The cord is a unit of measure of dry

volume Volume is a measure of regions in three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch) ...

used to measure

firewood Firewood is any wooden material that is gathered and used for fuel. Generally, firewood is not heavily processed, and is in some sort of firelog, recognizable log or branch form, compared to other forms of wood fuel like pellet fuel, pellets. ...

and

pulpwood Pulpwood can be defined as timber that is ground and processed into a fibrous pulp. It is a versatile natural resource commonly used for Papermaking, paper-making but also made into low-grade wood and used for chips, energy, pellets, and engineered ...

in the United States and Canada. A cord is the amount of wood that, when "racked and well stowed" (arranged so pieces are aligned, parallel, touching, and compact), occupies a volume of . This corresponds to a well-stacked woodpile high, wide, and deep; or any other arrangement of linear measurements that yields the same volume. The name ''cord'' probably comes from the use of a cord or string to measure it. The face cord is a unit of volume for stacked firewood, high, wide, and deep—equal to 1/3 of a cord. The symbol for the unit is fc - cd.

Definitions

In Canada, the cord is legally defined by

Measurement Canada Measurement Canada () is a special operating agency of the Government of Canada's Innovation, Science and Economic Development portfolio, in the Small Business, Tourism and Marketplace Services sector. The agency's mandate is to ensure the integ ...

. The cord is one of three legal standards for the sale of firewood in Canada: stacked cubic meter (or

stere The stere or stère (st) is a unit of volume in the original metric system equal to one cubic metre. The stere is typically used for measuring large quantities of firewood or other cut wood, while the cubic meter is used for uncut wood. The ...

), cubic foot, and cord. In the United States, the cord is defined by

statute A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

in most states. The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology Handbook 130, section 2.4.1.2, defines a cord and provides uniform regulations for the sale of fireplace and stove wood. In the

metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...

, wood is usually measured in

s and

cubic meter The cubic metre (in Commonwealth English and international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or cubic meter (in American English) is the unit of volume in the International System of Units (SI). Its symbol is m ...

s: 1

= 1 m³ ≈ 0.276 cords.

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

appears unique among U.S. states by also defining a "loose thrown cord" or pile of cut firewood: "A cord of in length shall mean the amount of wood, bark, and air contained in a space of ; and a cord of wood in length shall mean the amount of wood, bark, and air contained in a space of . 981, c. 219 (amd). Other non-official terms for firewood volume include ''standing cord'', ''kitchen cord'', ''running cord'', ''

face cord A face cord is an informal measurement for stacked firewood, sometimes called a rick Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and televis ...

'', ''fencing cord'', ''country cord'', ''long cord'', and ''

rick Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...

'', all subject to local variation. These are usually taken to mean a well-stacked pile of wood in which the logs are shorter or longer than in a legal cord, to accommodate various burners. For example, a face cord commonly consists of wood that is long. The volume of a face cord therefore is typically 1/3 of the volume of a full cord even though it is long and high. A face cord is also called a ''rick'' in the midwestern United States. The term is used in other English-speaking countries, such as New Zealand, but may not have a legal definition.

Heating value

One seasoned (dry) cord of

Northern red oak ''Quercus rubra'', the northern red oak, is an oak tree in the red oak group (''Quercus'' section ''Lobatae''). It is a native of North America, in the eastern and central United States and southeast and south-central Canada. It has been intro ...

with a heating value of has the heating equivalent of of

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil (bunker fuel), marine f ...

with a heating value of .

Australia

Until

metrication in Australia Metrication in Australia effectively began in 1966 with the Decimalisation#Australia and New Zealand, conversion to decimal currency under the auspices of the Decimal Currency Board. The conversion of measurements—metrication—started in 197 ...

, an imperial cord was a measurement for wood and

. The measurements for a cord of wood were 4 feet high by 8 feet wide by 4 feet deep, or usually a stack of wood containing 128 cubic feet (cu ft). The imperial cord enclosed 128 cu ft.

France

The ''corde'' was a unit of volume used before metrication in several French-speaking countries (France, Belgium and Luxembourg). Its value varied from depending on the region.

References

External links

Nova Scotia Natural Resources Information Circular DNR - 1A: "Guide to buying and measuring stacked firewood"
{{United States Customary Units Customary units of measurement in the United States Units of volume Logging