A bush cord works out to 128 cubic feet of stacked wood. Enter a quantity to convert it, and check a seller's numbers against it.
Bush cord · defined by lawCubic feet · not legally definedRuns in your browser
Quick answer
1 bush cord = 128 cubic feet
1 cubic feet = 0.00781 bush cords
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Reading
128
cubic feet
1 bush cord = 128 cubic feet · 128 ft³
What you are actually buying
Stack
4 × 8 × 48″
Face is 4 ft high by 8 ft long. Depth is whatever the logs are cut to.
Volume
128 ft³
Stacked volume, including the air between the splits.
Share of a cord
1 cd
A full cord is 128 ft³ — the legal benchmark to price against.
Legal standing
Yes
Only the cord is defined in statute in most states.
0 inTop-down view · 8 ft wide × 4 ft deep footprint48 in
48 in of 48 in depth — the shaded band is the depth you get; the rest of the 4 ft footprint is what a full cord would fill.
Signature tool
Which quote is actually cheaper?
Two sellers, two units, two species. Price per cord is not enough — oak carries nearly twice the heat of white pine. This compares dollars per MMBtu (one million British Thermal Units — a fixed unit of heat, not a brand or a volume).
Seller A
Per full cord$180.00
Per MMBtu$8.45
Seller B
Per full cord$89,600.00
Per MMBtu$4,206.57
Red oak carries 21.3 MMBtu per seasoned cord
Verdict · heat per dollar
49,677.8%more heat per dollar from Seller A.
Seller A
$8.45 /MMBtuSeller B
$4,206.57 /MMBtu
Enter a price for both sellers. The comparison normalises to a full cord, then to dollars per million BTU for the species you chose.
How this conversion works
Cubic feet are the common denominator underneath every name on this site. A bush cord resolves to 128 ft³ — a 4 ft × 8 ft face at 48 in deep. A bush cord is the full 128 ft³ — the same legally enforceable quantity, under a regional name.
Most bush cord quotes come from Canadian sellers, which makes the cubic-foot figure a useful bridge: 128 ft³ is 3.62 cubic metres. If a supplier quotes in cubic metres, that is the number to convert against, and it is the one place where the two measurement systems have to meet on a firewood invoice.
Worked example
A pickup bed 6 ft long, 4 ft wide and stacked 2 ft high holds 48 ft³ — 0.375 of a bush cord. Two of those loads still fall short of one.
Heat by species · MMBtu per cord
Black locust
26.8
Hickory
25.4
White oak
24.0
Sugar maple
21.3
Red oak
21.3
Yellow birch
20.3
Green ash
19.9
Cherry
18.4
Tamarack
17.1
White birch
16.5
White pine
13.3
Seasoned to 20 percent moisture, per full cord. Figures follow US Forest Service and state extension tables and are approximate.
Common log lengths against a 4 ft × 8 ft face. Your pair is highlighted.
Sold as
Stack
Cubic feet
Cords
Defined by law
Cord
4 × 8 × 48″
128
1.000
Yes
Bush cord
4 × 8 × 48″
128
1.000
Yes
Stove cord, 16″ cut
4 × 8 × 16″
42.7
0.333
No
Face cord, 16″ cut
4 × 8 × 16″
42.7
0.333
No
Rick, 16″ cut
4 × 8 × 16″
42.7
0.333
No
Face cord, 12″ cut
4 × 8 × 12″
32
0.250
No
Cubic feet (1)
Any
1
0.00781
n/a
Frequently asked questions
How many cubic metres is a bush cord?
+
About 3.62 m³ of stacked wood, from 128 ft³. Canadian sellers who quote in cubic metres are usually quoting stacked volume too, but confirm it — loose-thrown volume runs roughly a third higher for the same wood.
Do Canadian sellers quote stacked or loose volume?
+
Stacked, by convention and under the Weights and Measures Act. Loose or "thrown" cubic metres run about a third higher for identical wood, so confirm which one a quote refers to before converting it.
How many cubic feet are in a bush cord?
+
128 cubic feet, fixed by statute in most states. A bush cord is the full 128 ft³ — the same legally enforceable quantity, under a regional name.
Why work in cubic feet rather than bush cords?
+
Because cubic feet survive the trip between regions and sellers. The cubic foot is the measure every other name on this site resolves to, and the one that never depends on a region or a saw.
How do I measure the cubic feet of a delivery myself?
+
Restack it square, then multiply height × length × depth in feet. A stack 4 ft high, 8 ft long and 16 in (1.33 ft) deep comes to 42.7 ft³. Do it before the driver leaves.
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