If you’ve ever ordered firewood and thought the pile looked smaller than expected, you’re not imagining things. The firewood market has a measurement problem — terms like “cord,” “face cord,” “rick,” and “truckload” get used interchangeably by sellers, even though they describe very different amounts of wood. That ambiguity costs Nassau County buyers money every season.
This page breaks down exactly what a firewood cord is, how the different sizes compare, what kiln-dried versus seasoned actually means for your fire, and how to order with confidence. No jargon, no upsell — just the information you need to know what you’re getting before you commit.
1 Cord of Wood Cubic Feet: The Legal Standard in New York
A full cord of firewood is a legally defined unit of volume — not a guess, not a rough estimate. In New York State, a cord is a stack of wood measuring 4 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 8 feet long, totaling 128 cubic feet. That’s the standard, and sellers are legally required to use it. Terms like “truckload,” “rack,” “pile,” or “face cord” are not permitted as units of sale under New York law.
Here’s the part most buyers don’t know: of those 128 cubic feet, only about 85 cubic feet is actually solid wood. The rest is air space between the logs. That’s normal — it’s just the physics of stacking split wood. What’s not normal is when a seller dumps wood loosely off a truck and calls it a cord. Random stacking can reduce actual wood volume by 20 to 30 percent, and that’s one of the most common ways Nassau County homeowners get shortchanged.
When your delivery arrives, the only reliable way to verify what you’ve received is to stack it and measure it. A properly stacked cord will be 4 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 8 feet long — full stop.
1 Cord of Wood Measurements: What It Looks Like in Your Driveway
The dimensions of a full cord — 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet — are easy to picture on paper, but harder to visualize in a Nassau County driveway or backyard. Here’s a practical frame of reference: a standard full-size pickup truck bed holds roughly half a cord when wood is stacked properly. If someone pulls up with a pickup and tells you it’s a full cord, the math doesn’t work.
A full cord of split hardwood contains approximately 660 individual pieces of wood, assuming standard 16-inch log lengths. That’s a meaningful volume — enough to fill a large section of a garage wall or a dedicated outdoor storage rack. For most Nassau County homeowners using a fireplace regularly through the winter, a full cord will last the season, though heavier users often order two.
The 16-inch log length is worth knowing because it’s the industry standard for most residential fireplaces, wood stoves, and outdoor fire pits. Logs cut longer than 16 inches won’t fit most standard fireboxes. When you’re ordering, it’s worth confirming the cut length — especially if your fireplace has a smaller opening.
One more thing to keep in mind: cord firewood dimensions only tell you about volume. They don’t tell you about moisture content, species, or whether the wood has been properly split and dried. Two cords can be the same size and deliver very different burning experiences depending on what’s inside the stack.
Face Cord vs Full Cord: Understanding the Size Difference
A face cord is one-third of a full cord. It has the same height and length — 4 feet tall, 8 feet long — but it’s only as deep as the length of a single log, typically 16 inches. That gives you about 42 to 43 cubic feet of total volume, compared to 128 in a full cord.
This is where a lot of buyers get burned. A face cord looks like a substantial pile of wood. It photographs well. It fills a corner of the yard. But it’s one-third of what a full cord delivers. Some sellers list face cords without making the distinction clear, relying on the fact that most buyers won’t do the math. In New York State, selling a face cord and calling it a cord is a violation of state weights and measures law — but that doesn’t stop it from happening.
A half cord, by comparison, is exactly what it sounds like: 64 cubic feet, stacked 4 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 4 feet long. It’s a practical option for Nassau County homeowners who use their fireplace occasionally — a few nights a week through the colder months — or for those who want to try a supplier before committing to a full cord. A quarter cord comes in at roughly 32 cubic feet and is more common for fire pit use or as a supplemental order mid-season.
If you’re ordering from a Nassau County supplier and the listing doesn’t specify dimensions — just a price and a quantity label — ask. Any reputable seller will give you the stacked dimensions without hesitation. If they can’t or won’t, that’s a signal worth paying attention to.
Kiln Dried vs. Seasoned Firewood: Performance and Burn Quality
The terms “seasoned” and “kiln dried” both describe firewood that’s been dried before sale — but they’re not the same thing, and the gap between them matters more than most buyers realize.
