How Big Should a Firewood Shed Be? Size Chart by Cord

Last updated October 18, 2026

How big should a firewood shed be? Size it from the cords you store. One cord is 128 cubic feet, which stacked 6 feet high covers about 21 square feet. Walls and air gaps bring that to roughly 35 square feet of shed footprint per cord, and 50 or more in a deep shed with an aisle.

What is a cord, and how much space does it take?

A cord is 128 cubic feet of firewood, stacked tight with the pieces parallel. The Arizona Department of Agriculture explains that this comes from NIST Handbook 130 and is usually shown as a stack 8 feet long, 4 feet high and 4 feet wide. The 128 cubic feet includes the air between the pieces, so a load dumped loose takes more room than the same wood stacked. Plan a spot to stack a delivery outside if the shed will be tight.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture firewood brochure gives the test: stack the wood, then multiply width by height by length. If the answer is 128 cubic feet, you have a cord.

A face cord is not a full cord. Sellers usually mean one row 4 feet high and 8 feet long, as deep as one log. With 16 inch logs that is about 43 cubic feet, one third of a cord. Arizona’s page says terms like face cord, rack and pile are not allowed there for selling firewood.

Stack sizes for 1 to 6 cords

Sixteen inches is a common stove length, so the table uses rows of 16 inch logs, each 1.33 feet deep. Measure your firebox; 12, 18 and 24 inch logs change the row depth.

Cords	Volume	Stack 4 ft high, floor area	Stack 6 ft high, floor area	Example stack at 6 ft (16 in logs)
1	128 cu ft	32 sq ft	21 sq ft	8 ft long, 2 rows deep
1.5	192 cu ft	48 sq ft	32 sq ft	12 ft long, 2 rows deep
2	256 cu ft	64 sq ft	43 sq ft	16 ft long, 2 rows deep
3	384 cu ft	96 sq ft	64 sq ft	12 ft long, 4 rows deep
4	512 cu ft	128 sq ft	85 sq ft	16 ft long, 4 rows deep
5	640 cu ft	160 sq ft	107 sq ft	20 ft long, 4 rows deep
6	768 cu ft	192 sq ft	128 sq ft	24 ft long, 4 rows deep

Two rows 8 feet long and 6 feet high hold 8 x 6 x 2.67, or 128 cubic feet: exactly one cord. With 24 inch logs, one row 8 feet long and 6 feet high holds 96 cubic feet, three quarters of a cord.

How big should a firewood shed be for your winter?

Start with how much you burn in one season, then decide how many seasons the shed should hold.

One season. West Virginia University Extension estimates that a 1,500 square foot home heated with wood might burn about four cords of seasoned wood in an average heating season. Your own count is the best figure: what you bought last winter minus what was left in spring.

Two seasons. The EPA Burn Wise card says to dry softwood at least 6 months and hardwood at least 12 months. If you split green wood, plan two spaces: one of wood ready to burn and one drying for next year. Check it with a moisture meter before it goes in the stove.

So a home that burns 4 cords a winter needs room for 4 cords if it buys seasoned wood each year, and about 8 cords if it splits green wood a year ahead.

Add room for air, framing and access

The stack floor area in the table is the stack only. A shed needs three more things.

• Air gaps. Leave a few inches between the back row and the wall, and a small gap between rows, so air can move through.
• Wall framing and siding. Walls built with 2×4 studs plus siding take about 4 inches on each side. On a 4×8 shed that is about a quarter of the floor.
• A way to reach the wood. In a shed 4 feet deep you reach every row from the front. In a deeper shed, either leave an aisle about 2 to 3 feet wide or accept that you burn the front rows first and reach the back ones last.

The table below works out to about 35 square feet of outside footprint per cord in a shed 4 feet deep or one packed full. A deeper shed that keeps every row in reach needs 50 to 70.

Which shed sizes hold how much wood?

Our estimate for seven 3DSHEDPLANS™ sizes assumes: outside size from each plan page, about 4 inches off every wall, a few inches of air at the back and between rows, 16 inch logs, 6 foot stacks.

“Reachable” keeps every row next to open floor: two rows along the back wall of the lean-tos, and on the gables two rows along the back and both side walls around open floor inside the door. “Packed” fills the small sheds from the back wall forward (three rows in the 6×10, four in the 8×16), and gives the gables a 3 foot aisle from the door to the back wall with four rows on each side of the 12×16 and five on the 12×20. Packed suits one season of seasoned wood, burned front to back.

