Post holes

Concrete for 6 × 10 in post holes, 24 in deep

6 fence posts in 10 in diameter holes, 24 in deep, set around a nominal 4×4 post (3.5 in actual). The concrete fills the ring around each post. That is 5.52 cubic feet, or 0.2 cubic yards: 10 bags of 80 lb premix or 13 bags of 60 lb, before any waste.

Concrete needed

0.2cubic yards· 0.156 m³· 5.52 ft³
Bags of premix needed for concrete for 6 × 10 in post holes, 24 in deep, by bag size.
Bag sizeBags needed
40 lb19
60 lb13
80 lb10
25 kg14
30 kg12
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
0.2 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

Post holes around a 4×4 post

Volume for each size. The order columns add 10%, the top of the 5-10% waste allowance, and round bags up.
Sizeft³yd³yd³ to order (+10%)80 lb bags (+10%)60 lb bags (+10%)
6 × 8 in, 24 in deep3.170.120.1368
6 × 8 in, 36 in deep4.750.180.19912
6 × 10 in, 24 in deep (this page)5.520.20.231114
6 × 10 in, 36 in deep8.290.310.341621
8 × 10 in, 30 in deep9.210.340.381723
9 × 12 in, 36 in deep18.910.70.773547
9 × 12 in, 42 in deep22.060.820.94154
12 × 12 in, 48 in deep33.621.251.376283

Per unit

Each hole takes 0.92 ft³ around the post.

Bought for the whole job that is 10 bags of 80 lb; if every hole gets whole bags of its own it is 2 per hole, 12 in all.

Change the dimensions in the post holes calculator. Why every count rounds up: how many bags of concrete you need.

At this size

What changes on 6 × 10 in post holes, 24 in deep

Mixing or ordering it

10 × 80 lb bags is 0.2 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.

How it is worked out

Each post hole is a cylinder - π·(diameter/2)² × depth - and the concrete only fills the space around a set post, so the post's cross-section is subtracted. Enter a post size of 0 to fill the whole hole as a mass footing.

That volume - 5.52 ft³ - is divided by 27 to give 0.2 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

gradeposthole Ødepthfill around postPOST HOLE FOOTING

Nearby

Similar sizes

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