to inspect the stack before you burn or rearrange it. If the disagreement remains, contact the weights-and-measures program in your state agriculture or consumer-protection agency. Supply the original ad as well as the invoice: a listing that used “truckload” or omitted the face-cord depth may matter independently of the final measurement.

A stack that comes out different is not automatically short. Four feet by 4 feet by 8 feet is the recognizable shape, while 128 cubic feet is the controlling quantity. Recalculate any odd shape before asking for correction.

Do the check promptly. Once part of the load has been burned, mixed with older stock, or moved into several bins, the original delivery becomes harder to reconstruct. The best record shows one identifiable load, one compact stack, and measurements taken before consumption.

What should a fair 2026 firewood quote include?

HomeGuide reports a 2026 planning range of $275 to $400 for a full cord of split, seasoned hardwood, with local delivery up to 15 miles. Its guide lists $25 to $100 per load, or roughly $2 to $3 per mile, for deliveries beyond 15 miles. Those figures are a comparison baseline; species, season, region, stacking, and access to the drop point change an actual quote.

Compare local offers on equal terms. Each written quote should state 128 stacked cubic feet, species or mix, target moisture reading, requested cut length, delivery mileage included, the extra-mile charge, and whether the driver dumps or stacks. A half cord of wood price cannot be doubled blindly when one seller includes stacking and another leaves a loose load at the curb.

Distance has a second cost. The Don’t Move Firewood campaign says 10 miles or less is best and 50 miles is too far as a general rule of thumb, because transported firewood can carry invasive forest pests. A state quarantine can impose a stricter limit. HomeGuide’s 15-mile pricing radius and the campaign’s 10-mile ecological preference answer different questions; favor the closer legal source when you have the choice.

Searching for a cord of wood near me is only the opening move. The useful result is a seller close enough to name the wood’s origin, show the included delivery distance, and quote a standardized volume in writing.

Which wood details matter after the volume checks out?

Moisture should be a number

The EPA’s archived Burn Wise guidance says wood burns best below 20 percent moisture content and recommends checking it with a wood-moisture meter before burning. It also advises seasoning wood for at least six months, but elapsed time does not prove the reading: climate, split size, species, and storage exposure alter drying.

Ask the seller to split a representative piece and test the newly exposed interior, then repeat with pieces from different parts of the load. A reading on bark or a sun-dried end can miss wetter material at the center. “Seasoned” is a description; “18 percent on the fresh split face” is a result you can record.

There is no wind tonight, and the hollow knock of two dry splits carries from a surprising distance. EPA lists that hollow sound as a clue to seasoned wood. It remains a clue. Record the meter reading to determine whether the tested pieces meet your below-20-percent target.

Cut length must suit the appliance

Cord volume does not standardize log length. Check the appliance manual before ordering, and specify a cut length shorter than the stated maximum when loading clearance is tight. Drolet’s official Escape 1500 specification, for example, lists a maximum log length of 18 inches. A 16-inch order leaves 2 inches of nominal length margin for that stated limit.

Log length also explains pile depth. Three rows of true 16-inch pieces make 48 inches; three rows of 15-inch pieces make only 45 inches. A seller can restore the full volume by making another dimension larger, but the finished stack still has to total 128 cubic feet.

A named species should survive inspection

If a seller names a mix, ask for the proportions on the ticket. NIST’s model regulation says a representation using species groups, such as hickory and miscellaneous softwood, should state each percentage within 10 percent accuracy. That written identity makes two prices more comparable and gives you a concrete claim to inspect when the load arrives.

What should you ask before the truck leaves?

Send the measurement terms before placing the order. This version closes the gaps that cause most arguments:

> Please quote one full cord: 128 cubic feet after compact stacking. State the species or mix, moisture reading you will show on a freshly split piece, average cut length, miles included in delivery, extra-mile fee, and whether stacking is included. Put the quantity and total price on the delivery ticket.

At the drop, verify the ticket, measure a few splits against the length ordered, and witness the moisture test before the seller leaves. Stack and calculate the volume before burning any of it. If your pile differs, you will have the promise, the condition at delivery, and the measured result in one record.

What else do buyers ask about a cord of wood?

How much wood is a full cord?

A full cord contains 128 cubic feet of firewood when pieces are ranked and well stowed, NIST Handbook 130’s terms for compact rows with pieces touching and parallel. The familiar stack is 4 feet high, 4 feet deep, and 8 feet long, though other dimensions may equal the same volume.

How much should I pay for a cord of firewood?

HomeGuide’s January 2026 cost guide puts split, seasoned hardwood at $275 to $400 per full cord with delivery up to 15 miles. Treat that as a planning range. Compare local written quotes for the same 128-cubic-foot amount, species, moisture reading, cut length, delivery radius, and stacking service.

Can a half cord fit in a truck bed?

A loose half cord should not be assumed to fit safely in a pickup bed. It equals 64 stacked cubic feet, and HomeGuide estimates 1,250 to 2,500 pounds. Bed volume and payload differ by truck; check the vehicle label and use a trailer or delivery service if either limit is exceeded.

How much is a cord of wood in feet?

A cord is 128 cubic feet of stacked wood. The familiar dimensions are 4 feet high by 4 feet deep by 8 feet long. Multiplying those figures gives 128. The pile may use another shape, provided its measured height, face length, and total depth still multiply to 128 cubic feet.

What are the stacked dimensions and cut length?

For a conventional full cord of 16-inch splits, expect three rows, each about 4 feet high and 8 feet long; together their depth is 4 feet. Cut length is not fixed by the cord definition. Confirm it against your appliance manual; the Drolet Escape 1500 specification lists an 18-inch maximum.

What moisture reading is the seller willing to show?

Ask for a reading below 20 percent, the threshold in EPA Burn Wise guidance. Have the seller split a representative piece and place a wood-moisture meter on the newly exposed interior, then repeat with pieces from different parts of the load. A bark or weathered-end reading can miss wetter wood inside.