Seasoned firewood is wood that’s been left to dry outdoors, typically for six months to a year or more. Done properly, it can reach moisture content in the 20 to 30 percent range — low enough to burn reasonably well. The problem is “done properly” is doing a lot of work in that sentence. Seasoning time, storage conditions, and wood species all affect the final moisture level, and there’s no way to verify it without a moisture meter. A seller who calls wood “seasoned” after three months in a pile isn’t technically lying — but the wood isn’t ready.
Kiln-dried firewood goes through a controlled drying process in a temperature-regulated chamber, heated to 160°F or above for a minimum of 75 minutes. The result is wood with moisture content consistently below 18 percent — guaranteed, every time. It lights faster, burns hotter, produces less smoke, and doesn’t leave the creosote buildup in your chimney that wet wood does. The kiln process also kills any insects, larvae, mold, or fungus living in the wood — which matters if you’re storing wood in a garage or near your home.
Kiln Dried Hardwood Logs: Species and BTU Output
Not all hardwood is equal when it comes to heat output, burn time, and coal bed quality. Oak is the benchmark — a cord of well-seasoned oak delivers around 22 million BTUs, while kiln-dried oak edges closer to 26 to 28 million BTUs per cord. That’s a meaningful difference over a full heating season, and it’s why kiln-dried hardwood is the preferred choice for Nassau County homeowners who are burning regularly through winters that average 23 inches of snow and run cold from November through March.
Ash is another excellent option — it burns clean, splits easily, and produces a long, steady heat that works well in both fireplaces and wood stoves. Kiln-dried ash logs are particularly popular for fireplace use because they’re easy to light and don’t require much tending once established. Maple and hickory both burn hot with long-lasting coals, making them good choices for extended fires. Birch lights quickly and burns with a bright, pleasant flame — it’s a popular choice for fire pits and outdoor entertaining where visual appeal matters as much as heat output.
What all of these have in common when kiln dried is consistency. You know what you’re getting. Freshly cut oak can carry moisture content as high as 70 percent — wood at that moisture level doesn’t really burn so much as it steams, smokes, and smolders. Kiln-dried hardwood eliminates that variable entirely. We offer fully kiln-dried hardwood in cord quantities across Nassau County, and every load is screened before delivery to remove dirt, debris, and irregular pieces — something customers have consistently called out as a differentiator that most local firewood suppliers don’t bother with.
Best Wood for Ooni and Wood-Fired Pizza Ovens on Long Island
Pizza ovens — Ooni Karu, Gozney Roccbox, and built-in outdoor ovens — have become a genuine part of the Nassau County backyard landscape. From the North Shore communities in Oyster Bay and Great Neck to the South Shore neighborhoods in Rockville Centre, Bellmore, and Massapequa, outdoor entertaining culture here runs year-round, and wood-fired cooking is a big part of it. But pizza oven wood has specific requirements that standard fireplace wood doesn’t always meet.
A proper Neapolitan-style bake requires oven temperatures in the range of 850 to 950 degrees Fahrenheit. Getting there — and holding it — requires hardwood with moisture content below 15 percent. Anything wetter than that will produce excess smoke, inconsistent heat, and a longer time to temperature. Kiln-dried pizza oven wood isn’t a luxury upgrade; it’s a functional requirement if you want the oven to perform the way it’s supposed to.
Oak is the standard for pizza ovens because it reaches high temperatures quickly, holds a long coal bed, and produces very little ash. Kiln-dried birch logs are another strong option — they light fast, burn bright, and are a popular choice for Ooni-style ovens where you’re managing a smaller fire chamber and need wood that responds quickly to adjustments. For smoking and BBQ applications, the species choice shifts based on flavor profile: hickory and oak for beef, cherry or apple for poultry and pork. We carry kiln-dried hardwood options suited for pizza ovens, smokers, and outdoor fire pits, with the same delivery service that covers residential firewood orders across Nassau County.
One practical note for pizza oven use: log sizing matters. Ooni and similar compact ovens typically need logs in the 5 to 6-inch range, which is shorter than standard 16-inch firewood. If you’re ordering for a pizza oven specifically, mention that when you place your order — it affects what we send.
Same Day Firewood Delivery Across Nassau County
The short version: a cord is 128 cubic feet, stacked 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet. A face cord is one-third of that. Kiln-dried wood burns hotter, cleaner, and more consistently than seasoned wood. And any supplier worth ordering from will give you dimensions, not just a price.
