Cord of wood dimensions
A full cord is 4 ft high by 4 ft deep by 8 ft long: 128 cubic feet stacked. Move the sliders to see any stack drawn to scale, in feet, inches and metres.
- Stacked volume
- 128.0 cu ft
- Dimensions
- 4 ft × 4 ft × 8 ft
- In metres
- 1.22 × 1.22 × 2.44 m
- Cubic metres
- 3.62 m³
A full cord is 128 cubic feet, stacked. The diagram is drawn to scale and updates as you move the sliders.
Every cord size, with its dimensions
Full, half and quarter cords are fractions of 128 cubic feet, so their dimensions follow from arithmetic. The stacks below all assume the conventional 4 foot height and 8 foot length, leaving the depth to carry the difference.
| Unit | Dimensions | Cubic feet | Cubic metres | Fraction of a cord |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full cord | 4 ft × 4 ft × 8 ft | 128.0 | 3.62 | 1.00 |
| Half cord (1/2) | 4 ft × 2 ft × 8 ft | 64.0 | 1.81 | 0.50 |
| Quarter cord (1/4) | 4 ft × 1 ft × 8 ft | 32.0 | 0.91 | 0.25 |
| Face cord at 16 in | 4 ft × 1 ft 4 in × 8 ft | 42.7 | 1.21 | 0.33 |
Face cord dimensions at each cut length
A face cord fixes the height at 4 feet and the length at 8 feet. The cut length is the depth, and it is the number that decides how much wood you are actually buying.
| Cut length | Dimensions | Cubic feet | Fraction of a cord |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 in | 4 ft × 1 ft × 8 ft | 32.0 | 0.25 |
| 14 in | 4 ft × 1 ft 2 in × 8 ft | 37.3 | 0.29 |
| 16 in | 4 ft × 1 ft 4 in × 8 ft | 42.7 | 0.33 |
| 18 in | 4 ft × 1 ft 6 in × 8 ft | 48.0 | 0.38 |
| 20 in | 4 ft × 1 ft 8 in × 8 ft | 53.3 | 0.42 |
| 24 in | 4 ft × 2 ft × 8 ft | 64.0 | 0.50 |
Why a cord is 4 by 4 by 8
The dimensions are a historical convention that stuck, then got written into law. Four feet was a practical height to stack by hand without the pile toppling, and eight feet was a standard length of cut timber. Four feet deep came from the four foot logs that were hauled out of the woods before chainsaws made shorter cuts easy.
What survived into statute is the volume, not the shape. Most US states define a cord as 128 cubic feet of ranked and well stowed wood, and the 4 by 4 by 8 stack is simply the arrangement that produces it. A stack 2 feet high, 8 feet deep and 8 feet long is exactly as much wood, and exactly as legal to sell as a cord.
In practice nobody stacks 4 feet deep, because pieces cut to 4 feet do not fit any stove. A cord is normally delivered as three stacks of 16 inch pieces, each 4 feet high and 8 feet long, which is where the idea that a cord is "three face cords" comes from.
Measuring a delivery against these dimensions
Measure after stacking, never from a dumped pile. Loose wood occupies roughly one and a half times the space of the same wood stacked, so a heap that looks generous in the driveway can stack down to noticeably less than you ordered.
- Stack the wood tightly, pieces parallel, ends roughly aligned.
- Measure the height and the length of the face, in feet.
- Measure the depth, which is the cut length of the pieces.
- Multiply the three, then divide by 128 to get cords.
A few percent either way is normal, because stacking tightness genuinely differs. Twenty percent short is not a stacking difference. Thecord of wood calculatordoes the same arithmetic and also converts what you paid into a price per full cord.
Cord dimensions in metric
A full cord is 1.22 m high by 1.22 m deep by 2.44 m long, or 3.62 cubic metres stacked. The nearest European unit is the stère, which is one cubic metre of stacked wood, so a cord is roughly 3.6 stères. Canadian sellers quote in both, and the full cord there means the same 128 cubic feet it does in the United States.
Common questions
What are the dimensions of a cord of wood?
Four feet high by four feet deep by eight feet long, which multiplies to 128 cubic feet. That is the statutory definition in most US states. Any other stack totalling 128 cubic feet is equally a cord, so 2 ft high by 8 ft deep by 8 ft long holds exactly the same wood.
What are the dimensions of a 1/2 cord of wood?
A 1/2 cord is 64 cubic feet, exactly half a full cord. Stacked 4 feet high and 8 feet long it is 2 feet deep, which means pieces cut to 24 inches. Stacked 4 ft by 4 ft it is 4 feet long. The arrangement can vary, the 64 cubic feet cannot.
What are the dimensions of a 1/4 cord of wood?
A 1/4 cord is 32 cubic feet. At the usual 4 foot height and 8 foot length that is 1 foot deep, so pieces cut to 12 inches. It is the smallest quantity most yards will deliver.
How many cubic feet are in a cord of wood?
One hundred and twenty eight. The measurement is of the stack, not of the wood, so the air gaps between the pieces count. A cord contains roughly 80 to 90 cubic feet of actual solid wood depending on how straight the splits are and how tightly it was stacked.
What size is a face cord of wood?
Four feet high and eight feet long, at whatever depth the pieces were cut. The depth is the missing number: at a 16 inch cut a face cord is 42.7 cubic feet, a third of a cord. At 12 inches it is 32 cubic feet, only a quarter. The term fixes two dimensions out of three.
What are the dimensions of a cord of wood in metres?
A full cord is 1.22 m high by 1.22 m deep by 2.44 m long, which is 3.62 cubic metres. The European equivalent unit is the stère, one cubic metre stacked, so a cord is roughly 3.6 stères.
Will a cord of wood fit in a pickup truck?
No. A full cord is 128 cubic feet and a standard 8 foot pickup bed holds roughly 40 to 50 cubic feet loaded level, so a cord takes two to three trips. Weight binds before volume does: a cord of seasoned hardwood runs over two tons, well past a half ton truck payload.
Related
Cord of wood calculator
Measure your stack, convert it to cords, and check the price you paid.
What is a 1/2 cord of wood
Sixty four cubic feet, what it weighs, what it costs and how long it burns.
What is a face cord
Why the same word can mean a third of a cord or a quarter of one.
How much a cord of wood weighs
Weight by species, and why volume is never the constraint on a truck.
How much a cord of wood costs
Regional ranges and what counts as a fair quote for the volume.