How Much is a Rick of Wood?

A rick of wood is a 4 x 8-foot stack of piled standard cord. It is a description of the way the cord is stacked.

But, what is a cord?

Read on to find out more about the firewood supply market’s basic industry jargon.

What is a Rick of Wood?

A rick of wood is how a cord is stacked. It is also often called a face cord.

A rick can also refer to any stack left in the open air, such as hay. So you have a rick of hay.

What is a Cord of Wood?

A cord is a unit of measure of dry volume. It is used to measure firewood and pulp wood in the United States and Canada.

The cord-foot was a U.S. unit of volume for stacked firewood 4 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 1 foot high. which is equal to one-eighth (1/8) of a cord. Its unit symbol is cd-ft.

A standard cord measures 4 x 4 x 8 feet in height, length, and width-depth, or 128 cubic feet. A cord of firewood and a full cord is often the same thing. It’s also called “full”, “bush”, and “stove”.

A full cord is usually too large for practical use. You have to split them to fit in their firebox. So, the full cord comes in various other sizes: the face cord, the half cord, and the rick.

A face cord measures the same height and length as the full cord. They only differ in width-depth at 4 feet x 8 feet x 16 inches. It’s one-third of the full cord’s width- depth, or a third of the logs.

A half cord measures the same height and length as the full cord, too, but only differs in width-depth at 4 feet x 8 feet x 24 inches.

When a full cord is piled in a 4 x 8 -foot stack, it is called a rick.

It can be confusing, still, because in actual practice, some wood sellers will call a rick a full cord, and some will call it a face cord. It is recommended to ask them about the actual wood dimensions instead.

rick of wood

Are Ricks and Cords The Same?

No. Ricks are the sections of wood that the cord is piled into. These sections are chopped pieces of timber that have been split, then stacked for drying. Cords are larger than ricks.

Dimensions of a Rick of Wood

A rick of wood is 4 feet tall and 8 feet long with varying widths depending on the wood supplier, region, type of wood, and width of the wood.

There are 3 different widths:

A rick is basically a portion of a full cord. Given the different rick widths above, here are their corresponding portions of a full cord:

  • 12 inches width = 1/4 of a full cord of wood
  • 16 inches width = 1/3 of a full cord of wood
  • 24 inches width = 1/2 of a full cord of wood

The height (H), width-depth (W-D), and length (L) dimensions for each rick width are:

  • 12-inch rick: 4 x 1 x 8 feet
  • 16-inch rick: 4 x 1.33 x 8 feet
  • 24-inch rick: 4 x 2 x 8 feet

How Much Firewood is a Rick?

Depending on their region, supplier, type of wood, and width of the wood, a rick of superior-quality, high-end firewood can weigh 5,500 pounds or 2.5 tons. But, it can vary from 2,750 pounds to 5,500 pounds.

A rick of inferior-quality, low-end wood like spruces can only weigh 2,500 pounds or 1.25 tons. It can also vary from 625 pounds to 2,500 pounds.

Depending on the region, expect to see around 550 to 650 individual pieces of wood in a full cord, and 250 to 350 pieces in a rick of wood.

How Many Ricks Would You Require?

It depends on your needs and purposes.

If you only need to keep your house warm to last one winter, you will only need 1 rick of wood. One rick of good-quality firewood can last you 4 months. Green, red, and oak wood are usually good-quality wood.

If you choose lower-quality wood like spruces, you will need more than 1 rick of wood, at least a rick and a half.

If you need more heating requirements (not just for house warming but also for cooking, for example) for a longer time, you will, of course, need more ricks of wood.

Summary

Firewood is measured in a basic unit called a “cord” or “full cord”. This full cord is then further stacked in more manageable batches for practical use called a “face cord”, a “half cord”, or a “rick”.

When buying firewood from your supplier, you often buy them in ricks, unless you want them in bigger amounts. If so, then you buy them in cords.

Nick Spieth