On these frigid mornings (today was 18*F), our team spends the coldest hours of the day splitting all of the firewood that will be used in the Clubhouse this coming season. We've done this for the last 10 years. The Clubhouse alone uses about 4 cords of wood per year. With our specialized splitter, we are able to split pieces of wood that are 36" long to fit our fireboxes nicely.
Setting the Record Straight: A Full Cord, A Face Cord, and a Rick
A cord is defined as 128 cubic feet of wood. This measures approximately 4' high x 8' long x 4' deep.
Some places that sell firewood might advertise a cord of wood while selling you only a fraction of a cord. This is common in Highlands where some refer to a pickup truck as a cord of wood. It would require multiple truck loads to get the equivalent of a cord.
This sometimes happens when they offer you what's called a face cord. Like a full cord of firewood, a face cord measures 4' high x 8' long, but face cords can vary as to how deep they measure. Face cords often measure 4' high x 8' long x 16" deep. Yes, that's 16 inches.
This means that your typical face cord contains only one-third the amount of wood as a full cord. If you find a face cord that measures 4' high x 8' long x 24" deep, then you're getting a half-cord of wood.
One way to tell if you're looking at a full cord of wood is to count how many rows of wood are stacked together. Firewood logs are often cut 16" long, so a stack of firewood that contains three rows of 16" logs (16" x 3 = 48", or 4') is likely to be a full cord. As long as the stack still measures 4' high x 8' long, that is.
Additionally, you might hear some sellers refer to a rick of wood. Some people use the term to refer to a face cord of wood; others use it just to describe the amount of wood that can be loaded into a pickup.
The use of different names isn't always done maliciously. A lot of times, it's a matter of confusion. To avoid confusion, be sure to measure before you buy.