Gravel Calculator

Work out how many cubic yards and how many tons of gravel to order for a driveway, path, paver base or bed — crusher run, pea gravel, river rock, #57 stone or sand — with the compaction allowance added and a 0.5 cu ft bag count.

Area to cover Rectangle Circle Square feet

Length

Use decimals — 10 ft 6 in is 10.5.

Width

Finished depth

After compacting — typical depths are listed under the results.

Material

Also sold as #411, DGA, CA-6 or ¾-in minus: crushed stone with fines that packs hard.

Weight, loose

tons/cu yd

Compaction allowance

Waste allowance

Price (optional)

Priced

Cubic yards to order

15.52 cu yd

418.95 cu ft · 11.86 m³ loose · includes 33% compaction and 5% waste

11.11 cu yd at the finished 6 in, before allowances

Same order in tons

22.19 tons

44,378 lb · 20.13 metric tons · at 1.43 tons per loose cu yd

0.5 cu ft bags needed

838

About 53 lb each · rounded up to whole bags

Includes 33% for compaction: spread about 8 in loose and roll it down to 6 in.

At 1.43 tons per loose cubic yard (105.9 lb per cu ft). Quarries and moisture vary — enter your supplier's figure if it gives one.

Bulk stone and sand are sold by the ton or the cubic yard; one cubic yard is 54 of these bags.

Same job, other materials

Material	Loose tons/cu yd	Compaction	Cu yd	Tons	Bags
Crusher run / road base	1.43	33%	15.52	22.19	838
Pea gravel, 3/8 in	1.35	0%	11.67	15.75	630
River rock, 1–2 in	1.32	0%	11.67	15.40	630
#57 stone, up to 1 in	1.30	0%	11.67	15.17	630
Concrete / leveling sand	1.40	0%	11.67	16.33	630

The same 600 sq ft at 6 in finished depth, with your 5% waste allowance, at each material's own loose weight and compaction. A highlighted row matches the cards above.

Where the weights come from

Material	Loose lb/cu ft	Loose tons/cu yd	Placed tons/cu yd	Source
Crusher run / road base	105.9	1.43	1.90	Ohio DOT Item 411 in-place weight and Penn State's 8-to-6 in ratio; Vulcan Materials
Pea gravel, 3/8 in	100.0	1.35	1.35	QUIKRETE No. 1151, 50 lb per 0.5 cu ft bag; Pavestone, 45 lb
River rock, 1–2 in	97.8	1.32	1.32	Vulcan Materials, sand-and-gravel coarse aggregate
#57 stone, up to 1 in	96.3	1.30	1.30	Vulcan Materials coarse aggregate; Missouri DOT loose weights
Concrete / leveling sand	103.7	1.40	1.40	Missouri DOT loose weights for sand

Loose is how stone sits in the truck or the bag, and it is the cubic yard a supplier sells. Placed is after compacting: loose × (1 + the compaction allowance).

Typical finished depths

Job	Finished depth	Source
Gravel driveway surface	6 in (8 in loose), or 4½ in (6 in loose)	Penn State
Paver driveway base	At least 6 in	CMHA
Paver patio or walkway base	At least 4 in	CMHA
Bedding sand under pavers	1 in, not compacted	CMHA
Stone mulch in garden beds	1–2 in	UNL Extension

The CMHA minimums assume well-drained soil; cold climates and wet or weak soil need a thicker base. Compact a base in 4–6 in lifts. Two layers, such as a base under a top course? Run the calculator once for each.

How this is calculated

Area: 50 ft × 12 ft = 600 sq ft; × 6 in ÷ 12 = 300.00 cu ft finished.

Area: π × (10 ft ÷ 2)² = 600 sq ft; × 6 in ÷ 12 = 300.00 cu ft finished.

600 sq ft × 6 in ÷ 12 = 300.00 cu ft finished.

+ 33% compaction: 300.00 × 1.33 = 399.00 cu ft loose.

+ 5% waste: 399.00 × 1.05 = 418.95 cu ft to order.

418.95 cu ft ÷ 27 = 15.52 cu yd.

15.52 cu yd × 1.43 tons per loose cu yd = 22.19 tons, or 44,378 lb.

