Free Calculator · By SubcontractorHub Editorial Team · Published November 2026
Sonotube Calculator for a Concrete Tube Form
A sonotube calculator on this page is the volume of a round concrete tube form, often called a Sonotube. A 12 inch tube, 4 feet tall, is 3.142 cubic feet. Four of them are 12.566 cubic feet, or 0.465 cubic yards, before waste. This page does not print a concrete price.
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Book a DemoHow the Sonotube Calculator Measures a Tube
Volume is pi times radius squared times height. Then add a bell only if you type one.
12 inches and 4 feet are the numbers in the boxes. They are not a brand size. Waste starts at zero. Bags stay blank until you type a yield.
One tube is 3.142 cubic feet, or 0.116 cubic yards. 4 tubes before waste are 12.566 cubic feet, or 0.465 cubic yards. No bag count, because no yield was typed.
All calculations are estimates based on historical information and should be verified by the user.
Important: the diameter is typed
All calculations are estimates based on historical information and should be verified by the user. This tool is provided as a free service for planning purposes only and is not a substitute for a professional assessment, a supplier quote, or applicable local code requirements.
This Sonotube Calculator Is Not a Footing Price
A spread footing lives on the concrete footing calculator. A slab, a wall, or a rectangular pier lives on the concrete calculator. Cubic yards for any box you already measured live on the cubic yard calculator. This sonotube calculator answers the round tube. It does not answer what the concrete costs.
Deck piers that carry boards are a different count. Board rows are the deck board calculator. A priced deck is the deck cost calculator. The tube under a post is this page. The boards on top are those pages.
Worked tube
Diameter 12 inches. Height 4 feet. Radius is 6 inches, which is 0.5 feet. Pi times 0.5 squared times 4 is 3.142 cubic feet for one tube, and 0.116 cubic yards. Four tubes, no bell, no waste, are 12.566 cubic feet and 0.465 cubic yards. Type a waste percent if the order should be longer. Type cubic feet of a bell if the drawing has one. The sonotube calculator will not invent that bell.
| Line | Formula | Example |
|---|---|---|
| One tube, cubic feet | π × (d ÷ 2)² × h | 3.142 |
| One tube, cubic yards | cubic feet ÷ 27 | 0.116 |
| Four tubes, cubic feet | per tube × count | 12.566 |
| Four tubes, cubic yards | total cubic feet ÷ 27 | 0.465 |
How should you write the tube order?
- Diameter in inches, and height in feet or inches.
- How many tubes, counted, not guessed from a sketch you did not measure.
- Bell or footing cubic feet, only if the drawing shows one.
- Waste percent, labeled as typed, or zero.
- Cubic feet and cubic yards per tube and for the set.
- Bags only when a yield was typed. No price.
What the Volume Leaves Out
A cardboard tube is not a structural design. Depth below frost, rebar in the tube, and whether a bell is required are the drawing and the local code. This sonotube calculator does not look those up. The height you type should be the concrete height, not the tube that sticks out of the ground if that stick-out will be cut off empty.
No manufacturer yield chart was fetched, so an 80 pound bag is not given a cubic-foot number here. If the bag you buy prints a yield, type that yield. If it does not, order in cubic yards and let the supplier convert. A price per yard was not fetched either.
The word Sonotube names a brand many crews use for any round form. This page uses it because that is the search. The math is the cylinder. It is not a claim that one brand fits every hole, and it is not a claim that every pier is 12 inches.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the sonotube calculator get cubic yards?
Volume of one concrete tube form is pi times the radius squared times the height. Diameter is inches, so the radius in feet is the diameter divided by two, then divided by 12. A 12 inch tube that is 4 feet tall is 3.142 cubic feet, which is 0.116 cubic yards. Four tubes are 12.566 cubic feet, or 0.465 cubic yards, before any waste you type.
Is a Sonotube a brand?
Sonotube is a trademark. This sonotube calculator measures a round concrete tube form, often called a Sonotube. It does not state a brand diameter, a brand height, or a brand yield.
Does this count bags of concrete?
Only if you type cubic feet per bag. No bag yield was fetched for this page. Leave that box empty and the sonotube calculator prints cubic feet and cubic yards only.
Is this the concrete footing calculator?
No. The concrete footing calculator is a spread footing. The concrete calculator is a slab, wall, or column you describe there. This page is the round tube only. A bell or a footing pad is a cubic-foot number you type, and it is added. It is not drawn.
Measure the Tube, Then Price the Concrete Elsewhere
Cubic yards are a cylinder. Dollars are a supplier.
Get a Free DemoAll calculations are estimates based on historical information and should be verified by the user. This tool is provided as a free service for planning purposes only and is not a substitute for a professional assessment, a supplier quote, or applicable local code requirements.