A half cord is 64 cubic feet of stacked wood, exactly half of the 128 cubic feet in a full cord. Unlike a face cord, the term means one thing, and that alone makes it a safer unit to buy in.
What it looks like stacked
Sixty four cubic feet can be arranged any number of ways. The common ones:
- 4 ft high by 4 ft deep by 4 ft long
- 4 ft high by 8 ft long by 2 ft deep, which is a 24 inch cut
- 2 ft high by 8 ft long by 4 ft deep
All three hold the same wood. What matters is the product of the three dimensions, not the shape of the pile.
That third arrangement is worth noting, because a half cord stacked at 24 inch cut length is also exactly one face cord. This is the one case where the two terms coincide, and it is where a lot of confusion comes from.
Half cord, face cord and quarter cord
| Unit | Cubic feet | Fraction of a cord | Ambiguous? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full cord | 128 | 1 | No |
| Half cord | 64 | 0.5 | No |
| Quarter cord | 32 | 0.25 | No |
| Face cord at 16 in | 42.7 | 0.33 | Yes, depends on cut |
| Face cord at 12 in | 32 | 0.25 | Yes, depends on cut |
The fractions of a cord are arithmetic. The face cord is a description of a stack face, and it only becomes a quantity once you know the cut length. If you have a choice, buy in halves and quarters.
What it should cost
A half cord should cost half the local full cord price, plus whatever delivery costs. In practice sellers often charge slightly more than half, and there is a legitimate reason: delivery is the same trip whether the truck is full or not, and the handling per cubic foot is higher on small orders.
A reasonable premium is 10 to 20 percent over half the full cord price. Much beyond that and you are better off buying a full cord and splitting it with a neighbour, if you have the space.
Run the numbers on the cord of wood calculator, which converts whatever you were quoted into a price per full cord so you can see the premium plainly.
Weight, and why it matters for delivery
A half cord of seasoned hardwood weighs somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500 pounds. Green, it can approach 2,500 pounds, because freshly cut wood can be half water by weight.
This is why collecting it yourself is usually a false economy. A half ton pickup is rated for 1,000 pounds of payload, and a half cord of green oak is well past that. Two trips in an overloaded truck costs more in fuel and risk than a delivery fee.
How long a half cord lasts
It depends entirely on how you burn it.
- Occasional fires, a few evenings a week in a fireplace: a half cord can last a full winter.
- Regular supplemental heat, a stove running evenings and weekends: six to ten weeks.
- Primary heat in a cold climate: three to six weeks.
If wood is your main heat source, a half cord is a top up rather than a season’s supply. Households heating primarily with wood in the northern states typically go through four to six full cords a winter.
Storing it
The same rules apply as for any quantity. Off the ground on pallets or rails, single row if you can, sides open to the wind, cover the top only. A stack covered to the ground traps moisture rising out of the soil and stays wet regardless of how long it sits.
Sixty four cubic feet is a manageable amount to store properly, which is another argument for buying in halves: it is easier to stack a half cord well than to stack a full cord badly.