418.95 cu ft ÷ 0.5 cu ft per bag = 837.90, rounded up to 838 bags.

A supplier's cubic yard is a loose yard. Compacting shrinks the volume, never the weight.

Yards and tons are not rounded; the bag count is rounded up once, after both allowances.

Weights: Ohio DOT, Vulcan Materials, Missouri DOT, and the QUIKRETE and Pavestone bags. Compaction: Penn State. Depths: CMHA and UNL Extension. Each is listed under the calculator.

Updated: October 6, 2026

Gravel calculator. How many yards and tons of gravel to order.

A gravel calculator turns the length, width and finished depth of a driveway, path or bed into the cubic yards and tons of stone to order, plus a bag count. Rolled crusher run is ordered 33% larger before waste, because 8 in of loose stone compacts to 6 in; pea gravel, river rock, #57 stone and sand are ordered at their finished depth plus 5% waste.

Gravel calculator: loose yards, tons and the compaction allowance

Quarries and landscape suppliers sell gravel loose, by the ton or by the cubic yard as it sits in the truck, and a gravel calculator converts the finished layer you want into that loose order. It multiplies the area by the finished depth and adds allowances for compaction and spillage on top.

Take a single-lane driveway, 12 × 50 ft, finished at 6 in. The geometry gives 300 cu ft, or 11.11 cu yd, and that much is plain arithmetic. That figure is the finished layer, and crusher run that you roll down needs more loose stone than the space it ends up filling. Penn State's Center for Dirt and Gravel Road Studies has its driving surface aggregate, a crushed stone with fines like crusher run, spread in an 8 in loose lift and compacted to 6 in. Eight over six is a third more, so with a 33% compaction allowance and 5% for waste this calculator puts the order at 15.52 cu yd, or 22.19 tons.

Compacting changes the volume and leaves the weight alone. Ohio DOT measures its compacted crushed-stone base, Item 411, at 1.90 tons per cubic yard in place, so the 11.11 cu yd of finished driveway weighs about 21.11 tons. A calculator that adds nothing for compaction, at a gravel weight near 1.42 tons per yard, prints about 15.7 to 15.9 tons for the same job, about a quarter less than the finished base weighs, and coming up that short means paying for a second delivery.

Clean stone behaves another way. Pea gravel, river rock and #57 stone are washed and carry little or no fines, and Penn State's handbook notes that open-graded stone of this kind does not compact into a dense layer. The calculator orders it at the finished depth plus waste: 11.67 cu yd and 15.75 tons of pea gravel for the same driveway. Between one calculator and another, a clean-stone answer moves with the weight assumed per yard and with any waste buffer added. Bedding sand under pavers gets no compaction allowance either, because the Concrete Masonry & Hardscapes Association (CMHA) specifies it screeded to an uncompacted 1 in.

Tons are the loose cubic yards multiplied by the material's loose weight. The starting weights are 1.43 tons per loose cubic yard for crusher run, 1.40 for sand, 1.35 for pea gravel, 1.32 for river rock and 1.30 for #57 stone, drawn from Ohio DOT and Missouri DOT tables, Vulcan Materials' aggregate estimator and the weights printed on 0.5 cu ft QUIKRETE and Pavestone bags. Quarries and moisture move these numbers, so a weight per loose yard from your own supplier is the better input: type it under "Weight, loose" and the tons follow. The 5% waste allowance is this calculator's own default, not a published standard, so set it to the margin you want.

Crusher run goes by several names at the counter: crush and run, road base, #411, DGA (dense-graded aggregate), CA-6 or ¾-in minus. Each is crushed stone with fines that packs hard, and each takes the 33% allowance. For a slab, a footing or fence posts, use the Concrete Calculator; for an L-shaped patio or a curved bed, get the square footage from the Area Calculator and type it under "Square feet".

