# Cubic Yard Calculator

Created by Wojciech Sas, PhD
Reviewed by Bogna Szyk and Jack Bowater
Last updated: Mar 27, 2023

This cubic yard calculator, or yardage calculator, helps you find a volume in cubic yards. Wondering how much is a cubic yard?, how many cubic feet are in a cubic yard?, how to convert cubic inches to cubic yards?, or how to evaluate the volume from an area in square feet to cubic yards?

In the text, you'll find the answers to all these questions and more! This extension of our volume calculator is handy if you want to learn how to calculate the cubic yards of an object – regardless of its shape and whether it is in and on the ground.

If you are interested in converting between square feet and cubic yards, you can check out our square feet to cubic yards calculator.

## How much is a cubic yard?

A cubic yard is a unit of volume. One cubic yard is defined as a volume of a cube with 1 yd long edges. One cubic yard is denoted by $\small 1\ \text{yd}^3$ or $\small 1\ \text{cu yd}$. The question What is the yardage of this object? means the same as How many $\small 1\ \text{yd}^3$ cubes can fit inside this object?

Where do we use cubic yards? Cubic yards are often used when we want to dig a hole in the ground and fill it with an amount of material, such as gravel, sand, or mulch, due to the scale of this operation being well-suited to cubic yards. On the other hand, you may need to find the size of a structure or a building. In either case, we are interested in the volume of material needed or just the occupied space. The good thing is that you can think of any shape, and this cubic yard calculator will help you obtain a precise result!

## How do I convert cubic feet to cubic yards?

One cubic foot, $\small \text{ft}^3$ or $\small \text{cu ft}$, is the volume of a cube with sides $\small 1\ \text{ft}$ long. Since $\small 1\ \text{yd} = 3\ \text{ft}$, we can calculate how many cubic feet are in a cubic yard:

• A cubic yard is:
$\small\qquad 1\ \text{yd}^3 = 1\ \text{yd}\times 1\ \text{yd}\times 1\ \text{yd}$
• Convert yards to feet:
$\small\qquad 1\ \text{yd}^3 = 3\ \text{ft}\times 3\ \text{ft}\times 3\ \text{ft}$
• Multiply all quantities:
$\small\qquad 1\ \text{yd}^3 = 27\ \text{ft}^3$

So the conversion factor from cubic yards to cubic feet is $\small 27$, and it is $\small 1/27$ if you're converting from cubic feet to cubic yards.

Check out our ratio calculator for information on ratios and how to apply this number in your calculations!

## How do I convert cubic inches to cubic yards?

Cubic inches are another unit of volume. It's the space occupied by a $\small 1\ \text{in} \times 1\ \text{in} \times 1\ \text{in}$ cube. $\small 1\ \text{yd}$ is precisely $\small 36\ \text{in}$. Let's find out how many cubic inches are in a cubic yard:

• A cubic yard is:
$\small\qquad 1\ \text{yd}^3 = 1\ \text{yd}\times 1\ \text{yd}\times 1\ \text{yd}$
• Convert yards to inches:
$\small\qquad 1\ \text{yd}^3 = 36\ \text{in}\times 36\ \text{in}\times 36\ \text{in}$
• Multiply all quantities:
$\small\qquad 1\ \text{yd}^3 = 46,\!656\ \text{in}^3$

Hence, the conversion ratio from cubic yards to cubic inches is $\small 46,\!656$, while from cubic inches to cubic yards, it is $\small 1/46,\!656$.

There are plenty of volume units, including metric ones such as cubic meters $\small \text{m}^3$, cubic centimeters $\small \text{cm}^3$, and many others. Whenever you want to switch between them quickly, don't hesitate to use our volume converter!

## How to estimate a volume from square feet to cubic yards?

We now know how to convert cubic yards to cubic feet and vice versa, but what about finding the yardage of space with known square footage (i.e., its area) and its depth or height? It depends on the shape, meaning that we can distinguish three cases:

1. The prism-like volume: $\small \text{Volume} = \text{area}\times \text{depth}$. It doesn't matter if we are dealing with triangular, rectangular, or any other type of prism; the formula is always the same. All that is required is for you to find the area of the arbitrary shape that is the base.

