Firewood Stack Calculator

A full cord is 128 cubic feet of tightly stacked firewood - usually described as a stack 4 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 8 feet long. To check any stack, multiply its length x width x height in feet and divide by 128. For example, an 8 x 4 x 4 ft stack is exactly 1 cord, and a 12 x 2 x 6 ft stack (144 ft3) is 1.125 cords.

A full cord is 128 cubic feet. A face cord is a 4 x 8 ft face stacked 16 inches deep, about 42.67 cubic feet - exactly one-third of a full cord. "Rick" is a regional term, usually meaning the same as a face cord (though some sellers cut ricks 2 ft deep, which is half a cord - always ask for the depth).

It depends on species and moisture. One cord of seasoned white oak weighs about 3,863 lb (1,752 kg, 1.93 tons), while seasoned basswood is only about 2,100 lb. Fresh-cut (green) wood is much heavier - 2 cords of green red oak weigh about 9,976 lb, because water can be nearly half the weight of green wood.

Osage orange tops common charts at about 30.7 million BTU per seasoned cord, followed by shagbark hickory (29.1), black locust (28.1), and white oak (27.0). Light softwoods like basswood (14.7) and cottonwood (16.1) give roughly half the heat, so you need about twice as much. These are potential-heat values at 100% efficiency from a university extension table; your stove's efficiency (typically 60-80%) lowers delivered heat.

Roughly 300 to 700 split pieces, depending on log size. As a worked example: a 4 x 8 x 4 ft stack (128 ft3) of 16-inch-long, 5-inch-diameter splits at 70% stacking fill holds about 493 logs. Smaller splits pack more pieces into the same volume; chunkier logs mean fewer pieces.

A home heating primarily with wood in a cold climate typically needs 4 to 6 cords per winter. For a fireplace used a few evenings a week, 1 cord is usually enough for a season. Use the stack planner mode: 2 cords at a 4 ft stacking height in 16-inch rows takes a single 48 ft row (or a 24 ft double row).

Stacked off the ground with airflow and a covered top, softwoods and light hardwoods (pine, ash, cherry, cedar) need about 6-9 months; medium hardwoods (sugar maple, walnut) need 9-12 months; and dense oak, elm, and hickory need 12-18 months. Red oak cut in October 2026 is typically ready between October 2027 and April 2028 (around January 2028). Wood is ready when moisture reads below 20%.

Often, yes. At $350 per cord of shagbark hickory burned at 70% stove efficiency, heat costs about $17.18 per million BTU. At typical prices, propane at $2.50/gal (90% furnace) is about $30.36 per million BTU, heating oil at $3.80/gal (85%) about $32.28, and electric resistance heat at $0.16/kWh about $46.89. Natural gas at $1.50/therm (90%) can compete at about $16.67 per million BTU. Edit the fuel prices in the cost mode for your area.

Yes. A fire pit size calculator sizes the pit itself - diameter, seating, and clearances. This tool measures and plans the firewood supply: stack volume in cords, weight, heat content, cost comparisons, and seasoning schedules.

Yes. A BTU-to-tons converter sizes air conditioners from BTU/hr cooling loads. This tool works with BTU per cord of firewood - the total heat energy in a stack of wood - and compares heating fuel costs, which is a different calculation entirely.