Concerns keep rising about the cost of energy and staying warm in the home. So, it’s little wonder that many people are looking for dependable firewood to keep warm through the winter.
Nothing beats a roaring fire—the look, the sound, the smell, the warmth. But choosing the right amount of firewood means you’re able to make that blissful inferno in the hearth last longer and produce a better level of fuel economy.
It’s for reasons like this that buying a face cord of wood is often the best choice. It’s understandable if you’re not familiar with the lingo and jargon of the firewood industry, but there’s no need to worry.
We’re going to help you get up to speed by reviewing what a face cord of firewood is and why it’s the right size to meet your needs.
Take these insights to heart and your hearth, and you’ll be cozy in no time!
What’s a Face Cord of Wood?
Chances are you’ve seen and admired a face cord of wood countless times but not known it. That’s perfectly natural since a face cord’s size and shape are both aesthetically pleasing and practical for homeowners.
Imagine a cozy log cabin in the woods, fresh out of a Kinkade painting. Snow is blanketing the roof and the garden, and lights are on in the windows.
By the side of that cabin stands a stack of evenly chopped firewood under a shelter. The stack measures four feet high, eight feet wide and sixteen inches in depth.
That stack is a face cord of firewood packed and ready for whenever the homeowner needs it. It’s a mental picture we’ve all seen a hundred times, and now you know the name for it!
How Big is a Face Cord of Firewood?
There are some minor variations in face cord wood size between one provider and the next. However, we at Lumberjacks follow the industry best practices by consistently offering a face cord of wood sized four feet high by eight feet long by sixteen inches deep.
We stack our face cords manually to check that each measurement is accurate ahead of every delivery for our customers.
Depending on the provider, the depth of a face cord of wood can vary slightly. For this reason, uniformity in our measurements is crucial.
It comes down to the preferences, capabilities and operating practices of one lumber company to the next. However, the size of some face cords can be as low as twelve inches in depth. So, you may find your dollars don’t get you as much firewood as you’d like with some lumber providers.
The face cords at Lumberjacks always have these exact measurements.
What is the Difference Between a Cord of Wood and a Face Cord of Wood?
A full cord of firewood is a standard measurement in the lumber industry. It describes a volume of said material measuring 128 cubic feet. That’s four feet high, four feet wide and eight feet long. For a face cord of firewood, measurements differ.
A key difference with a face cord of wood is that it’s smaller. This is mostly to help with storage but also to make the individual firewood pieces easier to access.
A face cord of wood size will vary from one provider to the next. While the four-foot height and eight-foot length are very much standardized throughout the industry, the depth can vary between twelve to eighteen inches.
As you can imagine, this means some providers give you less firewood for your money than others. This isn’t by any mean-spirited design on their part, though. They simply measure a face cord size differently from their peers in the market.
Will a Face Cord Fit in a Pickup Truck?
A face cord of wood is very useful, but that doesn’t always mean it’s the easiest to bring home with you!
Of course, whether you can drive your face cord home in a pickup truck depends on the bed size of your vehicle. A pickup with a bed size of eight feet can potentially fit a face cord. However, you also need to account for the height with side guards, and the overall weight of the material.
Strictly speaking, we would advise against putting a face cord of firewood into your pickup truck. Even if you believe your vehicle can fit the size of the material and take the weight, the risk simply isn’t worth it. Furthermore, the repairs you might need to undertake could be terribly costly.
Instead, count on Lumberjacks to make sure you receive your face cord of wood safely. We use robust safety and handling procedures to ensure the firewood headed to our customers is conveyed responsibly and with the greatest care.
We deliver throughout the Greater Chicagoland and Southern Wisconsin regions. Anywhere between Chicago, Milwaukee and Rockford is no trouble at all for us.
Be careful to make sure your pickup truck can handle hauling a face cord of wood.
How Long Does a Face Cord of Wood Last?
Fueling a warm home for the winter can be costly. And nobody wants to invest in fuel that doesn’t go the distance. For these reasons, a face cord of kiln-dried firewood remains a popular choice no matter what the wider energy market is up to. It’s a solution to a welcoming home that has stood the test of time for centuries.
Naturally, how long a face cord of wood will last varies depending on how often you light your fireplace. In our local area, winters can be long and often unforgiving, so the rate of consumption might be higher per face cord of firewood than in other regions of the United States.
Most experts agree that if you make one or two fires at home per week, a full cord of firewood should last eight to twelve weeks. However, when estimating how long a face cord of wood will last, you must factor in that it is much smaller than a full cord of wood.
Therefore, it makes sense to split the length of time for a full cord into thirds. So, when you create one or two fires per week, a face cord of firewood can last between three to four weeks.
How you choose to use that advice is up to you, of course. Those of us fortunate enough to have ample dry and secure firewood storage in our homes can stock up on face cords of wood to last the entire winter season (or maybe a little more for a mild spring or cooler fall).
However, if budgeting or weather patterns seem a touch unpredictable, you can instead simply keep the rough estimation of one face cord of firewood per month in mind. You can contact us any time the calendar’s about to tick over and you’d like a top-up.
It’s all about making your firewood work for you. It’s here to help, after all, and how you choose to fuel your home is up to you.
If you’re interested in learning more about the best firewood for your home, check out our complete guide to kiln-dried firewood.
Taking the Confusion Out of Face Cords of Firewood
There’s so much firewood terminology and jargon out there. So, it’s completely understandable that many people who are simply trying to heat their homes with a face cord of wood can feel frustrated and confused about what to buy and when.
Hopefully, with our help, you have a better understanding of both the general face cord size you can expect and how that varies from one provider to the next. Remember, here at Lumberjacks our face cord always measures four feet high, eight feet long and sixteen inches deep.
We do that because we believe in maintaining a simple standard for our customers. You’re here to heat your homes, after all, and you want to know that you are getting the best value and the best quality.
Want a face cord of quality firewood for your home? Please call 815-337-1451 to place your order for pickup or delivery today!
