As everyone knows, proper planning is the key to success. So, if you want to have a successful move, you need to plan it right.
In order to plan your move well, though, you need to know the answers to several crucial questions: “How long will my move take?”, “How much will my move cost?”, “What moving tasks do I need to complete?”, etc.
Finding these answers, however, is not easy and you may be at a loss as to how to get started.
Fortunately, there is a simple way to get an idea of it all – all you need to do is estimate the volume of your move (or, in other words, the cubic footage of the items you intend to relocate to your new home).
Knowing the total volume of your move will help you get an accurate moving estimate and determine what size moving truck you need – it will also help with storage and will give you an idea of how many moving boxes you’re going to need.
It is, therefore, quite a good idea to find the volume of your belongings – and the cubic footage of different kinds of moving trucks, storage units, and moving boxes – when you start planning your move.
But how to do it? How to calculate cubic feet for moving? And how to estimate moving costs by cubic feet?
Read on to find out:
What is a cubic foot?
A cubic foot is a measurement unit of volume. It represents the volume of a cube with sides that each equal one foot – in other words, one cubic foot is the amount of space enclosed in a box that is one foot deep, one foot wide, and one foot long.
Cubic footage is used to indicate how much space is enclosed in a container or how much space an object will take up inside a container. So, when it comes to moving house, cubic footage can tell you how much stuff you can fit into a box (or any other packing container), portable moving container, moving truck, or storage unit – and how much space an item will take up in a box, pod, moving truck, or storage unit.
For it to work, though, you need to be able to calculate the cubic footage of packing containers, moving trucks, and storage units – and, of course, the cubic footage of every single item you intend to put inside them.
How to calculate cubic feet?
Cubic footage is calculated by multiplying three linear measurements – usually length, width, and height.
So, to find the cubic footage of a cuboid (such as a moving box, the cargo compartment of a moving truck, a dresser, a refrigerator, etc.), you just need to measure its dimensions and multiply them together. For example, if a storage unit is 10 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 8 feet high, it is 800 cubic feet in volume.
The formula is quite straightforward:
Length (feet) x Width (feet) x Height (feet) = Volume in cubic feet
Good to remember: If the dimensions are in inches, you need to divide the product of the multiplication by 1728: Length (inches) x Width (inches) x Height (inches) divided by 1728 = Volume in cubic feet
To find the cubic footage of an irregular object, you will have to mentally divide it into cuboids, calculate the volume of each part separately, and add them all together.
If the object cannot be divided into cuboids, it’s best to find the volume of the smallest cuboid it would fit into – measure the longest, widest, and tallest parts of the item and multiply them together to find how much space to allow for the piece in a container (the piece will actually take up less space, of course, but, because of its irregular shape, it will most likely be impossible to use the remaining space for anything else other than cushioning materials.)
If the object is spherical, conical, cylindrical, or pyramidal, you can find its exact volume:
- volume of a sphere = (4/3)πr, where “r” is the radius of the sphere;
- volume of a cone = (1/3)πr2h, where “h” is the height of the cone and “r” is the radius of the base;
- volume of a cylinder = πr2h, where “h” is the height of the cylinder and “r” is the radius of the base;
- volume of a pyramid = (1/3)lwh, where “h” is the height of the pyramid, “l” is the length of the base, and “w” is the width of the base.
Yet, the exact cubic footage of such objects won’t be of much use to you as you will still need to allow for more space when packing them – space equal to the cubic footage of the smallest cuboid they can fit into, as explained above. (When packing a round glass lampshade in a moving box, for example, there will remain some empty space at the corners of the box. Yet, you won’t be able to pack anything else inside that box – you will just need to fill the empty space with crumpled paper, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, or other appropriate cushioning materials.)
Good to know: You can use a cubic feet moving calculator (you can easily find one online – and they are all free to use) to estimate the volume of your move, but the results won’t be accurate – your items will most likely have different dimensions compared with the average sizes used in cubic feet calculators, so such tools can give you only a very rough idea of the volume of your shipment.
Why do you need to estimate cubic feet when moving?
