Measured a stack and got cubic feet? Enter it here to see what that is in face cords — and what the same wood is worth as a cord.
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).
Start from a measurement rather than a name and the ambiguity disappears. Every 42.7 ft³ you enter is one face cord, stacked 4 ft × 8 ft at 16 in deep. Because the depth is whatever the saw decided, a face cord is the one unit here whose volume you cannot know from the name alone.
This is the conversion for a partial or disputed load. When a delivery is smaller than anything with a name, measuring it in cubic feet and expressing the result as a fraction of a face cord gives you a figure to put in a message to the seller — one that does not depend on either side agreeing what a face cord is.
You measure a delivered stack at 8 ft long, 4 ft high and 18 in deep: 48 ft³, or 1.125 face cords. Rounding that up to "one face cord" on the invoice would cost you 12.5 percent of the wood.
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 |
In cubic feet first, then as a fraction: "the stack measured 4 ft × 8 ft × 12 in, which is 32 ft³, or 0.75 of the 16 in face cord invoiced." Numbers with dimensions attached are far harder to argue with than a unit name.
A short-bed pickup stacked level holds roughly 32 ft³ — about three quarters of a 16 in face cord. A full-size bed stacked to the rails comes closer to a whole one. Neither is a cord, whatever the ad says.
One cubic foot is 0.0234 of a face cord at the standard 16 in cut. Because the depth is whatever the saw decided, a face cord is the one unit here whose volume you cannot know from the name alone.
Multiply height × length × depth in feet to get cubic feet, then enter that above. A 4 ft × 8 ft × 4 ft stack is 128 ft³, which is 3 face cords.
Less so than a cord. Two sellers can both advertise a face cord and deliver amounts that differ by half, purely because one cuts at 12 in and the other at 18 in. Get the cut length in the ad or the invoice. "Face cord" without a number beside it is not a quantity.