Cubic Yard Calculator

Enter the area and depth of your slab, driveway or bed — get cubic yards, cubic feet and cubic meters, plus the material's weight in tons and how many truckloads that is.

Area

Material

Volume

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To order (with waste)—
Cubic feet—
Cubic meters—
Weight—
Truckloads—
Bags—
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Concrete Gravel & mulch Fence Stairs Mulch Topsoil

Turning a slab or bed into cubic yards

Bulk materials — ready-mix concrete, gravel, sand, topsoil, mulch — are sold by the cubic yard, but you measure jobs in feet and inches. The conversion is length (ft) × width (ft) × depth (ft) ÷ 27, because a cubic yard is 3 × 3 × 3 = 27 cubic feet. The trap is depth: 4 inches is 4 ÷ 12 = 0.333 ft, not 4. A 20 × 24 ft slab poured 4 inches thick is 20 × 24 × 0.333 = 160 cubic feet = 5.93 cubic yards; with a 10% allowance for uneven subgrade and spillage you would order 6.5 yards.

Weight matters for delivery. A cubic yard of concrete weighs about 4,050 lb (two tons), gravel 2,800 lb, dry sand 2,700, topsoil 2,100 and bark mulch only about 1,000. That decides whether a load fits in a pickup (about ½ yard of gravel, 2–3 yards of mulch), a single-axle dump truck (roughly 10 yards), or needs multiple trips. The calculator reports tons and estimates truckloads at 10 cubic yards each — adjust for your supplier's trucks.

Bags versus bulk. For small jobs the calculator also counts bags: 80 lb concrete bags yield 0.6 cubic feet each (45 per cubic yard), and 2-cubic-foot mulch or soil bags are 13.5 per cubic yard. Bulk delivery is usually cheaper above about one cubic yard; bagged is easier for anything under half a yard or where a truck cannot reach.

Compaction. Gravel and soil settle 10–20% when compacted, so a 3-inch finished gravel layer needs more than 3 inches of loose material. Use the waste field for this: 10% is typical for gravel base, 15–20% for topsoil that will be graded and watered, 5–10% for concrete. Mulch does not compact much, so 0–5% is enough.

Frequently asked questions

How many cubic yards are in a 10x10 area 4 inches deep?
10 × 10 × (4 ÷ 12) = 33.3 cubic feet, which is 1.23 cubic yards. Order 1.5 yards with a 10% allowance.
How do I calculate cubic yards from square feet?
Multiply the square footage by the depth in feet, then divide by 27. For 500 sq ft at 3 inches (0.25 ft): 500 × 0.25 ÷ 27 = 4.63 cubic yards. Choose 'I know the area' and enter the square footage directly.
How much does a cubic yard weigh?
It depends on the material: concrete about 4,050 lb, crushed stone 2,800, dry sand 2,700, topsoil 2,100, fill dirt 2,000, bark mulch 1,000. Wet materials weigh noticeably more. The calculator uses these densities for its weight estimate.
How many cubic yards fit in a pickup truck?
A half-ton pickup safely carries about ½ cubic yard of gravel or sand (roughly 1,400 lb), 1 yard of topsoil, or 2–3 yards of mulch. Check the payload rating on the door sticker.
How many 80 lb bags of concrete make a cubic yard?
45 bags of 80 lb (0.6 cu ft each), 60 bags of 60 lb (0.45 cu ft), or 90 bags of 40 lb (0.3 cu ft). Above about one yard, ready-mix delivery is usually cheaper and much less work.
Should I add extra when ordering?
Yes. Add 5–10% for concrete to cover an uneven base and spillage, 10% for gravel compaction, and 15–20% for topsoil that will settle. Running short mid-pour costs far more than a little surplus.

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