Steps

Concrete for 3 solid steps, 4 ft wide

A solid poured staircase of 3 steps, 4 ft wide, with comfortable 7 in rises and 11 in treads. The volume is the stacked step cross-section times the width.

Concrete needed

0.48cubic yards· 0.363 m³· 12.83 ft³

Bag size	Bags needed
40 lb	43
60 lb	29
80 lb	22
25 kg	32
30 kg	26

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.

The dimensions used

Steps	3
Rise	7 in
Run	11 in
Width	4 ft

Change these numbers in the steps calculator

How it is worked out

A solid poured staircase is a stack of rectangular blocks: the cross-section area is rise × run × n(n+1)/2 for n steps, and the volume is that area times the stair width. Seven-inch rises with eleven-inch runs are a comfortable, code-typical stair.

That volume — 12.83 ft³ — is divided by 27 to give 0.48 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 22 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

Nearby

More steps examples

Concrete for 2 solid steps, 3 ft wide0.18 yd³ Concrete for 2 solid steps, 4 ft wide0.24 yd³ Concrete for 3 solid steps, 3 ft wide0.36 yd³ Concrete for 4 solid steps, 3 ft wide0.59 yd³ Concrete for 4 solid steps, 4 ft wide0.79 yd³ Concrete for 5 solid steps, 3 ft wide0.89 yd³ Concrete for 5 solid steps, 4 ft wide1.19 yd³ Concrete for 6 solid steps, 3 ft wide1.25 yd³