Per unit
In a 16 in tube one 80 lb bag fills about 5 in of height, and a 60 lb bag about 4 in.
One cubic yard fills 4 of these columns.
Change the dimensions in the column calculator. Why every count rounds up: how many bags of concrete you need.
Column
Concrete for a 16 in sonotube, 4 ft tall
A single 16 in diameter round column (sonotube) 4 ft tall. The volume is the circle area π·(diameter/2)² times the height; multiply by the number of piers you are pouring. That is 5.59 cubic feet, or 0.21 cubic yards: 10 bags of 80 lb premix or 13 bags of 60 lb, before any waste.
Concrete needed
0.21cubic yards· 0.158 m³· 5.59 ft³
| Bag size | Bags needed |
|---|---|
| 40 lb | 19 |
| 60 lb | 13 |
| 80 lb | 10 |
| 25 kg | 14 |
| 30 kg | 12 |
Planning estimate, with no waste allowance included. Add 5-10% for spillage and over-excavation, and check the yield printed on your bag. Structural work must follow your local building code and an engineer's specification.
Bagged or ready-mix?
Bags
0.21 yd³ is under a ready-mix supplier's usual one-yard minimum, so bags are the answer whatever the price per yard says. Buy a couple more than the count above and return what you do not open.
Same job, other sizes
16 in sonotube
At this size
What changes on a 16 in sonotube, 4 ft tall
Mixing or ordering it
10 × 80 lb bags is 0.21 yd³ - a wheelbarrow-and-shovel job. Mix two bags at a time, keep the water tight to the bag's own figure, and place it in one go so there is no cold joint. No mixer, no delivery, no minimum load.
The dimensions used
| Diameter | 16 in |
|---|---|
| Height | 4 ft |
| Columns | 1 |
How it is worked out
A round column or sonotube form holds a cylinder of concrete: area π·(diameter/2)² times its height, multiplied by how many you are pouring. Enter the tube's inside diameter - that is the finished column diameter.
That volume - 5.59 ft³ - is divided by 27 to give 0.21 cubic yards, and by each bag's yield to give the bag count. An 80 lb bag of premix yields about 0.60 cubic feet, so this job takes 10 of them; bag counts always round up, because you cannot buy part of a bag.
Ordering ready-mix instead? Suppliers sell by the cubic yard (or cubic metre) and usually have a minimum load and a short-load surcharge - worth a call before you choose between bags and a truck.
Formwork
What is being measured
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