What Is a Cubic Yard?
A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet — a cube 3 feet long, 3 feet wide and 3 feet tall. Mulch, soil, gravel and ready-mix concrete are sold by the cubic yard (often just called a “yard”).
Converting your project to cubic yards
Cubic yards = Length (ft) × Width (ft) × Depth (in) ÷ 12 ÷ 27
Shortcut = Area (sq ft) × Depth (in) ÷ 324
Example: a 10×20 ft bed (200 sq ft) at 3 inches deep is 200 × 3 ÷ 324 = 1.85 cubic yards.
How much area does one cubic yard cover?
| Depth | Coverage of 1 cu yd |
|---|---|
| 1 in | 324 sq ft |
| 2 in | 162 sq ft |
| 3 in | 108 sq ft |
| 4 in | 81 sq ft |
| 6 in | 54 sq ft |
| 12 in | 27 sq ft |
Cubic yards to bags
| Bag size | Bags per cubic yard |
|---|---|
| 1 cu ft | 27 |
| 1.5 cu ft | 18 |
| 2 cu ft | 13.5 |
| 3 cu ft | 9 |
| 0.75 cu ft (topsoil) | 36 |
| 0.5 cu ft (gravel, sand) | 54 |
| 80 lb concrete (0.6 cu ft) | 45 |
Cubic yards to tons
Stone, sand and gravel are often sold by the ton. A cubic yard of most gravel weighs about 1.3–1.5 tons; topsoil roughly 1–1.3 tons depending on moisture. The gravel calculator does the conversion for common materials.