Ready-mix is ordered by the cubic yard, and one cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. The load's weight, though, decides whether a trailer, hoist or dumpster can take it. The figure here uses a standard mix at 140 lb per cubic foot, so treat the result as a planning number, not a rated load.
How to use this calculator
- Pick Rectangle for a slab or a solid block, and Round for a column or a round pier.
- Enter the length and width in feet, or the diameter for a round piece, then the thickness or height. For a block, use its length, width and height.
- Leave How many at one for a single piece, or enter the count for identical pieces such as several piers.
- Read the pounds first, then the tons. Compare the tons with the payload rating on the trailer's certification label, and with any limit your hauler or landfill gives you.
- If the piece is hollow, such as a concrete masonry block with open cores, the calculator overstates its weight. Use the maker's figure for those.
Worked examples
Generator pad
4 ft × 3 ft, 4 in thick
- cubic yards
- 0.148
- cubic feet
- 4
- tons
- 0.28
Solid pier block
2 ft × 2 ft, 2 ft thick
- cubic yards
- 0.296
- cubic feet
- 8
- tons
- 0.56
Round column
16 in diameter, 8 ft deep
- cubic yards
- 0.414
- cubic feet
- 11.17
- tons
- 0.782
Driveway section
16 ft × 10 ft, 6 in thick
- cubic yards
- 2.96
- cubic feet
- 80
- tons
- 5.6
Why the weight matters
- Hauling: a pickup or utility trailer has a payload rating, and a load of concrete can use up all of it before the bed looks full.
- Trailer limits: the payload rating is on the trailer's certification label. Compare the load against that figure, and leave room for everything else you carry.
- Demolition: haulers and landfills often charge by weight, so the tons figure is the one to use when you ask for a removal quote.
- Lifting: hoists, forklifts, pallet jacks and lifting straps all have rated capacities. A small precast block can still be heavier than the gear you planned to use.
Wet and cured weight in plain terms
Concrete is heaviest while it is fresh and wet, which is the state you haul and place it in. The density the calculator uses comes from a standard unit-weight test on fresh concrete.
As concrete cures, some of its mixing water leaves it, so a hardened piece can weigh somewhat less than the same volume did when wet. The calculator does not model that change, so for a cured block or column you already have, weigh it or use the maker's figure.
Steel reinforcement adds weight that this calculator leaves out, and a mix with a different aggregate can have a different density. If your concrete is reinforced or unusual, get the figure from your supplier.
How the calculator gets the weight
The calculator first finds the volume in cubic feet: length times width times thickness for a rectangle, or the area of a circle times its height for a round piece. Each measurement is turned into feet before the multiplication.
Next it multiplies the cubic feet by 140 lb per cubic foot to get pounds. Dividing by 2,000 gives US tons, because one short ton is 2,000 lb. A cubic yard, which is 27 cubic feet, therefore weighs about 3,800 lb, or 1.89 tons.
The weight is the volume times the density and nothing more, so the calculator adds no allowance for waste. If you order extra concrete, add its weight yourself. A hollow block holds less concrete than its outside dimensions suggest, so use the maker's weight for it instead.
Common questions
What does a cubic yard of concrete weigh?
A standard mix at 140 lb per cubic foot puts one cubic yard at about 3,800 lb. That is far more than most people can lift, which is why ready-mix arrives by truck and bagged mix comes in pieces that are each a small fraction of that load.
Is wet concrete heavier than cured concrete?
Usually yes, because some of the mixing water leaves as the concrete cures. The calculator does not model that drop, so it describes the concrete as you haul and place it. For a finished piece you plan to move, weigh it or check the maker's figure.
How do I convert concrete weight from pounds to tons?
Divide the pounds by 2,000, the number of pounds in a US short ton. The calculator shows both figures, so use the tons line when you compare the load with a hauler's or landfill's limit.
How heavy is a concrete block?
A solid block weighs its volume times the density, the same way this calculator works out a concrete slab. Hollow masonry blocks weigh less, so use the weight on the block maker's data sheet, and check local rules before you lift or haul a heavy piece.
How much does a cubic meter of concrete weigh in kg?
A cubic meter of standard concrete weighs about 2,240 kg. That is the calculator's planning weight of 140 lb per cubic foot, converted to metric.