How to Estimate Cubic Yards

Finding cubic volume is a procedure students learn in math class. Many people, however, are not able to translate that knowledge to estimating the cubic volume of things that do not have the sizes written on the page. Learning how to find the approximate volume of a room, a concrete pad or even a pile of dirt is as simple as measuring and multiplying. Unless you are measuring in yards, calculating cubic yards will also require some division.

Tape measure
Calculator

Instructions

- 1
  Use a tape measure to determine the square feet. This number is length multiplied by the width. The numbers do not have to be exact since this is an estimate.
- 2
  Measure the depth. This will always be the vertical measurement or estimate. If you are measuring a pile of dirt it will be the height of dirt pile. If you are digging down, it will be the depth of the hole.
- 3
  Multiply the depth by the square footage. This number will be the number of cubic feet.
- 4
  Divide the cubic footage by 27 to determine the approximate number of cubic yards. A yard is 3 feet, so essentially you are dividing by 3 for the length, the width and the depth.

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