Cubic Yard Calculator: Length x Width x Depth to Cubic Yards

How do you calculate cubic yards?

Measure length and width in feet and depth in inches. Divide the inches by 12 to get feet (10 inches is 0.833 ft). Multiply the three numbers to get cubic feet, then divide by 27 to get cubic yards. If you measure in meters, multiply the three meter measurements to get cubic meters, and multiply by 1.308 to get cubic yards.

For a circle, such as a round planter or a tree ring, use 3.1416 x radius x radius for the area instead of length x width, then multiply by the depth.

How many bags make a cubic yard?

Divide 27 by the bag size. Bagged mulch is usually 2 cubic feet, so 13.5 bags make a yard. Potting and garden soil often come in 1 cu ft bags (27 per yard), and gravel and sand in 0.5 cu ft bags (54 per yard).

Concrete mix is sold by weight, so use the yield on the bag. QUIKRETE lists an 80 lb bag of Concrete Mix at about 0.60 cubic feet, a 60 lb bag at 0.45, and a 40 lb bag at 0.30. That is 45 bags of 80 lb, or 60 bags of 60 lb, for one cubic yard.

Worked example: a raised bed, a mulch border, and a small slab

Raised bed, 8 x 4 ft, filled 10 inches deep: 8 x 4 x (10 / 12) = 26.67 cubic feet. 26.67 / 27 = 0.99 cubic yards, or 0.76 cubic meters. In 2 cu ft bags that is 14 bags (13.33 rounded up), or 27 bags of 1 cu ft.

Mulch border, 10 x 5 ft, 3 inches deep: 10 x 5 x 0.25 = 12.5 cubic feet, 0.46 cubic yards, so 7 bags of 2 cu ft.

Small concrete pad for a bin or an AC unit, 4 x 4 ft, 4 inches deep: 5.33 cubic feet, or 0.2 cubic yards. That is 9 bags of 80 lb concrete mix (8.9 rounded up) or 12 bags of 60 lb.

When does a small space need cubic yards at all?

Most balcony and patio jobs come to a few cubic feet, and the bag count is the number you need. A row of balcony planters, a raised bed in a shared garden, or a pad for a shed adds up faster than it looks, though, and that is when a bulk yard of soil or mulch can cost less than a stack of bags. The calculator shows both so you can compare.

Buying stone? Gravel is usually priced by the ton. Use the gravel calculator, which turns yards into tons for pea gravel, crushed stone, and river rock.

How do you convert square feet to cubic yards?

Multiply the square footage by the depth in feet, then divide by 27. If your depth is in inches, a shortcut is square feet x depth in inches / 324. A 200 sq ft bed covered 3 inches deep is 200 x 0.25 = 50 cubic feet, or 1.85 cubic yards.

Switch the calculator to Square feet + depth when you already know the area, for example from a floor plan or a lawn measurement, and pick inches or feet for the depth.

How many tons is a cubic yard?

It depends on the material, so these are estimates for loose, moist material as delivered: about 1 ton per cubic yard for screened topsoil, 1.05 for fill dirt, 0.55 for compost, 0.3 for shredded hardwood mulch, 1.35 for sand, and 1.4 for gravel or crushed stone. Normal-weight concrete is much heavier, at about 150 lb per cubic foot, or roughly 4,050 lb (just over 2 tons) per cubic yard.

Pick the material in the calculator to see the weight next to the volume, or use the converter to go from tons back to cubic yards. Wet soil, sand, or mulch can weigh noticeably more, and your supplier’s own figure beats any chart.

How do you convert cubic feet to cubic yards?

Divide cubic feet by 27. To go the other way, multiply cubic yards by 27. So 100 cubic feet is 3.7 cubic yards, and half a yard is 13.5 cubic feet. The quick converter under the results does both, plus tons for the material you picked.