Cubic Yard Calculator is a calculator developed to help you with calculating the volume of a structure in cubic yards. What makes it different and stand out from other calculators is the simplicity and easiness of use. If you need to find the cubic yard of any shape (cube, cone, cylinder..), just select it from the list, and boom!

Additionally, if you would like to learn more about cubic yards and convert them into other volume units, you will find all the answers in the text below, and there is also our Volume Conversion tool to help you with that.

Would you like to check out more construction-related calculators? Look at the comprehensive list of various calculators below:

• Mortar Calculator – is a calculator for calculating the amount mortar you need for your home project;
• Limestone Calculator – is another construction calculator for determining how much limestone rock you need for a project
• Sand Calculator – a calculator used to calculate the volume of sand needed based on height, width, and depth, with price.
• Concrete Tube Calculator – calculates how much concrete is needed to fill a certain number of tubes alongside with price.
• or maybe Rip Rap Calculator – for determining the volume and price of rip-rap needed for your project.

How Much is a Cubic Yard?

A cubic yard (cu yd) is another very common unit of volume used to calculate how much material you can fit into a container. Similarly, we have a unit “yard”, but yards can only measure the volume in 2D. Therefore, as an extension to yards, cubic yards (cu yd) provided a way to measure the volume of a shape in 3D.

Essentially, when you hear someone saying that a certain thing has a volume of a cu yd. In other words, it indicates a volume of a cube that has the length, width, and height of one yard. Additionally, if you need to convert cu yds to other volume units, you can easily do the conversion according to some rates. You will learn about it a bit later, in another section.

As a cubic yard symbol, it is defined to use cu yd.

Real-world Usage

Okay, so you are probably now more familiar with this volume unit. But, wait, what are the real-world applications and usages?

For example, we can use cu yd for:

• Finding the size of a structure or a building (width, length, depth)
• Determining the needed large volumes of cement, concrete or other material to build a tunnel
• Determining the amount of mulch needed to cover the soil in a garden.

How to Calculate Cubic Yards – Conversion

To know how to measure yardage for a certain object, firstly, we need to determine the object’s shape. Therefore, different shapes need different formulas.

For instance, let’s show and explain the yardage formula for a cube and a cylinder.

For a cube:

Since a cube has all the sides equal, if we name its sides with the letter “a”, we can find the yardage with the formula below:

\text{Formula = a} \cdot \text{a} \cdot \text{a = cu yd = yd³}

where:

a – a side of the cube (length / width / height).

For a cylinder:

To find the yardage for a cylindrical object, you need to know the height and the radius of the cylinder:

\text{Formula = } π\cdot r^{2}\cdot h = \text{cu yd = yd³}

where:

h – height / depth

Note: Calculating the yardage of an object can be simplified with our easy-to-use calculator. Therefore, if you are in a hurry and want to calculate the yardage, make use of our calculator.

We have already mentioned that a cubic yard is nothing more than a volume unit among plenty more of them. Therefore, it means that you can convert from one to another according to your needs. Thus, let’s cover some of the most common cubic yard conversion scenarios.

Square Feet to Cu yd

When converting from square feet to cu yds, you need to:

• First, find the square feet area of an object
• Multiply the square feet area by the depth/height
• Divide the product by 27

Cubic Feet to Cu yd

The conversion between cubic feet and cu yds is fairly simple and quick, and it works this way:

• First, find the volume of an object (feet)
• Then, divide the given volume value (feet) by 27
• For example, 100 cubic feet to cubic yards = 3.7037 cu yds

Cu yd to Tons

When you want to convert cubic yards to tons, there is a conversion factor that you have to include in the calculation. For most sand and gravel products, the conversion factor is 1.4. Follow the steps below:

• Find cubic yards first, and then multiply the yardage by 1.4 to get tons (t)
• However, if you need the opposite way, from tons to cu yds, divide the value by 1.4

Cubic Inches to Cu yd

For situations when you get or find the volume in (cu inches), but you want to convert cubic inches to yards, let’s see how to do it:

• You are given the volume (width/length/depth) in cubic inches
• Divide the volume value (in cu inches) by 46656

Gallons to Cu yd

US gallon is a liquid volume unit, and it is mostly used for measuring liquids in the US. If you want to convert gallons to cubic yards, you need to:

• Take the liquid volume in gallons and divide the value by 202 (it will return an approximate result in cu yd)

Cubic Meters to Cu yd

A Cubic meter is a measurement unit mostly used to calculate concentrations of a chemical in an air volume. When you need to convert cubic meters to cubic yards, follow the steps below:

• Find the chemical concentration in (cu meters) and multiply the value by 1.308

Cu yd to Acres

An acre is a unit of land mainly used in the British Imperial and United States Customary systems. How many cubic yards in an acre? One acre equals 0.00061983 cubic yards.

Let’s explain how to convert bigger values from cubic yards to acres:

• Multiply the volume (width/length/depth) in cubic yards by 0.00061983

Cubic Yard Calculator – How to Use?

You are aware of the fact how difficult it can be to get cubic yards of a particular object or thing. But, with the help of our comprehensive Cubic Yard Calculator, you only need to select the object’s shape and input the parameters (e.g. width, length or depth). Therefore, you can leave everything else to our calculator.

Besides calculating the yardage, our calculator can also calculate the total cost for a project.

How to use it?

• Select the shape of your structure (cuboid, cube, cylinder, cone, pyramid, torus..)
• Enter the parameters (e.g., for a cone, you need to define the height/depth and radius length) in the calculator
• The calculator will return the yardage in cu yd.

How to Find Cubic Yards of a Cylinder – Example

In this example, you will learn how to find cubic yards of a cylinder using the Cubic Yard Calculator.

Scenario: What is the yardage of a cylindrical structure with the following dimension: radius = 2 yds, height/depth = 6 yds. Use our Cubic Yard Calculator for the calculation.

1. Select the shape of your structure (cuboid, cube, cylinder, cone, pyramid..)
2. Enter the parameters (e.g., for a cone, you need to define the height and radius length)
3. Cubic Yard Calculator will return the yardage = 75.4 cu yd

FAQ

How to calculate cu yds of concrete?

To determine the concrete needed, follow the steps below:
– Define the concrete thickness
– Determine the area dimensions you want to fill with concrete material
– Calculate the area in square footage
– Multiply the thickness of the material (in feet) by the square footage to get cubic feet
– Convert cu feet to cu yds by multiplying by .037

How much area does a cubic yard cover?

It depends on some factors, such as thickness, material, etc. But approximately, one cubic yard at a depth of 3 inches can cover around 108 square feet area.

How many cubic feet does one cubic yard have?

One cubic yard is equal to 27 cubic feet.

How many cu yds are in a dump truck?

Generally, full-size dump trucks can take between 10 and 16 cubic yards. However, smaller dump trucks cannot take more than 5 cubic yards.

How many gallons can fit into a cubic yard?

In one cubic yard, there are approximately 202 US gallons.

How much does one cubic yard of concrete weigh?

A solid concrete slab weighs 4,050 pounds per cubic yard, whereas a cubic yard of broken-up concrete weighs 2,025 pounds.

How many wheelbarrows are in a cubic yard?

Typically, it takes 9 to 14 full loads to equal 1 cubic yard. However, it depends on your wheelbarrow size, but commonly, there are two types: 2 and 3-cubic foot wheelbarrows. Generally, a 2-cubic foot wheelbarrow comes with a shallow basin. Therefore, it does not have a high load.
For a 2 cu feet wheelbarrow, you need 14 loads for a cubic yard. On the contrary, a 3 cu feet wheelbarrow needs fewer loads, only 9 for a cubic yard.