2. The pyramid-like volume: $\small \text{Volume} = 1/3 \times \text{area} \times \text{depth}$. Analogically, it doesn't matter what shape the base of the pyramid is; the formula is always the same. It can also be a circle as well (making the pyramid). Unlike the previous case, we have to multiply the equation by a constant factor of $\small 1/3$.

3. Other shapes, such as hemispheres, hollowed cubes, or not-well-defined shapes, require their own individual formulas. Sometimes it's possible to divide the shape into smaller pieces with known volumes and then find the sum of them.

## How to use cubic yard calculator?

The tool is intuitive and very simple to use:

1. Think about the shape of the structure you want to build or the hole you want to dig.

2. Choose the appropriate option or the one that matches your plan the most (if you aren't sure, the calculator will provide you with small pictures to help you visualize all shapes).

3. Input all necessary dimensions.

4. The volume in cubic yards will show up immediately!

## Yardage calculator in practice

Imagine you want to prepare the ground for your dream garden with walking alleys, a pond, and a pyramidal sculpture. So, how do you calculate the cubic yards of soil you have to dig, and how do you find the amount of material required for your perfect place? This is important – you don't want to overspend on materials!

Let's divide this process into three parts, one for each element:

1. The alleys will be made out of concrete. Let's find the yardage:

• The total distance of the paths is 320 ft, and they don't cross one another. The desired width of the alleys is 5 ft, while the desired depth is 20 in.

• We can find the total footage of the paths: 320 ft × 5 ft = 1600 ft².

• Convert inches into feet, 20 in × 1/12 = 12/3 ft, and multiply this by the square footage to move from square feet to cubic feet, 1600 ft² × 1 ⅔ ft = 2666 ⅔ ft³.

• It is difficult to move from square feet to cubic yards, so now that we have the cubic feet, multiply it by the conversion ratio 1/27: 2666⅔ ft³ × 1/27 = 98.77 yd³.

• You can evaluate the final price of the alleys here. If you decide to use gravel instead, you can still use it to estimate the total cost.

2. Let's assume that your pond will be in the shape of a hemisphere and you have space for a circular reservoir with a circumference of 100 ft. How many cubic yards of water can you pour inside?

• Find the radius: r = 100 ft / (2 × π) = 15.92 ft. We rounded this result to two significant figures for convenience, but if you want to be more precise, feel free to use more.

• Use the formula for the volume of a hemisphere: V = 2/3 × π × r³ = 2/3 × π × 15.92³ = 8451 ft³ = 313 yd³

3. You decided to create a rocky square pyramid with sides of 4 ft and a height of 6.5 ft:

• Estimate the area of the base (the area of a square): 4 ft × 4 ft = 16 ft².

• Work out the volume: V = 1/3 × 16 ft² × 6.5 ft = = 34.67 ft³ = 1.284 yd³.

As you can see, all of these values are simple to evaluate when you know the formulas. If you forget one of them, want to be sure about the outcome, or just don't like converting between units, use this cubic yard calculator, plan your beautiful home, and you'll have no more worries about any yardage problems in the future. You can also input the price per unit to calculate the total price of your project!

💡 If you want to know the equivalent mass of a material of a particular volume in cubic yards, you'll find our cubic yards to tons converter very useful. Try that out! 😊

## FAQ

### How many cubic feet is 2 cubic yards?

The answer is 54 ft³. To derive this answer, you need to:

1. Recall the conversion factor: one cubic yard is 27 cubic feet.
2. Multiply 2 cubic yards by the conversion factor: 2 × 27 = 54.
3. Remember to include the unit: the answer is 54 cubic feet.
Wojciech Sas, PhD
Choose the shape of your hole/structure and its dimensions
Shape
Rectangular cuboid
Length
ft
Width
ft
Depth / Height
ft
Yardage
Volume
cu yd
Cost calculation
Price per unit
$/ cu yd Total price$
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