Cubic Yard Calculator
Turn any length, width and depth into cubic yards with this cubic yard calculator. Type the size, or start from a volume you already know, and read the full picture in one result. The tool shows cubic yards, cubic feet, cubic meters, the ground the load covers at common depths, and the weight of your material. Then it routes you down to the material tool that owns the bags, tons and cost for your job.
What the result numbers mean
The main answer, and the unit bulk yards sell by. Every material order on this site starts from this number.
The raw volume before the divide by 27. Bag counts and small jobs read easier in feet.
The same volume in metric. One cubic yard is about 0.765 cubic meters.
The ground this volume covers at 2 and 3 inches deep. Depth alone moves coverage, and these lines prove it.
Your volume weighed at the density of the material you pick. A pickup load plan starts from this line.
The hub stops at volume on purpose. The material pages own bags, tons by type and cost, and the cards below route you down.
How do I calculate cubic yards?
Multiply the length by the width by the depth in feet, then divide by 27. A garden bed 18 by 9 feet at 4 inches deep holds 54 cubic feet, so 2.00 cubic yards. In topsoil that load weighs about 2.20 tons.
How the math works
Choose dimensions for a space you can measure. Choose known volume when a supplier or a plan already gave you cubic feet or yards.
Length and width go in as feet. Depth goes in as inches, the way you read it off the tape and the bed edge.
The tool turns the depth into feet and multiplies the three numbers. Cubic feet is the raw volume every other line uses.
Length x Width x Depth in feetOne cubic yard holds 27 cubic feet. The divide turns raw volume into the unit yards sell by.
Cubic feet / 27Coverage equals cubic yards times 324, divided by depth in inches. One yard covers 162 square feet at 2 inches, 108 at 3.
Yards x 324 / Depth in inchesPick a material and the tool weighs the yards at its rate. Concrete runs 4,000 pounds per yard. Mulch runs only 500.
Yards x Pounds per yardA garden bed, 18 by 9 feet at 4 inches deep
Here is the garden bed from the quick answer, on a breakdown slip, the way the tool builds it.
Read the slip top to bottom. Cubic feet is the raw box the bed makes. The yard line is the order unit. The cover line restates the same load as ground, so a depth change shows its cost at a glance. The cubic yard calculator above runs your own space the same way, from dimensions or from a known volume.
Take your yards to the material tool
Volume alone never closes a job. Each material page takes your cubic yards and returns its own buy list of bags, tons and cost, at the density of that material. Pick your material and finish the count there.
Cubic yard numbers, in one place
| Depth | One cubic yard covers |
|---|---|
| 1 in | 324 sq ft |
| 2 in | 162 sq ft |
| 3 in | 108 sq ft |
| 4 in | 81 sq ft |
| 6 in | 54 sq ft |
| 12 in | 27 sq ft |
Common mistakes
A depth of 4 typed into a feet field orders twelve times the true volume. On this page depth always goes in as inches.
Area and volume are two numbers. A 162 square foot bed is not 162 yards of anything. Depth turns the first into the second.
Inside the edging on one side and outside on the other inflates the bed. Pick one line, inside is the honest one, and hold it on all sides.
A pickup bed holds more volume than its payload holds weight. Gravel stops a pickup at about a yard, long before the bed looks full.
How a volume turns into an order
This hub gives volume, coverage and weight. The order itself closes on the material page, and that split is the point of this cubic yard calculator. Two routes cover the last step.
Option A: Bulk delivery
- Take your yards to the material tool first, so the order names the right density and bag count.
- Yards sell by the yard or by the ton. Your material page shows both numbers, so you can order in their unit.
- A delivery fee often beats many pickup trips. Ask for the full price with the fee in.
- Check the weight line before you plan a pickup run. Payload, not bed size, sets the safe load.
Option B: Bags for small jobs
- Bag counts live on the material pages, because each material packs its bags its own way.
- The mulch page counts 2 and 3 cubic foot bags. The gravel and stone pages count 0.5 cubic foot bags. Sand counts by weight.
- Bags ride in any car and place clean in tight yards.
- The cost per yard climbs fast in bags. Run the material page count before you commit.
For the area step before depth enters, the square footage calculator owns bare area in square feet, yards and meters. Depth is the line where this hub takes over.
Questions, answered
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