Gravel per 1,000 sq ft: yards and tons to order, 5% waste included

Job	Material	Finished depth	Cubic yards to order	Tons
Driveway surface	Crusher run, rolled (33% compaction)	6 in	25.86	36.98
Patio or walkway base	Crusher run, rolled (33% compaction)	4 in	17.24	24.65
Path	Pea gravel	2 in	6.48	8.75
Path or drainage layer	#57 stone	3 in	9.72	12.64
Stone mulch bed	River rock	2 in	6.48	8.56
Bedding sand under pavers	Concrete / leveling sand	1 in	3.24	4.54

Walkthrough: a 12 × 50 ft crusher-run driveway, from tape measure to quote

Say the driveway is a single lane, 12 ft wide and 50 ft from the street to the garage, and you want a fresh 6 in of crusher run, rolled hard. The quarry quotes $45 a ton.

1. Under "Area to cover", leave "Rectangle" selected and type 50 for Length and 12 for Width. A measurement like 10 ft 6 in goes in as 10.5.

2. Type 6 in "Finished depth": the thickness after rolling. Penn State's handbook for gravel roads places its surface stone at 6 in finished from 8 in loose, and the CMHA asks for at least 6 in of compacted base under a paver driveway.

3. Leave "Material" on "Crusher run / road base". It fills "Weight, loose" with 1.43 tons per cubic yard and "Compaction allowance" with 33%. If the quarry gives you a weight per loose yard for its own crusher run, type it over 1.43; the dropdown switches to "Other (custom weight)" and the 33% stays.

4. Keep "Waste allowance" at 5%, or change it to the margin you want.

5. Type 45 in "Price (optional)" and leave "Priced" on "per ton".

The large card, "Cubic yards to order", reads 15.52 cu yd, with 418.95 cu ft and 11.86 m³ loose beneath it and a note that the finished 6 in is 11.11 cu yd before allowances. "Same order in tons" reads 22.19 tons (44,378 lb) and, with the price entered, adds "About $998.50 at $45.00 a ton". The bag card shows 838 and turns amber, since the order is well past one cubic yard; the line under the cards points out that bulk stone is sold by the ton or the cubic yard and that one cubic yard is 54 of these bags. The compaction line reads "Includes 33% for compaction: spread about 8 in loose and roll it down to 6 in."

Open "How this is calculated" to see the chain with your numbers: 600 sq ft at 6 in is 300.00 cu ft finished, × 1.33 makes 399.00 cu ft loose, × 1.05 makes 418.95 cu ft to order, ÷ 27 gives 15.52 cu yd, and × 1.43 gives 22.19 tons. The table "Same job, other materials" sets the same driveway in all five materials, so before you commit you can see that pea gravel would be 11.67 cu yd and 15.75 tons.

When you call the quarry, ask for the tons, rounded up to whatever increment they load. If someone else is paying or checking, send them the page link: it keeps what you changed from the defaults and reopens the same job.

Worked gravel orders, from a driveway to a garden bed

One driveway, five materials: where the extra 3.85 cu yd comes from

Keep the default 12 × 50 ft footprint at 6 in finished. The table "Same job, other materials" lists all five materials side by side:

Material	Loose weight (tons per cu yd)	Compaction	Cubic yards	Tons	0.5 cu ft bags
Crusher run / road base	1.43	33%	15.52	22.19	838
Pea gravel, 3/8 in	1.35	0%	11.67	15.75	630
River rock, 1–2 in	1.32	0%	11.67	15.40	630
#57 stone, up to 1 in	1.30	0%	11.67	15.17	630
Concrete / leveling sand	1.40	0%	11.67	16.33	630

The four materials without a compaction allowance share one volume, the finished 11.11 cu yd plus 5%, and differ in weight alone. Crusher run carries 3.85 cu yd more because its fines let a roller pack 8 in of loose stone into 6 in. That packing is also what makes it the driveway stone: rounded pea gravel does not lock together, so under tires it shifts and ruts.

A 10 × 10 ft pea-gravel path, 3 in deep: 53 bags or one bulk yard

Pick "Pea gravel, 3/8 in", type 10 for both sides and set the depth to 3 in. The cards read 0.97 cu yd (26.25 cu ft), 1.31 tons and 53 bags of 0.5 cu ft at about 50 lb each. The order sits just under one cubic yard, so the bag card is not flagged amber. Those 53 bags weigh about 2,650 lb together, so plan the trips if they travel home in a car. To compare the two ways of buying, choose "per 0.5 cu ft bag" under "Priced", type the store's price, and set the total against one delivered yard. Built in crusher run and rolled, the same path would take 1.29 cu yd, 1.85 tons and 70 bags.

