Thread: Math wiz out there? What is a cubic Foot?

I need to find out how to convert this
40,559 Cubic Foot
equals ____________ Square feet?

It is for a house we are looking at. Why can't they just be normal and list it in good old square feet?!

Thank you for any help. I am math challenged

It can't be done:

How do I convert Square (something) to Cubic (something)?


One of the most common questions I am asked, is how to convert square feet to cubic feet. My answer has always been, "You can't." Since cubic feet has an extra dimension, you could fit an unlimited number of square feet into cubic feet.

But then I started thinking about why someone would want to make such a conversion, and I guess it is possible in the real world, and decided to put the conversion up here. Though scientists might scoff and say that I'm not really converting square feet to cubic feet, I'm just adding the third dimension that is needed for cubic feet.

First off, why would someone need to convert square feet to cubic feet? As an example, lets say you have a 12 square foot garden, and you want to buy topsoil for it. Since topsoil is sold by the cubic foot, how many cubic feet of topsoil do you need for a 12 square foot garden? I will use this for my example.

The formula for Square feet is:
length × width

The formula for Cubic feet is:
length × width × height

Since we know the Square feet of the garden, we now have the conversion to Cubic feet:
(cubic feet) = (square feet) × (height in feet)

So.... If you wanted the topsoil to be 3 inches thick, you would need:
12 × 0.25 = 3
You would need 3 cubic feet of topsoil.

Notice that I convert 3 inches to 0.25 feet before using the formula. All the measurements must be in the same units for it to work. And it will work for anything. Meters, feet, inches, just as long as all are the same.

Once again, here is the formula:
(cubic feet) = (square feet) × (height in feet)

Or for meters:
(cubic meters) = (square meters) × (height in meters)

My husband say you would need to know the the measurement from the floor to the ceiling....and then you would work the problem backwards. didn't make sense to me but since he works in the architechtual field I'll take his word for it.

"liver" says that it can be done 1 of 2 ways...........either you need to know how tall the interior is (from floor to ceiling) or the width and length of the building.

We are going back to look at the house on Friday. Will ask the seller. The ceiling is 21 feet in some places and 11 feet everywhere else.

What a tricky way to tell people how big the house is!

Thank you everyone

"liver" says that by taking an average of the two ceiling heights that maybe 2,500 sq. ft