Use this cubic yards calculator to calculate the amount of dirt, sand, mulch, concrete, topsoil or compost you might need for your project.
Disclaimer: Whilst every effort has been made in building our calculator tools, we are not to be held liable for any damages or monetary losses arising out of or in connection with their use. Full disclaimer.
To calculate cubic yards we use the formula: Cubic yards = Length (ft) × Width (ft) × Depth (ft) ÷ 27. Measure the length, width and depth of your area and then multiply the figures together to calculate a result in cubic feet. Dividing the result by 27 will give you a total in cubic yards.
In our example above, our width is 6 feet, our length is 12 feet and our depth/height is 6 inches. As there are 12 inches in a foot, we divide our depth figure by 12 to get 0.5 feet. This means our measurements are:
To calculate cubic yards, we multiply 6 × 12 × 0.5 to get a total of 36 cubic feet. We then divide by 27 to get 1.33 cubic yards.
To convert square feet to cubic yards, simply multiply your square footage figure by the height/depth in feet. This gives you a result in cubic feet. Divide your result by 27 to get your cubic yards measurement.
If you wish to convert between square feet and cubic yards, you can do so with the square feet to cubic yards calculator.
There are 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard. This means that if you want to convert from cubic feet to cubic yards, you should divide your figure by 27.
We look at this topic in depth in our article, how many cubic feet are in a yard?
Materials commonly measured in cubic yards include: concrete, cement, sand, aggregate, asphalt, rock, gravel, dirt, compost, mulch and topsoil.
If you're looking to find out how much your cubic yard of materials might weigh (in tons, kilograms or pounds), you'll need to do a conversion. The reason we need to do this is because the cubic yard is a unit of volume and the ton, kilogram or pound is a unit of weight. To convert between the two, you'll need to know the density of the substance. To give an extreme example, the total weight of a cubic yard of feathers will be far lighter than a cubic yard of sand.
Should you wish to convert cubic yards to tons, I've built a handy cubic yards to tons calculator which contains density estimates for common materials. It also features an example conversion for a cubic yard of topsoil.
If you have any problems using our cubic yards calculator, please contact us.