How many cubic yards do you need?
Add your areas and depth, get cubic yards for any material: soil, gravel, mulch, sand.
How do I calculate cubic yards?
Multiply length by width by depth, all in feet, to get cubic feet, then divide by 27, because a cubic yard is 3 × 3 × 3 feet. Depth is usually measured in inches, so divide it by 12 first. A 20 ft by 10 ft area 3 inches deep is 20 × 10 × 0.25 = 50 cubic feet, or 1.85 cubic yards.
How many square feet does a cubic yard cover?
It depends on the depth: 324 square feet at 1 inch, 162 at 2 inches, 108 at 3 inches, 81 at 4 inches and 54 at 6 inches. For any other depth, divide 324 by the depth in inches.
How do I convert cubic feet to cubic yards?
Divide cubic feet by 27: 54 cubic feet is 2 cubic yards, and 100 cubic feet is about 3.7. To go the other way, multiply cubic yards by 27.
How many cubic yards are in a cubic meter?
One cubic meter is about 1.31 cubic yards, and one cubic yard is about 0.76 cubic meters. The calculator shows both; switch to Metric to enter meters and centimeters.
How much does a cubic yard weigh?
It depends on the material. Loose, about 440 lb for wood chip mulch and 2,400 lb (1.2 tons) for topsoil, per the EPA volume-to-weight table; about 1,000 lb for compost, per Oregon State University and UNH Extension; about 2,700 lb (1.35 tons) for dry sand or one-size gravel, the Minnesota DOT figure for one-size stone; and about 3,900 lb (1.96 tons) for concrete at 145 lb per cubic foot, the FHWA figure. Water adds weight — the EPA table has wet sand at 110 to 130 lb a cubic foot against 90 to 110 dry — so check your supplier's figure.
How many bags make a cubic yard?
Divide 27 cubic feet by the bag size: 54 bags of 0.5 cubic feet, 36 of 0.75, 27 of 1, 18 of 1.5, 13½ of 2 and 9 of 3.
Cubic yard coverage chart
| Depth | One cubic yard covers |
|---|---|
| 1 in | 324 ft² |
| 2 in | 162 ft² |
| 3 in | 108 ft² |
| 4 in | 81 ft² |
| 6 in | 54 ft² |
| 12 in | 27 ft² |
In metric, divide 100 by the depth in centimeters: one cubic meter covers 20 m² at 5 cm and 10 m² at 10 cm.
Weights — sources: U.S. EPA, Standard Volume-to-Weight Conversion Factors; Minnesota DOT, Grading and Base Manual, 5-692.430; Caltrans Maintenance Manual, Vol. 1, Appendix; Oregon State University Extension, Interpreting Compost Analyses (EM 9217); UNH Extension, Purchasing Compost; FHWA, Lightweight Concrete Bridge Design Primer (normal-weight concrete, 0.145 kcf). How we check our calculators.