How to Calculate Cubic Yards
Cubic yards are a common purchasing unit for bulk landscaping and construction materials. Once you know the project volume in cubic feet, converting to cubic yards is straightforward: divide by 27.
Last updated October 6, 2026 · Written for practical home-project planning.
1. Measure length and width
Measure the area in feet. If the space is irregular, divide it into simple shapes and calculate each one separately.
2. Convert depth to feet
If the material is 4 inches deep, divide 4 by 12 to get 0.333 feet. Keeping all three dimensions in feet makes the volume calculation simple.
3. Calculate cubic feet
Multiply length × width × depth. For example, 20 × 10 × 0.333 is about 66.7 cubic feet.
4. Convert cubic feet to cubic yards
There are 27 cubic feet in one cubic yard. Divide the cubic-foot result by 27. In the example above, 66.7 ÷ 27 is about 2.47 cubic yards.
5. Add an appropriate allowance
Loose materials can settle, spill, or vary in depth. Add a project-appropriate allowance before ordering. Do not automatically apply the same percentage to fixed costs or engineered dimensions.
Volume is not the same as weight
A cubic yard tells you how much space the material occupies. Tons depend on density and moisture. Gravel, sand, soil, and mulch can have very different weights per cubic yard, so use supplier density for tonnage estimates.
Use our material calculators
Our Gravel, Sand, Mulch, Topsoil, Concrete, and Gravel Driveway calculators automate these steps and expose the assumptions used for the conversion.