Cubic Yard Calculator
Find the volume of a space in cubic yards, from feet and inches. See it in m³, and what it weighs in tonnes.
Measure the space
Your answer
66.7 cubic feet · 1.89 cubic metres
What it weighs
- Granular A (road base)3.36 tonnes
- ¾ in clear stone3.21 tonnes
- Sand3.36 tonnes
- Triple mix2.69 tonnes
- Topsoil2.25 tonnes
- Mulch0.54 tonnes
Tonnes of 1,000 kg, loose as delivered. Middle figures from Canadian yards and producers, with only 3–6 each. Ask your yard what it uses.
Quick answers
- The sum
- Multiply the three sizes in feet, then divide the answer by 27.
- Yards in a tonne
- About 0.74 of Granular A, 1.1 of topsoil, or 4.5 of mulch.
- Yards to m³
- One cubic yard is 0.765 m³. One m³ is 1.308 cubic yards.
- What a yard covers
- At 2 in deep, one yard spreads over 162 sq ft. At 4 in, 81 sq ft.
- A truckload
- A tandem carries about 16 tonnes and a tri-axle about 22, says one Ontario yard's 2022 list. A second yard says up to 22.9 tonnes.
How to work it out
- Measure the space in feet: first its length, then its width.
- Change the depth to feet. Divide inches by 12, so 6 in is 0.5 ft.
- Multiply the three sizes in feet. That gives cubic feet.
- Divide by 27 for cubic yards. For tonnes, multiply the yards by the weight of one yard.
24 × 10 × 0.5 = 120 cubic feet
120 ÷ 27 = 4.44 cubic yards (3.40 m³)
4.44 × 1.36 = 6.04 tonnes of Granular A
What a cubic yard weighs in Canada
A cubic yard is a box 3 ft on each side, or 27 cubic feet. Its weight depends on what fills it.
| Material | Tonnes per yard | Yards per tonne | Range found | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granular A (road base) | 1.36 | 0.74 | 1.3–1.5 | 6 |
| ¾ in clear stone | 1.3 | 0.77 | 1.2–1.36 | 3 |
| Sand | 1.36 | 0.74 | 1.27–1.5 | 4 |
| Triple mix | 1.09 | 0.92 | 0.91–1.22 | 3 |
| Topsoil | 0.91 | 1.10 | 0.91–1.15 | 3 |
| Mulch | 0.22 | 4.55 | 0.12–0.36 | 5 |
| Any sand, gravel or stone (government) | 1.35 | 0.74 | 1.35–1.36 | 2 government |
Loose, as delivered. The middle of the Canadian figures we found. Fewer than 4 sources is weak, so ask your yard.
Our tonne is the metric one: 1,000 kg, or about 2,205 lb. Two Quebec yards treat a tonne as 2,000 or 2,200 lb, so check.
A 2,000 lb short ton is 0.91 tonnes, per Natural Resources Canada.
Dufferin Aggregates, an Ontario producer, uses 1.5 tonnes a yard for all it sells. That sits at the top of our ranges.
Convert tonnes to cubic yards
A pit quotes in tonnes. A landscape yard quotes in cubic yards. The weight of one yard turns one into the other.
- Yards to tonnes: multiply by the weight per yard.
- Tonnes to yards: divide by the weight per yard.
So 10 tonnes of Granular A is 10 ÷ 1.36 = 7.35 cubic yards. And 3 yards of triple mix weigh 3 × 1.09 = 3.27 tonnes.
Cubic yard conversion: cubic feet and m³
In Canada, ready-mix concrete is priced by the m³. Stone and soil are priced by the yard or the tonne. This table switches yards to the other units.
| Cubic yards | Cubic feet | m³ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | 0.765 |
| 2 | 54 | 1.529 |
| 3 | 81 | 2.294 |
| 5 | 135 | 3.823 |
| 10 | 270 | 7.646 |
| 15 | 405 | 11.468 |
From the set unit sizes (NIST): a foot is 0.3048 m.
To turn m³ into yards, multiply by 1.308. Our cubic metre calculator starts from metres instead.