When you know how to calculate cubic feet, it will be easy to estimate the total volume of your move, the volume of any individual item you have for moving, the total volume of a group of items you want to pack together, and the volumes of different kinds of moving boxes, portable moving containers, moving trucks, and storage units. This will be really useful during your move:
You will be able to get an accurate moving estimate
Long distance moving costs are based on the weight – or on the volume – of a shipment.
You will be able to tell movers the total volume of your move, so they will know how much space your items will take in a moving truck and will be able to give you an accurate cubic feet estimate.
What’s more, you’ll be able to provide moving companies with a detailed inventory list (not only how many and what types of items you have for moving, but also their exact cubic footage), so the experts will know exactly how much your shipment is going to weight (movers can easily convert cubic footage to weight – usually by multiplying the cubic feet by 7 pounds per cubic foot, though that may not always be the case, depending on the material a piece is made of) and will be able to give an accurate weight-based estimate.
Good to know when it comes to estimating moving cost per cubic foot:
- Moving estimates based on cubic feet must be binding and the movers must have a provision for cubic feet charges in their tariff;
- The average cost per cubic foot when moving out of state is about $6 per cubic foot (on consolidated moves);
- Cubic feet moving estimates are riskier because they can’t be verified. The DOT can weigh your shipment and verify the weight, but no one can confirm how much space your belongings actually take because it depends on how the items are packed and how the truck is loaded. Rogue movers can take advantage of that fact by using excess packing materials or not packing the truck tightly – which allows them to significantly overcharge their customers. Therefore, the moving industry standard is to provide quotes based on the weight of the shipment, not its volume. (See also: How to avoid moving scams)
Must-read: How to get an accurate moving estimate
You will be able to choose the right size moving truck
When renting a moving truck, it’s important to choose the right vehicle for the job – a truck that is big enough to fit all your goods but not so big that your items shift around the cargo compartment during the move (not to mention that larger truck cost more to rent, so if you choose a truck that is bigger than you need, you will be paying for space you’re not using).
When you know the volume of your items and how much stuff different size trucks can hold, it will be really easy to pick the right size vehicle for your needs.
So, how many cubic feet are there in a moving truck?
- 10 ft. – 12 ft. trucks have a capacity of 350-450 cubic feet;
- 16 ft. trucks have a capacity of 750-850 cubic feet;
- 20 ft. – 22 ft. trucks have a capacity of 1,000-1,200 cubic feet;
- 24 ft. trucks have a capacity of about 1,500 cubic feet;
- 26 ft. trucks have a capacity of about 1,700 cubic feet.
When wondering how to calculate cubic feet for a moving truck, keep in mind that when listing the capacity of their moving trucks in cubic feet, truck rental companies calculate the entire available space in the cargo compartment – floor to ceiling and back to front. Since you will probably not be able to use the full capacity of the vehicle (as only experienced professionals can pack the truck so tightly that no empty space remains), it is advisable to get a larger truck than what you have estimated that you will need.
Good to know: On average, the contents of one room take up about 250 cubic feet once packed. If there is a lot of furniture or other large items in the room, or if the room is cluttered, the number may be much higher.
See also: What size moving truck do I need
You will be able to determine how many and what kind of moving boxes you’re going to need
You will know the exact cubic footage of each of your items, so you will know which of them can go into a box, what size moving box each of them will fit into, and how many boxes you’re going to need to accommodate all your possessions than can be boxed up.
Good to know: The volume of different size moving boxes is as follows:
- A small moving box has a capacity of 1.5 cubic feet;
- A medium-sized moving box has a capacity of 3 cubic feet;
- A large moving box has a capacity of 4.5 cubic feet;
- An extra-large moving box has a capacity of 6 cubic feet.
See also: How many boxes do you need for moving
You will be able to get the right size storage unit
You will know how much space each of your items occupies, so if you need to put some of your belongings in storage during your move, you will be able to calculate exactly how much storage space you need.
Storage units and portable storage containers are usually listed by cubic feet – and even if they’re not, you will be able to easily calculate their cubic footage when you know their dimensions.
Therefore, it will be easy to choose a storage unit or a portable storage container of the right size, so all your stuff fits in and you don’t end up paying for space that you aren’t actually using.
See also: Storage options for moving; How to get good deals on storage units
All in all, knowing how to estimate cubic feet when moving will help you plan your relocation better and ensure its successful outcome. And that was the plan all along, right?
