Cubic yard calculator
To answer how many cubic yards you need, multiply your project's length by its width and its depth in inches, then divide by 27. That formula, length x width x depth, gives cubic feet, and 27 cubic feet make one cubic yard. Enter the depth in inches, not feet, to avoid ordering mistakes.
Cubic yards
Tap or type into the yellow figures on the drawing to change them.
Bulk soil, gravel, and concrete are sold by the cubic yard. A cubic yard is a cube with sides 3 feet long. The calculator asks for depth in inches because most project depths are just a few inches, and entering a fraction of a foot is error-prone. A yard equals 27 cubic feet or 0.7646 cubic meters. When you order, suppliers round part-yard amounts up to the next full yard. For bag counts, use the tons-to-cubic-yards converter, since the number of bags per yard varies by material.
The depth field switches between inches on the imperial setting and centimeters on the metric setting, so the calculator works in both unit systems.
Why does the calculator ask for depth in inches instead of feet?
Project depths are usually a few inches, and entering depth as a fraction of a foot is easy to get wrong. Using inches keeps the numbers whole and the result is in cubic feet, which converts directly to cubic yards by dividing by 27.
My order comes to 3.2 cubic yards. Why does the supplier charge me for 4?
Bulk material suppliers round part-yard orders up to the next full yard because delivery loads are measured in whole yards. That means any fraction of a yard is billed as a full yard.
How many bags of soil or gravel equal a cubic yard?
The number of bags in a cubic yard depends on the material and bag size. Use the tons-to-cubic-yards converter to get bag counts by material and to compare bulk delivery with bagged pickup.