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Cubic Feet to Cubic Yards Calculator

Convert a volume in cubic feet into cubic yards — the unit concrete, gravel and topsoil are actually sold in.

Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Figures are presented for United States against IRC 2024, and every formula is cited under regulatory standards below.

Last verified 2026-08-26 · v1.0.0

Market
Imperial · sales tax

Volume

3.7 cu yd

High confidence

1 cubic yard = 27 cubic feet exactly, since a yard is 3 feet and 3³ = 27. Round up and add a waste allowance — suppliers deliver in whole or half yards, and running short mid-pour is far costlier than the surplus.

Conversion factor applied
0.04 cu yd per cu ft

Almost every bulk material in North America is priced and delivered by the cubic yard, while dimensions on site get measured in feet and inches, so this conversion sits between the take-off and the order. It is exact — twenty-seven cubic feet to the yard — and the errors that occur are upstream of it. The commonest is entering a slab thickness in inches without converting: four inches is a third of a foot, and treating it as four inflates the volume twelvefold. The second is ordering the converted figure precisely. Bulk suppliers work in whole or half yards, and arriving fractionally short on a concrete pour means either a cold joint or an emergency second load whose delivery charge exceeds the value of the material saved.

Add the equipment this sizes

This result is a specification — 3.704 cu yd — not a quantity. Put the thing it sizes into your project: how many, what you call it, and your supplier’s price.

Preliminary estimate, not certified engineering. This tool produces an indicative quantity calculation for planning purposes only — it is not a certified structural analysis, a guaranteed material takeoff, or a substitute for building department approval. Always verify measurements on-site and have a licensed contractor or structural engineer review any load-bearing, code-sensitive, or safety-critical work before purchasing materials or starting construction. Spotted an arithmetic or standards error? Report it to contact@craftquantities.com with your inputs — confirmed fixes become pinned regression tests.

[Schema Verified] Computed in alignment with American Concrete Institute (ACI 318-19) formulas and International Residential Code (IRC 2024) spatial boundaries.

Regulatory standards & verification citations

  • 1 yd = 3 ft, so 1 cu yd = 3^3 = 27 cu ft exactly

Your workspace

Most jobs need more than one number. Add the calculators you need next and they open right here, underneath this one — your figures stay on screen and nothing is lost to a page change.

Frequently asked questions

Why is everything sold in cubic yards?
Because a cubic yard is roughly what a small truck body or a standard mixer load is organised around, and it is a convenient size for bulk materials. A cubic foot is too small a unit to price or deliver against.
Do I order the exact converted figure?
No — round up, and add for waste and over-excavation. Suppliers deliver in whole or half yards, and being fractionally short on a pour means a cold joint or a second delivery charge that dwarfs the cost of the extra material.
Is a cubic yard of gravel the same as a ton?
Not at all, and conflating them is a common ordering error. Weight depends on the material's density: a cubic yard of dry gravel is roughly 1.4 short tons, while a cubic yard of mulch is a fraction of that. Convert through density rather than assuming.