Rick of Wood Dimensions: What You Actually Get for the Money

A rick is a face cord — 4 ft by 8 ft by whatever length the seller cut. That third dimension is the whole price, and nobody states it.

By Salma October 17, 2026 3 min read Save to Pinterest

Firewood stack cord — Photo: MolnarSzabolcsErdely, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay

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4 ft × 8 ft × whatever length the seller cut it to. That third number is never on the advert, and it is the entire difference between a fair price and a bad one.

The short answer

A rick — also called a face cord or stove cord — is a stack four feet high by eight feet long, by the length the pieces were cut to. The first two dimensions are fixed by convention, the third is not, and it decides how much wood you actually get. A rick cut at 16 inches is about a third of a full cord; at 12 inches it is a quarter. A full cord is 4 by 4 by 8 feet, or 128 cubic feet, and is the measure defined in law in most US states. Always ask the cut length before comparing prices.

4 ft × 8 ft × the cut length — the third number is the price
16 in cut = ⅓ cord. 12 in = ¼. 24 in = ½
A full cord is 128 cu ft and the legally defined unit
Stacked, not thrown — a heap looks a third bigger than it is
Ask the species too. Pine and oak are not the same purchase

What you are actually buying

The same rick at different cut lengths

Cut length	Volume	Fraction of a cord	Ricks per cord
12 in	32 cu ft	¼ cord	4
16 in	42.7 cu ft	⅓ cord	3
18 in	48 cu ft	0.375 cord	2.7
24 in	64 cu ft	½ cord	2

Two sellers advertising “a rick, delivered” can differ by a third of the wood at the same price. Neither is lying. Only one is telling you the number that matters.

The question to ask before the price

“What length are the pieces cut to?”

If the answer is vague, so is the quantity. Also check it suits your stove — many fireboxes take 16 inches and nothing longer, and a rick of 24-inch wood is useless if it will not fit.

Rick, face cord, cord

Rick — regional term, mostly US Midwest and South. Same thing as a face cord
Face cord — 4 × 8 × cut length. The same stack
Stove cord, run, rack — more local names for the same thing
Full cord / bush cord — 4 × 4 × 8 ft, 128 cubic feet. The legal unit in most US states, and the only one worth comparing across sellers

Some states require firewood to be sold by the cord or fraction thereof precisely because the other terms are not standardised. Where a seller quotes in ricks, converting to cords before comparing is the only way to see the real price.

Checking a delivery

Stack it in a straight row, pieces parallel, touching, ends roughly flush
Measure height, length and piece length in feet
Multiply for cubic feet
Divide by 128 for cords
Compare against what you paid for

A thrown pile occupies far more space than the same wood stacked — commonly a third more. Wood dumped in a heap and left is where almost every short measure survives, because nobody measures a heap.

Price per unit heat, not per rick

Volume is a proxy for what you actually want, which is heat. A rick of poplar holds maybe half the energy of the same rick of oak or hickory, so a cheaper load can easily cost more per hour of fire.

Ask three things and the comparison becomes real: cut length, species, and whether it is seasoned. The last one matters as much as the first — see the moisture chart for what “seasoned” has to mean.

Common questions

What are the dimensions of a rick of wood?

Four feet high by eight feet long, by whatever length the pieces were cut to. The first two numbers are fixed by convention; the third is not, and it is the one that decides how much wood you get. A rick cut at 16 inches contains roughly a third of a cord. The same rick cut at 12 inches contains about a quarter. Two sellers can quote the same price for a rick and one is selling you a third more wood than the other.

Is a rick the same as a cord?

No, and the difference is large. A full cord is a stack measuring 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet — 128 cubic feet. A rick, also called a face cord or a stove cord, is 4 feet by 8 feet by the piece length, which is usually 12 to 24 inches. Three ricks cut at 16 inches make roughly one full cord. Where firewood is sold by the rick, the cord is still the only measure defined in law in most US states, which is why disputes end up being settled in cords.

How many ricks are in a cord?

It depends entirely on the cut length. At 16 inches, three ricks make a cord. At 24 inches, two do. At 12 inches it takes four. If a seller cannot tell you the cut length, they cannot tell you what fraction of a cord you are buying, and that is reason enough to ask someone else.

How do I check I got what I paid for?

Restack it and measure. Stack the wood in a straight row, pieces parallel and touching, and measure the height, the length, and the piece length. Multiply the three in feet to get cubic feet, then divide by 128 for cords. A loosely thrown pile looks far bigger than the same wood stacked, which is why wood delivered in a heap and never stacked is where most short measures hide.

Why does the same rick weigh so differently?

Species and moisture. A rick of seasoned pine weighs around half what the same rick of green oak does, and carries considerably less heat. Buying by volume means the seller chooses the species, so it is worth asking what is in the load — a cheap rick of poplar is not a bargain against a dearer one of oak or hickory.

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Gear & Reviews · Oct 17, 2026