Shed	Floor area	Sidewall height (plan, low wall on lean-tos)	Door opening (plan)	Reachable	Packed
4×8 lean-to	32 sq ft	81 1/2 in	67 in double	about 0.9 cord	about 0.9 cord
4×10 lean-to	40 sq ft	81 1/2 in	30 in single	about 1.2 cords	about 1.2 cords
4×12 lean-to	48 sq ft	81 1/2 in	30 in single	about 1.4 cords	about 1.4 cords
6×10 lean-to	60 sq ft	81 1/2 in	60 in double	about 1.2 cords	about 1.75 cords
8×16 lean-to	128 sq ft	91 1/2 in	60 in double	about 1.9 cords	about 3.8 cords
12×16 gable	192 sq ft	94 1/2 in	78 in double	about 4 cords	about 5.5 cords
12×20 gable	240 sq ft	94 1/2 in	78 in double, 36 in single	about 4.5 cords	about 6.9 cords

An 81 1/2 inch wall leaves about 9 inches above a 72 inch stack, less if you raise the wood on 2x4s. A worked example: the 12×16 is about 184 by 136 inches inside. A 3 foot aisle from the door to the back wall leaves about 74 inches on each side, room for four rows of 16 inch logs about 11 feet long. Eight rows 6 feet high hold about 700 cubic feet, or 5.5 cords.

The 4×8 has a 67 inch double door across most of its 8 foot front, so you reach every piece. The 4×10 and 4×12 have one 30 inch door, so you reach 3 to 4 feet sideways to the wood at each end. Stack the ends first and burn from the middle.

For comparison, the EPA Build a Wood Shed plan is an open-sided shed sized to hold about one cord under a 4 by 8 foot roof panel, with taller front posts so the roof slopes to the back. That matches our math: a 4×8 footprint holds close to a cord.

Bays, openings and overhang

For more than two cords, split the shed into bays so you fill one while you burn from the other. A 6 foot stack of two 16 inch rows needs about 8 feet of length per cord in each bay.

Open or slatted sides dry wood faster than a closed shed. An enclosed storage shed like the plans below suits wood that is already seasoned; dry green wood in an open, top-covered stack first, as our guide on how to store firewood so it dries explains. If you use an enclosed shed, add vents at both ends as in our shed ventilation guide.

On an open woodshed, face the open side away from the usual wind and rain and give the roof a generous overhang there, so blown rain stays off the face of the stack. Leave a kindling shelf by the door and measure your wheelbarrow, leaving a spot inside to turn it.

Before you load it

• Check the floor. A cord of firewood weighs far more than the tools a storage shed floor usually carries, and green wood weighs more than dry. Before you load several cords, check the floor framing in your plan, stack over the skids or beams, and set the shed on a firm, level base such as a gravel shed foundation.
• Keep it off the house. Michigan State University Extension advises against storing firewood against the house, since it can bring wood-damaging insects next to it. If you build a lean-to against a wall, read our notes on a lean-to shed against a house first, and keep that shed for tools rather than wood.
• Brace the ends. A stack two rows deep and 6 feet high needs solid ends. Crisscross the last pieces of each row in a crib rather than leaning the stack on studs and siding.
• Raise it. Lay 2x4s on the floor under each row so air reaches the bottom pieces.

A large shed may need approval where you live, and rules on size, height and placement vary from town to town. Before you settle on a size, check your local permit office.

For general sizing beyond firewood, see what size shed do I need.

What we checked: cord size from Arizona and Oregon agriculture, cords per winter from WVU Extension, drying times and the one cord shed from EPA Burn Wise, house-wall advice from MSU Extension, shed sizes and doors from our plan pages. Capacities are our own arithmetic.

Plans that fit

For up to about one cord of seasoned wood, the 4×8 lean-to shed plan is the easiest fit, and you can try the free 4×8 lean-to PDF before you buy. The 4×12 lean-to shed plan holds about 1.4 cords along a fence.

For a household that heats with wood, the 8×16 lean-to shed plan holds about 2 to 4 cords depending on layout, and the 12×20 gable shed plan holds about 4.5 to 7 cords of seasoned wood. If you split green wood a year ahead, pair the shed with an open, top-covered stack for drying. Each 3DSHEDPLANS™ plan is a PDF with 3D step images and a full material list. Compare more sizes in the lean-to shed plans or browse all shed plans.

Frequently asked questions

How big of a shed do I need for one cord of firewood?

A cord is 128 cubic feet. Stacked 6 feet high in two rows of 16 inch logs, it needs a stack about 8 feet long and 32 inches deep. Once wall framing and air gaps take their share, a shed with a 4×8 outside footprint holds a little under one cord.

How many square feet does a cord of wood take up?

The stack alone covers 32 square feet at 4 feet high and about 21 at 6 feet high. By our math a whole shed needs about 35 square feet of footprint per cord when 4 feet deep or packed full, and 50 to 70 when deeper with every row in reach.

How high should you stack firewood in a shed?

Around 5 feet is easy to load and reach. A 6 foot stack holds 20 percent more than a 5 foot one on the same floor but needs care on the top rows and solid ends. Keep the top a few inches below the rafters so air can cross it.

Should a firewood shed hold one year or two years of wood?

Two if you split your own green wood. The EPA Burn Wise card says to dry softwood at least 6 months and hardwood at least 12 months, so a second bay gives next winter's wood a full year under cover.

Is a face cord the same as a cord?

No. A face cord usually means one row 4 feet high and 8 feet long, as deep as one log. With 16 inch logs that is one third of a full cord. Ask for the amount in cubic feet before you size the shed around it.