Building materials, such as gravel or concrete, are often sold in quantities of cubic yard. This unit of volume is equivalent to 27 cubic feet, measuring the length, width and depth of a location. However, when measuring a home construction project, measurements are often taken in feet. These measurements can be converted into or from cubic yards with online calculators or using basic mathematics. Some businesses that sell materials may also have documentation online or on paper that offers tips and help on how much material is needed for jobs of various sizes.
Instructions
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1
Determine the initial number of cubic yards. For example, consider a volume of gravel at 5 cubic yards.
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2
Multiply the cubic yards by 27, which is how many cubic feet are in a cubic yard. In the example, 5 cubic yards x 27 cubic feet per cubic yard = 135 cubic feet.
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Divide your answer by how deep you need the final result to be, if you are spreading your material. For example, if you want to fill an area 2-inches deep, divide 135 by 2 to get 67.5 square feet. This means that 5 cubic yards of gravel, for instance, will cover an area of 67.5 square feet 2-inches deep.