🏠 Your Home

Home Size (sq ft)

Heated area only — exclude garage, unheated basement, etc.

Insulation Quality

🌡️ Heating Setup

Heating Role

Hours Burning per Day

Average across the heating season

Heating Season (months)

e.g. 5 for Oct–Feb; 7 for northern Canada

Wood Type

💰 Cost Estimate

Price per Cord (USD / CAD)

Avg in Canada: $250–$500 depending on region

You're Buying In

– Full Cords

– Face Cords

– Total Cost

– Per Month

– Burn Days

Season coverage

How to Use This Calculator

Getting an accurate estimate is straightforward. Just work through the fields in order:

Enter your heated square footage. Only count the space you actually heat with wood. If you heat the main floor (1,200 sq ft) but not the basement, enter 1,200.
Choose your insulation level. "Poor" applies to homes built before the 1980s with minimal upgrades. "Good" fits newer builds or homes with blown-in insulation, triple-pane windows, etc.
Set the heating role. If wood is your only heat source, select Primary. If you supplement an oil furnace or heat pump, select Supplemental — this cuts the estimate roughly in half.
Estimate daily burn hours. In Canada's deep winter (January–February), 8–10 hours is common for primary heating. Milder regions might average 4–6 hours.
Enter your season length. Atlantic Canada and the Prairie provinces can run 6–8 months. Southern BC and Ontario averages 4–5. Northern regions may heat year-round.
Pick wood type. Hardwood burns longer and produces more heat per cord. If you use a mix, choose hardwood for a conservative (slightly higher) estimate.
Add your local price. Call two or three local suppliers to get current rates. Prices vary hugely — a cord can be $180 in rural New Brunswick and $550 in Vancouver.

💡 Pro tip: Always add a 10–15% buffer to your cord estimate. Wet wood burns less efficiently, and cold snaps can extend your season unexpectedly.

Hardwood vs. Softwood for Heating

The type of wood you burn dramatically affects how far your supply goes. Hardwoods are denser, produce more BTUs per cord, and leave less creosote buildup in your chimney. Softwoods ignite faster but burn through quickly — useful for kindling or shoulder-season fires.

Wood Species	Type	BTUs / Cord (millions)	Notes
White Oak	Hardwood	~29.1	Dense, long burn — excellent for overnight fires
Sugar Maple	Hardwood	~27.0	Canada's favourite — clean burn, great coals
Yellow Birch	Hardwood	~26.2	Burns bright; common in eastern Canada
White Ash	Hardwood	~25.0	Easy to split, moderate moisture — reliable
Douglas Fir	Softwood	~21.0	Good for BC; resinous — keep chimney clean
Lodgepole Pine	Softwood	~18.0	Burns fast; works as kindling or shoulder season
Black Spruce	Softwood	~15.9	Very common in boreal Canada; high creosote risk

What Is a "Cord" of Wood?

A full cord is a stack of wood measuring 4 ft × 4 ft × 8 ft (128 cubic feet). It's the legal standard in both Canada and the United States.

A face cord (also called a rick or a bush cord in some regions) is typically 4 ft tall × 8 ft wide, but only one log-length deep — usually 16 inches. That's roughly one-third of a full cord. Be careful when shopping — some sellers advertise face cord pricing without being upfront about it.

🪵 Canadian buyer tip: In Canada it's illegal to sell firewood by the "truckload" or "pile" — sellers must quote by the cord. If a supplier can't tell you the cord volume, walk away.

How Much Wood Do Canadians & Americans Actually Use?

The answer varies enormously by region, home type, and heating role. Here are ballpark figures based on typical usage patterns:

Canada

Rural Ontario / Quebec (primary heat): 4–7 full cords per season in a 1,500–2,000 sq ft home
BC Interior: 3–5 cords; milder climate but steep terrain affects delivery costs
Prairie provinces (supplemental only): 1.5–3 cords; natural gas is dominant
Atlantic Canada: 5–8 cords for primary heat; long, damp winters are demanding
Northern territories: 8–14+ cords; extreme cold and long seasons drive very high demand

United States

New England (Maine, Vermont): 3–6 cords for primary heat
Pacific Northwest: 2–4 cords; mild winters help
Upper Midwest (Minnesota, Michigan): 4–7 cords for primary heating
Southern states (supplemental): 0.5–1.5 cords for occasional fireplace use

📦 Storage rule of thumb: A full cord of properly stacked, split hardwood needs about 64 sq ft of covered storage space. Make sure you have a shed or covered rack ready before you order.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a cord of wood last?

It depends entirely on your burn rate. Burning 6 hours/day with a moderately efficient stove, a cord of hardwood typically lasts 6–10 weeks. Softwood burns faster — closer to 4–6 weeks. This calculator estimates your total burn days based on your inputs.

Should I order split or unsplit wood?

Split wood (typically 16" pieces) dries faster and is ready to burn sooner. Unsplit rounds are cheaper but require a splitter or axe. Unless you have the time and equipment, ordering pre-split and seasoned wood is almost always worth the premium.

What's the difference between seasoned and green wood?

Seasoned (dry) wood has been split and left to air-dry for 6–12 months, reducing moisture content to under 20%. Green (freshly cut) wood can be 50%+ moisture — it burns poorly, produces excessive smoke, and causes rapid creosote buildup. Always burn seasoned wood.

Is it cheaper to heat with wood than propane or natural gas?

In most of rural Canada and the northern US, yes — firewood is usually 30–60% cheaper per BTU than propane and 10–30% cheaper than natural gas once you account for an efficient wood stove. The savings are greatest in areas where wood is locally sourced and natural gas isn't available.

How do I know if I'm getting a full cord?

Ask the supplier for the dimensions of their delivery (height × width × depth in feet). A full cord = 128 cubic feet. If the wood is loosely thrown rather than stacked, add about 15% to the stack measurement to account for air gaps. Better yet, ask for stacked delivery.

When should I order firewood in Canada?

Order in spring (April–June) for winter use. This gives the wood time to season further and guarantees supply before the autumn rush, when prices spike and availability drops. Many suppliers sell out by September in rural areas.