Face Cord Of Kiln Dried Firewood

A face cord of firewood is a third of a cord. It is one row of firewood cut to 16-inch lengths stacked 4 feet high, and the width of the stack is 8 feet wide. So the cubic volume of a face cord 8 Feet wide by 4 feet high and 16 inches deep is 42.66 cubic feet or, as it is sometimes called, a third of a cord.

To be sure, you have a fair measure of a face cord. The second part of the definition of a face cord is that the wood should be "To be sure you have a cord, the wood should be stacked neatly in a line or row, with individual pieces touching and parallel to each other, making sure that the wood is compact and has the fewest gaps possible." This is to ensure as many pieces of wood in the pile as possible by not creating gaps and voids in stacking so you get a fair measure.

A face cord of kiln-dried firewood weighs 1,200 pounds. This fact is one of many that makes our firewood burn bright and burn right. A regular face cord of wood 8' X 4' X 16", not kiln-dried, will weigh 400 pounds more. This means you have to burn off 50 gallons of water in the wood to get it to burn. The water content creates the hissing, popping, and smoking resulting from burning wet wood.

In Massachusetts, firewood is sold by cubic volume, not by weight.

A scale graphic of a face cord firewood with Firewood Boy, who is about 4' 9". Click to enlarge.This is because the moisture content variation can greatly affect the weight. Selling a product this way would give large variations in the volume of wood you buy. This would make it hard to compare prices from different dealers.  A face cord of kiln-dried firewood weights

The terminology problem - how much wood

A Face Cord of Kiln Dried Firewood Delivered In Weston, MassachusettsIt is sort of like how much wood can a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Don't get turned around by terms that are not clear. When buying firewood, be specific in your questions when you hear terms like a truckload of wood, fireplace cords, stove cord, furnace cord, pick up full, bushels, thrown cord, loose cord, or rack of wood. Be clear in your understanding of how much wood by stacked volume you expect to get from who you are going to buy wood from. It has to be a fair deal for both the buyer and the seller with clear communication.

Massachusetts has no legal definition for purchasing a smaller quantity of firewood other than a full cord. So, we want to be very clear in what we mean when referring to the term a face cord of firewood. It is one row of firewood that is a third of a cord. Our service is based on the knowledge that people want to buy quantities of firewood for less than a full cord. Much of our wood is sold to people who want convenience and good wood that burns well, not whole house heating. The amount ordered is based on how often they burn wood, how much storage space there is for the wood, and how often they are home to relax by the fire. In the Boston area, not many people have a woodshed anymore. Most people want bug-free firewood stacked conveniently inside close to the fireplace. If we insisted that all they could buy was a full cord, it just would not make sense.

Keep in mind that with some firewood suppliers, if the lengths of wood are shorter, then the other dimension has to change to get the same volume, or you are not comparing the same quantity of wood if choosing from two different suppliers. Woodcut, short for a small wood stove, would be a good example of the volume being very different. The common usage of the term face cord does NOT include a depth specification. We hold to a depth of 16 inches, so you get the full 42.66 cubic feet of firewood you expect to get. For people custom-ordering different log lengths, we have a firewood calculator to determine the stacked pile dimensions.

Buying firewood? Confirm the volume terms being used.

A face cord is equal to a third of a cord of wood when purchased from Boston Firewood.com. Each log is measured and cut to 16" lengths on the wood processor' cutting table before being split to keep it a consistent, verifiable measure of the wood you are buying. Picture a cord of wood stacked with three rows of wood being blocky, forming a stable cube that will not easily topple over. The face cord is just one row and would probably be stacked in a rack for support or in another shape. If this is the case and you want to avoid the volume math, check out our firewood calculator. Just put in the dimensions H X W X D, and you get the cubic volume.

A Rick of Firewood

A rick of firewood is another term often used to mean the same thing as a face cord. Do not assume this, but confirm there is an understanding of the dimensions of the wood being bought stacked firewood 4 feet high, 8 feet wide, and 16" deep. Some firewood dealers use the confusion over measurement terms to deliver less wood and get paid more if the consumer is not familiar with buying firewood often, and it is mostly for ambiance. Purchasing firewood from a supplier is not inherently confusing, but be careful that what you are asking about is the same as what the supplier understands it to be.

buying a face cord of wood

Bostonfirewood.com sells kiln-dried firewood in the Boston Metropolitan area and Metro West, typically stopping around the distance of Framingham, Massachusetts. Our product and service are different from others in that we only sell kiln-dried firewood. We also know that people want to enjoy a fire in the fireplace that burns right and burns brightly. They do not want a lot of labor or a mess around the house brought in with the wood. Storage of the wood needs to be convenient, not huge piles, and without fear of bringing termites or pests into the house. We do not mandate that you can only buy cord quantities of firewood.  For firewood delivery, the minimum you can buy delivered is a quarter cord of wood. The next size up is a half cord for those who have space and burn more. For those who want less, we do offer a pick-up service in our yard in Dedham, Massachusetts, for any amount of bundles you want. Our bundles are 1.5 cubic feet, so you can handle more wood with fewer trips than buying gas station bundles, typically .75 cubic feet of firewood. 

We deliver kiln dried firewood in the following quanties;

To order, call Paul at 781-254-2773 Request for quote page