How Much Wood Is in a Rick? (Rick of Wood Calculator)
A rick of wood (often misspelled or misheard as a “rock” of wood) is a stack the same 4 ft height and 8 ft length as a full cord, but only one row deep. Its volume is 4 x 8 x your log length, in feet — a rick of 16-inch logs is about 42.7 cubic feet, roughly one-third of a full 128 cubic foot cord.
Quick Answer
A rick of wood (often misspelled or misheard as a “rock” of wood) is a stack the same 4 ft height and 8 ft length as a full cord, but only one row deep. Its volume is 4 x 8 x your log length, in feet — a rick of 16-inch logs is about 42.7 cubic feet, roughly one-third of a full 128 cubic foot cord.
How Much Wood Is in a Rick? (Rick of Wood Calculator)
This page corrects a common mix-up: there’s no such thing as wood measured “in a rock” — the real firewood term is a rick (also called a face cord). Enter your log length below to see the volume and cord fraction.
Enter your values and click calculate.
How to Use This Calculator
A rick (face cord) is one row deep; a full cord is a stack of ricks placed back to back to reach 128 cubic feet total.
Since a rick isn’t a legally standardized measurement, its actual volume depends entirely on how long the individual logs are cut.
Multiply the fixed 4 ft height by the fixed 8 ft length by the log length (in feet) for total cubic feet.
Divide each seller’s price by their actual cubic footage to compare fairly, rather than comparing “per rick” prices with different log lengths.
Formula
Cubic feet per rick = 4 ft x 8 ft x Log length (ft) = 32 x (Log length in inches / 12). Fraction of a cord = Cubic feet per rick / 128.
Rick Size by Log Length
| Log length | Cubic feet per rick | Fraction of a full cord |
|---|---|---|
| 12 in | 32.0 cu ft | 0.25 (1/4 cord) |
| 16 in | 42.7 cu ft | 0.33 (1/3 cord) |
| 20 in | 53.3 cu ft | 0.42 |
| 24 in | 64.0 cu ft | 0.50 (1/2 cord) |
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Treating a “rick” as a standardized legal unit the way a full cord is — it isn’t, and sellers use different log lengths.
- Comparing rick prices between sellers without checking their actual log length, which can make an apparently cheaper rick the worse deal per cubic foot.
- Confusing “rick,” “face cord,” and “rank,” which are regional synonyms for the same one-row-deep stack.
- Searching for wood “in a rock” — this is a common misspelling or mishearing of the real firewood term, “rick.”
When the Estimate May Be Wrong
Because a rick is not legally defined the way a full cord is, its real volume depends entirely on the seller’s log length and how tightly the wood is stacked. Always ask for the log length (or a photo with a tape measure) before comparing prices between sellers, or convert everyone’s rick to cubic feet using this calculator first.
FAQs
Is a rick the same as a face cord?
Yes — “rick,” “face cord,” and “rank” are regional names for the same one-row-deep stack that shares a full cord’s 4 ft height and 8 ft length.
How many ricks are in a full cord?
About 3 ricks of 16-inch logs make roughly one full cord, since each rick of that log length is about one-third of a cord’s 128 cubic feet.
Why does my search show “how much wood is in a rock”?
This is almost always a misspelling or mishearing of “rick” — there’s no meaningful firewood measurement based on literal rocks; the correct term for this one-row firewood stack is a rick.
Why isn’t a rick a standardized measurement?
Unlike a full cord, which is legally defined in most US states as 128 cubic feet, a rick’s actual volume depends on the seller’s log length, which varies by region and firebox size.
Sources and Methodology
Rick/face cord definitions and the one-third-of-a-cord approximation for standard 16 in logs reflect widely published firewood industry references and firewood-seller guidance as of 2026; because “rick” is not a legally standardized unit, always confirm log length directly with your seller.
