Construction Calculator - Concrete and Masonry

Concrete Footing Calculator

Estimate concrete volume for continuous strip footings and grade beams.

Reviewed: August 26, 2026

Calculate Concrete Footing

For the Concrete Footing Calculator, enter footing length, footing width, footing thickness, waste allowance, and ready-mix price. It returns allowance-adjusted cubic yards, 60- and 80-pound bag equivalents, and optional ready-mix cost for one rectangular placement.

Construction measuring tools arranged beside a residential building project

Formula used

Cubic yards = [length × width × (thickness ÷ 12) ÷ 27] × (1 + waste ÷ 100)

Concrete Footing Calculator measurement plan showing Footing length feet, Footing width feet, Footing thickness inches

Worked concrete footing example

Concrete Footing Calculator example: 20.1 ft × 1.5 ft × 8 in ÷ 12 ÷ 27 × 1.1 = 0.82 yd³. The same volume is about 38 80-lb premixed-concrete bags or 50 60-lb bags using the calculator's bag-yield constants.

From calculated volume to an order

Round the volume according to the ready-mix supplier's ordering increment and keep footing concrete separate from stem-wall or pier quantities.

Where a concrete takeoff can drift

Excavation overbreak, stepped footings, keyways, grade changes, and soil falling into the trench all affect placed volume.

Questions specific to this calculation

Which finished dimensions define the concrete footing placement?

Treat the inputs as one continuous rectangular footing: total centerline length, formed width, and concrete thickness. Calculate isolated pads separately.