Site maths
Length, area & volume conversions
- where
- length, in the subscripted unit
- area, in the subscripted unit
- volume (L = litres)
Explain this equation
Converts common site measurements: millimetres to metres, square millimetres to square metres, litres to cubic metres, and inches to millimetres.
l is a length, A an area and V a volume, each in the unit shown by its subscript. L stands for litres.
There are 1000 mm in a metre, so lengths divide by 1000. An area has two dimensions, so the factor is squared: 1000 × 1000 = 1,000,000. A cubic metre holds 1000 litres. An inch is defined as exactly 25.4 mm.
1000 mm is 1 m, 1,000,000 mm² is 1 m², and 1000 litres is 1 m³. A 9 inch dimension is 228.6 mm.
Watch out: the most common slip is dividing an area by 1000 instead of a million. That leaves the answer a thousand times too big.
Convert common metric site measurements without mixing dimensional powers.
Enter your values to see the result.
Good to know
Linear, area and volume conversions use different scale factors.
Sources
- Geometry / arithmetic
This is a calculation aid, not a structural design or compliance certificate. Every default is an example, not a specification for your project.