How to calculate cubic feet for a move, room by room
The formula, typical volumes by home size and by item, moving box sizes, truck capacity — and how volume turns into weight, crew and hours.
In short
- Cubic feet = length × width × height in feet. Measure in inches and divide by 1,728.
- Rough numbers by home size are fine on a first call, but an item-by-item inventory is what makes a price hold on move day.
- A common conversion for household goods is about 7 pounds per cubic foot.
- Volume sets the crew size, the trucks and the hours — so it sets the price.
Why cubic feet matter to a mover
Every estimate rests on one number: how much stuff is there? Volume decides how many movers you send, how many trucks you need, how long the job takes and, for long-distance moves, roughly how much the shipment weighs. Get it wrong by a third and you either lose the job to an overpriced quote or spend move day explaining why the bill went up.
Cubic feet are the industry’s common language for that number. Customers rarely know their volume, so it falls to you — on a call, a video walk-through or an in-home survey — to turn “a three-bedroom house with a full garage” into something you can price.
The cubic feet formula
Cubic feet measure the space an item takes up: its length, width and height multiplied together.
Cubic feet = length × width × height (in feet)
Cubic feet = (length × width × height in inches) ÷ 1,728
There are 1,728 cubic inches in a cubic foot (12 × 12 × 12), which is why measuring in inches and dividing by 1,728 gives the same answer as measuring in feet.
- Width × depth × heightMeasured at the widest points
- 60 × 20 × 40 in
- Cubic inches
- 48,000 in³
- Cubic feet (÷ 1,728)
- 27.8 cu ft
Furniture isn’t a box, so measure the smallest box the piece would fit in. That’s the space it takes in the truck.
Average cubic feet by home size
On a first call you often need a ballpark before there’s an inventory. These ranges are common rules of thumb for a furnished home:
| Home size | Typical volume | Rough weight at 7 lb/cu ft |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | 250–400 cu ft | 1,750–2,800 lb |
| 1 bedroom | 400–600 cu ft | 2,800–4,200 lb |
| 2 bedrooms | 600–1,000 cu ft | 4,200–7,000 lb |
| 3 bedrooms | 1,000–1,500 cu ft | 7,000–10,500 lb |
| 4 bedrooms | 1,500–2,000 cu ft | 10,500–14,000 lb |
| 5+ bedrooms | 2,000+ cu ft | 14,000+ lb |
Bedroom counts are the weakest part of an estimate. Two homes with the same number of bedrooms can differ by double. Use these ranges to qualify a lead, then build the real number from an inventory.
Cubic feet of common household items
Many movers work from a “cube sheet”: a list of common items with the space each one usually takes. These are typical ranges — measure anything oversized or unusual.
| Item | Typical cubic feet |
|---|---|
| Sofa, three cushions | 35–55 |
| Loveseat | 25–40 |
| Sectional, per section | 20–30 |
| Armchair | 15–25 |
| Recliner | 25–35 |
| Coffee table | 5–10 |
| End table or nightstand | 3–5 |
| TV stand or media console | 10–20 |
| Bookcase | 10–20 |
| Dining table | 20–35 |
| Dining chair | 5–8 |
| China cabinet or hutch | 25–45 |
| Queen bed (frame, mattress, box spring) | 55–65 |
| King bed (frame, mattress, box spring) | 70–80 |
| Twin bed | 35–40 |
| Dresser | 25–40 |
| Chest of drawers | 20–25 |
| Refrigerator | 30–60 |
| Washer or dryer | 15–25 |
| Range | 15–25 |
| Desk | 20–35 |
| Office chair | 8–15 |
| Filing cabinet, four drawers | 10–15 |
| Gas grill | 15–30 |
| Lawn mower | 10–15 |
Moving box sizes and their cubic feet
Boxes are where estimates quietly go wrong: a household can easily have more boxes than furniture by volume. Count them by size, room by room.
| Box | Approximate size | Cubic feet | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 16 × 12½ × 12½ in | 1.5 | Books, tools, canned goods — small and heavy |
| Medium | 18 × 18 × 16 in | 3.0 | Kitchen items, toys, small appliances |
| Large | 18 × 18 × 24 in | 4.5 | Linens, pillows, lampshades — light and bulky |
| Extra-large | 24 × 18 × 24 in | 6.0 | Comforters, cushions |
| Dish pack | 18 × 18 × 28 in | 5.25 | Dishes and glasses (double-wall) |
| Wardrobe | 24 × 21 × 46 in | about 13 | Hanging clothes |
Small boxes for heavy things, large boxes for light things. A large box full of books is too heavy to carry safely — and it’s the box most likely to fail.
How to estimate volume room by room
An inventory is just a list of every item that’s moving, grouped by room, with the space each one takes. Done well, it takes fifteen minutes and saves hours on move day.
- Walk every room — in person, on a video call, or from photos the customer sends. Start at one end of the home and go in order.
- List the furniture in each room, using cube-sheet values or your own measurements.
- Count boxes by size for each room, including what’s still in closets and cabinets.
- Add the forgotten spaces: garage, attic, basement, shed, patio and storage units.
- Flag special items — pianos, safes, gym equipment, large TVs, artwork — that need extra people, equipment or packing.
