How to Measure Square Feet for Concrete

Measure for Square Feet

• 1

  Measure the length of the area by extending a tape measure across the longer side. Write this number down on a notepad.

• 2

  Take the measurement for the width of the pour; write down the number of feet.

• 3

  Multiply the length by the width. For instance, if the measurement is 14 feet long by 12 feet wide, multiply 14 by 12 and arrive at 168 square feet. You now have the concrete's square footage.

Convert Square Feet to Cubic Yards

• 4

  Measure the depth of the pour and convert to a percentage. As an example, if the concrete will be 4 inches thick, it would be 4 inches divided by 12 inches to yield .33 percent. If the concrete will be 6 inches thick, the percentage would be .50 percent.

• 5

  Determine the cubic feet. Using the above example of 168 square feet by 4 inches thick, the calculation would be 168 times .33 percent, making it 55.44 cubic feet.

• 6

  Convert to cubic yards by dividing the number of cubic feet by 27. Following the example given, the conversion would be 55.44 cubic feet divided by 27, making the cubic yards 2.05. Round to the nearest whole fraction to account for waste and to conform with minimum order requirements. In this instance, you would simply round up to 2.5 cubic yards.