Nassau County homeowners have real options when it comes to firewood — but the market has enough ambiguity in it that knowing what you’re asking for makes a genuine difference. Whether you’re heating a fireplace through a cold February on the South Shore or firing up a pizza oven in the backyard on a warm October Saturday, the wood type and quantity you order should match what you actually need.
We’ve been supplying Nassau and Suffolk County with firewood and landscape materials since 2005. If you have questions about cord sizes, wood types, or what makes sense for your setup, reach out — by text, phone, or the chat window on the site. Same-day delivery is available across Nassau County, and we’ll make sure you know exactly what you’re getting before anything leaves the truck.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
**What is a firewood cord, and is it a legal unit in New York?** Yes — in New York State, a cord is the only legally recognized unit for selling firewood. It’s defined as a stack measuring 4 feet high, 4 feet wide, and 8 feet long, totaling 128 cubic feet. Sellers cannot legally advertise or sell firewood using terms like “truckload,” “rack,” “pile,” or “face cord” as equivalent units. If you’re buying firewood in Nassau County and a seller won’t give you stacked dimensions, that’s a red flag worth taking seriously.
**How much does a cord of firewood cost in Nassau County, NY?** In Nassau County, a cord of firewood generally runs between $300 and $500, depending on wood type, moisture content, and delivery. Kiln-dried hardwood sits at the higher end of that range because of the processing involved — but the performance difference over a full heating season is real. For Nassau County residents, delivery fees and lead times vary by supplier; we offer same-day delivery on many orders.
**What is the difference between a face cord and a full cord?** A face cord is one-third of a full cord. It measures 4 feet high and 8 feet long, but only one log-length deep — typically 16 inches. Total volume is roughly 42 to 43 cubic feet, compared to 128 in a full cord. It’s a common source of confusion, and some sellers exploit it. If you’re comparing prices between Nassau County suppliers, make sure you’re comparing the same unit — a face cord priced at $150 is not a bargain compared to a full cord at $400.
**Is kiln-dried firewood worth the extra cost for a regular Nassau County fireplace?** For regular use, yes. Kiln-dried wood lights faster, burns hotter, produces less smoke, and creates significantly less creosote buildup in your chimney than wood with higher moisture content. The kiln process also eliminates insects and mold, which matters if you’re storing wood in a garage or near the house. For occasional use — a few fires a month — fully seasoned hardwood is a reasonable option. For weekly or nightly burning through a Nassau County winter, kiln-dried is worth the difference.
**Do you sell barbecue wood or smoking woods for sale?** Yes. We carry kiln-dried hardwood options suited for BBQ and smoking use, including varieties that work well for different proteins and cooking styles. For barbecue wood for sale in Nassau County, reach out directly — species availability and log sizing for smokers differ from standard firewood orders, and it’s worth a quick conversation to make sure you get the right product for your setup.
**Can I buy firewood in smaller quantities than a full cord?** Yes. We offer half cords, quarter cords, bundles, and pallets in addition to full cord quantities. For Nassau County homeowners who use a fireplace occasionally, a half cord is usually enough for a season. For fire pit or pizza oven use, a quarter cord or bundle order may be more practical. If you’re not sure how much you need, text us — it’s a quick question and we’d rather help you order right the first time.
**What does “semi-seasoned firewood” mean, and should I buy it?** Semi-seasoned firewood is wood that’s been split and left to dry for a short period — typically zero to three months. It’s not ready to burn efficiently right away. The moisture content is still high enough that it will produce more smoke and less heat than fully seasoned or kiln-dried wood. Semi-seasoned is a reasonable purchase if you have the storage space and time to finish the drying process yourself before the burning season. If you need wood that’s ready to burn now, fully seasoned or kiln-dried is the right call.
**Are there firewood wholesalers that deliver to Nassau County?** We deliver cord quantities across Nassau County — including to communities along the South Shore like Long Beach, Oceanside, Massapequa, and Bellmore, and North Shore areas like Oyster Bay and Great Neck. We operate out of Brookhaven, which keeps all deliveries within New York State’s 50-mile firewood transport rule — a state regulation designed to prevent the spread of invasive pests like the Emerald Ash Borer. For bulk firewood orders or repeat seasonal delivery, contact us directly to discuss quantities and scheduling.