Concrete Wall Calculator
Poured foundation walls, stem walls, retaining walls: length, height, thickness — yards out. Use total length of all walls for a full foundation.
Yards per 10 ft of wall, by height & thickness
| Height | 6" thick | 8" thick | 10" thick |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 ft | 0.74 | 0.99 | 1.23 |
| 8 ft | 1.48 | 1.98 | 2.47 |
| 9 ft | 1.67 | 2.22 | 2.78 |
| 10 ft | 1.85 | 2.47 | 3.09 |
Form pressure grows with pour height and speed — full-height walls need engineered form ties and bracing rated for the job. This is the one residential pour where renting pro forms (or hiring the wall out) routinely beats DIY economics.
Common questions
How much concrete is in a poured wall?
Wall length × height × thickness (in feet) ÷ 27. A 40-foot wall, 8 feet tall and 8 inches thick, holds about 7.90 cubic yards. Subtract window/door bucks if they're a meaningful share of the area.
How thick should a concrete wall be?
8 inches is the standard poured foundation wall for residential basements; 10" for tall walls, heavy backfill, or two stories above; 6" for short stem and frost walls; 4–6" only for non-structural screen walls. Retaining walls over 3–4 ft should be engineered.
How many yards of concrete for a basement?
A typical 30×40 ft basement with 8 ft × 8" walls is about 140 linear feet of wall ≈ 28 cubic yards, plus the footings and floor slab. Enter your actual perimeter above for the precise number.
Can you pour a concrete wall in stages?
Walls should be poured full-height in one continuous operation, in lifts of 2–4 ft worked around the forms — a cold joint partway up a foundation wall is a structural and waterproofing defect. Schedule trucks so the pour never waits.