- Ask what isn’t moving. Items being sold, donated or left behind shouldn’t be in the truck or the price.
- Total it up and compare against the rough range for the home size. If it’s far off, check for a missed room.
| Room | Easy to miss |
|---|---|
| Kitchen | Appliances that move with the customer, pantry boxes, small appliances on top of cabinets |
| Garage | Shelving, tools, bikes, mowers, sports gear, paint and chemicals you won’t carry |
| Patio and yard | Outdoor furniture, grills, planters, play sets |
| Basement and attic | Seasonal decorations, storage bins, old furniture |
| Kids’ rooms | Cribs, toy bins, bunk beds that need disassembly |
| Home office | Desks, filing cabinets, monitors, printers |
How much fits in a moving truck
Once you know the volume, you can plan the trucks. Capacities below are approximate rated volumes for common box trucks:
| Truck | Approximate capacity | Usually fits |
|---|---|---|
| 15–16 ft box truck | 750–850 cu ft | A studio to a small two-bedroom |
| 20 ft box truck | about 1,000 cu ft | A two-bedroom home |
| 24–26 ft box truck | 1,400–1,700 cu ft | A three-bedroom home |
| 53 ft trailer | 3,500–4,000 cu ft | Large homes and long-distance loads |
From cubic feet to weight, crew and hours
Weight
Interstate moves are often priced by weight. When a shipment can’t be weighed in advance, movers commonly estimate it at about 7 pounds per cubic foot.
Estimated weight (lb) ≈ cubic feet × 7
An 860 cubic foot two-bedroom move comes to about 6,020 pounds. The real weight is what the scale says — the estimate is only for planning and quoting.
Crew size and hours
The second number volume gives you is time. Every company has its own pace — how many cubic feet a crew of a given size loads and unloads in an hour — and it changes with access: an elevator, a third-floor walk-up and a long carry from the curb are three different jobs.
Hours ≈ cubic feet ÷ your crew’s cubic feet per hour + time for stairs and long carries
- Inventory total
- 860 cu ft
- Say a three-person crew moves 160 cu ft an hourLoading and unloading together
- 5.4 h
- Second-floor walk-up at the new home
- + 0.5 h
- Quote it as
- 5–6 hours
Learn your real pace by comparing estimated volume with the hours your crews actually log on finished jobs.
From there, the hours and the crew turn into a price. Our guide to pricing a moving job covers that step line by line.
Estimating volume without a home visit
In-home surveys are accurate but slow, and many customers would rather not schedule one. More and more estimates are built remotely:
- Video walk-throughs. A live video call lets you see each room, open closets and the garage, and ask questions as you go. Ask the customer to start at the front door and work through the home in order.
- Photos and room lists. Customers send a photo of each room, or list their items on a form. Photos catch what lists miss: the second bookcase, the boxes already stacked in the garage.
- Self-serve inventories. A quote form that lets customers pick their items room by room gives you a volume before the first call — then you confirm it together.
Whatever the method, confirm the inventory a few days before the move. A short message — “anything added since we spoke?” — catches the patio set and the storage unit while there’s still time to change the crew or the truck.
Items that need more than cubic feet
Some items take little space but a lot of time, people or equipment. List them separately in the inventory and price them as special items:
| Item | Why it needs extra planning |
|---|---|
| Pianos | Heavy and awkward; a piano board, extra movers and care on stairs |
| Gun safes | Very heavy for their size; a stair climber or a bigger crew |
| Pool tables | Slate tops usually have to be taken apart and reassembled |
| Large TVs | Screens crack easily; they need a proper box or careful padding |
| Artwork and mirrors | Mirror cartons or custom crates |
| Gym equipment | Heavy, awkward and often in pieces |
| Appliances | Water and gas lines disconnected and washer drums secured before the move |
Cubic feet and storage units
When part of a move goes into storage, the same volume tells you what size unit the customer needs. Units are sold by floor area; multiply by the height you can safely stack to get cubic feet.
| Unit | Floor area | Cubic feet at 8 ft high | Roughly holds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 × 5 ft | 25 sq ft | 200 | A closet’s worth of boxes and small furniture |
| 5 × 10 ft | 50 sq ft | 400 | A studio |
| 10 × 10 ft | 100 sq ft | 800 | A one- to two-bedroom home |
| 10 × 15 ft | 150 sq ft | 1,200 | A two- to three-bedroom home |
| 10 × 20 ft | 200 sq ft | 1,600 | A three-bedroom home |
| 10 × 30 ft | 300 sq ft | 2,400 | A four-bedroom home or more |
Common mistakes when estimating volume
- Estimating from bedrooms alone. It’s a starting point, never a price.
- Missing a room. Garages, attics, sheds and storage units hold some of the bulkiest items.
- Undercounting boxes. Customers almost always pack more than they expect.
- Ignoring what needs taking apart. Beds, desks and sectionals take time even when they don’t take space.
- Forgetting the access. Volume says how much; stairs, elevators and parking say how long.
- Not updating the inventory. When a customer adds the patio set a week before the move, the estimate should change too.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate cubic feet for moving?
How many cubic feet is a two-bedroom apartment?
How do you convert cubic feet to pounds for a move?
How many cubic feet fit in a 26-foot moving truck?
How many cubic feet is a medium moving box?
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