For homeowners, DIY enthusiasts, contractors, landscapers, and small concrete businesses looking to accurately calculate concrete quantities for common projects and explore practical short-load concrete solutions.
Whether you’re pouring a backyard patio, installing fence posts, building a sidewalk, or preparing a concrete foundation, one of the first questions you need to answer is: How much concrete will this project actually take?
Order too little, and you risk running out before the job is finished. Order too much, and you could end up paying for concrete you don’t need.
The good news? Calculating concrete volume is easier than you might think. With a few measurements and a simple formula, you can estimate how many cubic yards your project requires and determine the best way to get that concrete to your jobsite.
Understanding Concrete Measurements: What Is a Cubic Yard?
Concrete is typically measured and sold by the cubic yard, which represents volume rather than weight or surface area.
One cubic yard equals:
- 27 cubic feet
- 46,656 cubic inches
- Approximately 202 gallons of volume
To put that into perspective, a cubic yard of concrete can cover approximately:
These measurements assume a consistent thickness and don’t account for waste, uneven ground, or other jobsite conditions.
Understanding how much area a cubic yard covers can help you estimate concrete needs before you even start calculating.
How to Calculate How Many Yards of Concrete You Need
For a basic rectangular concrete pour, you only need three measurements:
- Length: How long is the area you’re pouring?
- Width: How wide is the area?
- Depth: How thick will the concrete be?
Once you have those measurements, use this formula:
Length (ft) × Width (ft) × Depth (ft) ÷ 27 = Cubic Yards
If your concrete thickness is measured in inches, convert it to feet by dividing by 12.
For example, let’s say you’re planning a patio that measures 12 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 4 inches thick.
Step 1: Convert the thickness to feet.
4 ÷ 12 = 0.333 feet
Step 2: Multiply the dimensions.
12 × 10 × 0.333 = Approximately 40 cubic feet
Step 3: Convert cubic feet to cubic yards.
40 ÷ 27 = Approximately 1.48 cubic yards
Your patio requires approximately 1.5 cubic yards of concrete before accounting for any additional material.
Should You Order Extra Concrete?
In most cases, it’s smart to plan for a little more concrete than your exact calculations suggest. Uneven ground, variations in excavation depth, spillage, and other jobsite conditions can increase the amount of material required.
A common planning allowance is approximately 5–10% extra concrete, depending on the project and how accurately the area has been prepared. For the patio example above, adding 10% would bring the estimated requirement to approximately 1.63 cubic yards.
Having a little extra available is often better than coming up short halfway through a pour.
How Portable Concrete Mixing Helps Contractors Adapt
All estimates are based on uniform dimensions and exclude additional material allowances. Actual thickness and reinforcement requirements depend on the application, soil conditions, and local construction requirements.
Not every concrete project involves a large foundation or commercial slab. Many everyday projects require only a yard or two of concrete, making them good candidates for short-load concrete delivery.
These examples demonstrate how quickly concrete requirements can add up, even for relatively small projects.
What About Fence Posts and Footings?
Not every concrete project is rectangular. Fence posts, deck footings, and other cylindrical foundations require a slightly different calculation.
For a round hole, use:
3.1416 × Radius² (ft) × Depth (ft) ÷ 27 = Cubic Yards
For example, a cylindrical footing measuring 12 inches in diameter and 3 feet deep requires approximately 0.087 cubic yards before accounting for the volume displaced by a post. If you’re installing 10 identical footings, the total would be approximately 0.87 cubic yards.
Calculating each footing individually and multiplying by the total number helps you estimate the amount of concrete needed for the entire project.
What Happens When You Only Need One or Two Yards?
Once you’ve calculated your concrete requirements, the next challenge is figuring out how to get the right amount delivered or produced.
Traditional ready-mix trucks are designed to transport larger quantities of concrete. Although smaller orders may be available, some suppliers apply short-load fees, minimum delivery charges, or other pricing adjustments when customers need less than a full truckload.
For a contractor pouring a small sidewalk or a homeowner installing a patio, those additional costs can make a relatively simple project more expensive.
That’s where short-load concrete equipment becomes especially useful. Instead of relying exclusively on large ready-mix deliveries, smaller concrete mixing and delivery systems can help provide the quantities needed for individual projects.
A Better Fit for Smaller Concrete Projects: Cart-Away Equipment
At Cart-Away, we’ve spent more than 35 years helping businesses and contractors approach concrete production and delivery differently.
Our portable concrete mixing equipment is designed to make smaller concrete loads more accessible, giving operators the flexibility to serve projects that may not require a full ready-mix truck.
MixKing Concrete Mixing Trailers
The Cart-Away MixKings are portable concrete mixing trailers with a 1 or 1.75-cubic-yard drum capacity, making them a practical option for contractors, rental businesses, and short-load concrete operations.
Instead of coordinating a traditional ready-mix truck for every small pour, operators can transport concrete directly to the jobsite using a towable mixing trailer. For example, a contractor pouring a 10′ × 10′ patio at 4 inches thick would need approximately 1.23 cubic yards of concrete before adding a waste allowance. That’s a quantity that fits within the MixKing’s rated drum capacity, subject to loading limits and the actual batch volume.
For larger jobs, operators can plan multiple loads based on the total volume required.
Build a Short-Load Concrete Operation
For businesses that regularly supply smaller quantities of concrete, Cart-Away offers more than individual mixing trailers.
Our equipment lineup includes systems designed to support different levels of concrete production:
- MixKing Trailers: Portable concrete mixing and delivery for smaller projects.
- LoadPro: A volumetric loading system that allows operators to load mixing trailers with concrete materials.
- PortaBatch: A portable batching solution that helps businesses produce concrete without relying on a large permanent batch plant.
- CBL1 and CBL2: Belt-loading systems that support concrete production operations with material storage and loading capabilities.
These systems allow businesses to develop a concrete operation around their customers’ needs, whether they’re serving homeowners, contractors, landscapers, or other customers who regularly need smaller loads.
For customers who don’t own their own mixing equipment, Cart-Away’s network of equipment operators and concrete suppliers can also provide opportunities to locate short-load concrete services.
How to Avoid Ordering Too Much or Too Little Concrete
Even with a good estimate, a few additional steps can help prevent problems on pour day.
Measure carefully. Double-check the length, width, and depth of your project before calculating the required volume.
Account for uneven surfaces. Excavated areas aren’t always perfectly level, and variations in depth can affect the amount of concrete required.
Break irregular projects into sections. For L-shaped patios, sidewalks with multiple sections, or other unusual layouts, calculate each section separately and add the totals together.
Plan for extra material. A reasonable allowance can help account for small variations and unexpected conditions.
Consider how the concrete will arrive. Determine whether your project is better suited for traditional ready-mix delivery, a portable mixing trailer, or another concrete production method.
The more accurately you plan your concrete requirements, the easier it becomes to manage material costs, delivery logistics, and your overall project schedule.
The Right Amount of Concrete for the Job
Concrete projects come in all shapes and sizes, but determining how much material you need doesn’t have to be complicated.
By measuring your project, calculating its volume, and accounting for a little extra material, you can approach your next pour with a better understanding of what the job requires.
And when your calculations show that you only need one or two cubic yards, there’s no reason to assume a full-sized ready-mix truck is your only option.
Cart-Away’s portable concrete mixing and short-load equipment helps contractors and businesses serve smaller concrete projects with greater flexibility.
Whether you’re looking for a mixing trailer, planning to start a short-load concrete business, or exploring ways to expand your existing operation, Cart-Away has equipment designed to help you get the right amount of concrete where it’s needed.
