How we work out your order
Every answer begins in cubic feet, the space within a box 1 foot in length, 1 foot in width and 1 foot in height. The tool changes those measurements into yards, meters, bags, pounds and dollars at the final step. Before you call the yard, you can check each step below with a pencil because all of them are written out. You don't need this page to use the estimator.
Begin with the shape
- Slab, footing or wall: multiply length by width by thickness, with each measurement in feet. Like a patio, a slab is a flat pour. A footing is the base beneath a wall or post. You enter thickness in inches, and the tool divides that number by 12 before multiplying. If you pour more than one, the tool multiplies by the number you pour.
- Round column: multiply the circle's area by its height. The tool uses the width straight across the top to find the area, then multiplies the result by the number of columns you need.
- Steps: picture every stair as a solid block. The block matches the stairs in width and one tread in depth. The first block has the height of one step, the second has the height of two steps, and this continues upward. Add one block for the top landing, using the landing's depth and the combined height of all steps.
Concrete yardage, waste and meters
Yardage is the concrete volume measured in cubic yards. You can add 0%, 5% or 10% because spills and low spots in the ground use up some of each load. The tool includes that extra from the start, so it already appears in every number.
These are the exact factors used for every unit change. The tool first changes measurements in meters and centimeters into feet and inches.
| Change | How |
|---|---|
| Cubic feet to cubic yards | divide by 27 |
| Cubic feet to cubic meters | multiply by 0.0283168 |
| Meters to feet | multiply by 3.28084 |
| Centimeters to inches | multiply by 0.393701 |
Converting yards into bags
To calculate bags, the tool divides the amount you're ordering by the volume one mixed bag provides. It then rounds up to a full bag because bags aren't sold in halves. The Quikrete Concrete Mix No. 1101 data sheet supplies the yields. For every bag size offered by both brands, Sakrete High-Strength Concrete Mix lists matching yields.
| Bag | Concrete per bag (cubic feet) | Bags per cubic yard | Bags per cubic meter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 lb (18.1 kg) | 0.30 | 90 | 117.7 |
| 50 lb (22.6 kg) | 0.375 | 72 | 94.2 |
| 60 lb (27.2 kg) | 0.45 | 60 | 78.5 |
| 80 lb (36.2 kg) | 0.60 | 45 | 58.9 |
Dollars and pounds
According to Quikrete, concrete weighs about 140 lb per cubic foot. After multiplying your order by that figure, the tool rounds the result to the nearest 10 lb.
You must enter a price per cubic yard before a cost appears. The tool multiplies the cubic yards you're ordering by the entered price and rounds to the nearest dollar. For reference, Concrete Network (updated July 2026) reports a 2025 US average of $179.95 per cubic yard, and most prices are between $160 and $195. We review both figures once each year.
Rounding for each number
Cubic yards and cubic meters display 2 decimal places. Cubic feet display 1. Bag counts are always rounded up to a whole bag. Weight is rounded to the nearest 10 lb, while cost is rounded to the nearest dollar.
Sources for the figures and our testing process
The manufacturers' own data sheets provide each bag's yield and the weight per cubic foot. Unit changes rely on exact definitions. A published national survey provides the price guide.
Before an update goes out, a script checks jobs we solved by hand: a slab in metric units, a slab of 10 by 10 ft, a set of steps, plus round columns and a footing. When a figure comes out different, the update waits for the fix.
Brands don't pay to be named here, and links on the site aren't paid for. The Get in touch page lists the address if you think a number is wrong. We include the fix in the next update.