What one cubic yard covers
Spreading soil, stone or mulch? Divide 324 by the depth in inches. The answer is the square feet one yard covers.
| Depth | Square feet | Square metres |
|---|---|---|
| 1 in (25 mm) | 324 sq ft | 30.1 m² |
| 2 in (51 mm) | 162 sq ft | 15.1 m² |
| 3 in (76 mm) | 108 sq ft | 10.0 m² |
| 4 in (102 mm) | 81 sq ft | 7.5 m² |
| 6 in (152 mm) | 54 sq ft | 5.0 m² |
| 8 in (203 mm) | 41 sq ft | 3.8 m² |
| 12 in (305 mm) | 27 sq ft | 2.5 m² |
Works for any material. No extra added.
Why 324? A foot has 12 inches and a yard has 27 cubic feet, and 12 × 27 = 324.
Trucks and bags
One Ontario yard's 2022 list gives truck sizes. A tandem takes about 16 tonnes, or 18 cubic yards of topsoil. A tri-axle takes about 22 tonnes, or 25 yards of topsoil. Another Ontario hauler lists loads of up to 22.9 tonnes.
Stone is heavier, so fewer yards fit. A tandem of Granular A is about 11.8 cubic yards (16 ÷ 1.36).
Small loads have limits. Canadian yards cap a small delivery at 3–6 cubic yards. The middle fee was $75 a trip, from 7 yards.
Bags in a cubic yard
- 31 bags of 25 L soil
- 18 bags of 42.5 L mulch
- 54 bags of 25 kg gravel or sand (half a cubic foot each)
Bulk bags hold one cubic yard and come by truck. The middle delivered price was $175 for clear stone (5 prices) and $206 for topsoil (4 prices), before tax.
Questions people ask
How do I calculate cubic yards?
Multiply the length, width and depth in feet to get cubic feet. Then divide by 27. A pad 24 × 10 ft and 6 in deep holds 4.44 cubic yards.
How do I convert square feet to cubic yards?
Bring the depth in too. The square footage times the depth in inches gives a number. Divide it by 324. For 750 sq ft of mulch at 3 in, that comes to 6.94 cubic yards.
How many yards are in a tonne?
Light stuff fills more yards. A tonne of topsoil is about 1.1 cubic yards, and a tonne of mulch about 4.5. Stone is heavy, so a tonne of Granular A is only about 0.74.
How do I calculate a cubic yard from inches?
Divide each size in inches by 12 to get feet, multiply them, then divide by 27. Or multiply the three sizes in inches and divide by 46,656, the cubic inches in a yard.
How many square feet in a cubic yard at 2 inches deep?
162 sq ft, or about 15 m². Go to 3 in, and the same yard covers only 108 sq ft.
How big is a yard of dirt in feet?
A cubic yard of dirt fills a box 3 ft long, 3 ft wide and 3 ft high. That is 27 cubic feet, or 0.76 m³. Spread 4 in deep, it covers 81 sq ft. A yard of topsoil weighs about 0.91 tonnes.
How many yards of gravel fit in a dump truck?
Go by weight. One Ontario yard's 2022 list puts about 16 tonnes in a tandem and 22 in a tri-axle. In Granular A, that is about 11.8 and 16.2 cubic yards. A second yard says up to 22.9 tonnes, so ask your hauler.
How many 25 L bags of soil are in a cubic yard?
About 30.6, so buy 31. For 25 kg bags of gravel or sand, it takes 54.
Where our numbers come from
- Unit sizes: NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C (1 ft = 0.3048 m; 1 US gallon = 231 cubic inches)
- Weights per cubic yard: Canadian yards and producers (few sources each)
- Gravel weight: Natural Resources Canada (1 cubic yard = 1.35 tonnes)
- Gravel weight: Government of Manitoba quarry calculation tool
- Weight: Dufferin Aggregates homeowners FAQ (1 yard = 1.5 tonnes)
- Quebec yards: bulk calculators (tonne, packing)
- Truck sizes and stone weights: A. Miron Topsoil price list (2022)
- Delivery fees (7 Canadian yards); loads up to 22.9 tonnes (LBL, Almonte ON)
- Bag sizes sold in Canada (soil, mulch)
- Bag size: Quikrete Canada (Target Products), 25 kg = ½ cubic foot
- 1 cubic yard bulk bags, delivered: 4 Canadian sellers per product (Garden Bag, Walmart.ca, RONA, Mygardenbag)
- Ready-mix price: the middle of 4 prices from 3 companies (25 MPa, Oct 2026, before tax)
Made by BuildersCount. Last checked 4 Oct 2026.
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