A round river-rock bed, 10 ft across and 2 in deep

Choose "Circle", keep the 10 ft diameter, pick "River rock, 1–2 in" and type 2 for the depth. The bed covers π × 5² = 78.5 sq ft, which is 13.09 cu ft at 2 in and 13.74 cu ft with 5% waste: 0.51 cu yd, 0.67 tons (1,344 lb) or 28 bags at about 49 lb each. UNL Extension says 1 to 2 in of a heavy mulch like gravel may be enough, so 2 in is the top of that range; at 1 in the yards and tons halve.

A 600 sq ft paver patio: crusher-run base, then bedding sand

Pavers sit on two layers, so this takes two runs with "Square feet" set to 600. For the base, keep crusher run and type 4 in, the CMHA minimum after compaction for a patio on well-drained soil: 10.34 cu yd and 14.79 tons, and the line under the cards says to spread about 5.3 in loose and roll it down to 4 in. CMHA calls for compacting a base in 4 to 6 in lifts, so a 4 in base goes down in one. For the bedding layer, pick "Concrete / leveling sand" and type 1 in: 1.94 cu yd and 2.72 tons, with no compaction allowance because CMHA gives the 1 in as the screeded thickness before the pavers are compacted into it. The pavers themselves are a separate order.

The quarry quotes 1.6 tons per yard

Type 1.6 into "Weight, loose" on the default driveway. The dropdown switches to "Other (custom weight)", compaction stays at 33%, and only the tons move: still 15.52 cu yd, now 24.83 tons, with bags of about 59 lb. Ask the supplier whether that figure is loose or in place. A loose weight goes straight in. An in-place weight already contains the compaction, and it may carry no label. Vulcan Materials' estimator, for instance, uses 130 to 160 lb per cubic foot for crusher run, about 1.76 to 2.16 tons per cubic yard, without saying loose or compacted; that range brackets Ohio DOT's compacted 1.90 and sits well above the 1.43 of a loose yard. Typed as a loose weight on top of the 33% allowance, Ohio DOT's in-place 1.90 would print 29.48 tons for this driveway instead of 22.19.

The gravel formula: finished volume to loose yards, tons and bags

V = L \times W \times \frac{D}{12} \times (1 + c)(1 + w), \quad Y = \frac{V}{27}, \quad T = Y \times \rho, \quad B = \left\lceil \frac{V}{0.5} \right\rceil

$V$ = Volume to order, in cubic feet, after both allowances
$L$ = Length of the area, in feet (for a circle, π × radius² replaces L × W)
$W$ = Width of the area, in feet
$D$ = Finished depth after compacting, in inches; dividing by 12 turns it into feet
$c$ = Compaction allowance as a fraction: 0.33 for crusher run, 0 for pea gravel, river rock, #57 stone and bedding sand
$w$ = Waste allowance as a fraction, 0.05 by default
$Y$ = Cubic yards to order, loose; 27 cu ft make one cubic yard
$\rho$ = Loose weight of the material, in short tons (2,000 lb) per cubic yard: 1.43 for crusher run
$T$ = Tons to order
$B$ = Number of 0.5 cu ft bags, rounded up once

The order volume is the finished volume grown twice, first for compaction and then for waste. The two allowances multiply because waste is a share of the stone you handle, and the stone you handle is the loose volume. For the default 12 × 50 ft driveway at 6 in:

600 \times \frac{6}{12} \times 1.33 \times 1.05 = 418.95 \text{ cu ft}

Adding the percentages (38%) instead would give 414 cu ft, 4.95 cu ft less. With "Circle" selected, π × (diameter ÷ 2)² takes the place of L × W; with "Square feet", the area you type does.

Tons come from loose yards because a supplier's tons per yard refers to the loose yard it loads: 418.95 ÷ 27 = 15.52 cu yd, and 15.52 × 1.43 = 22.19 tons. The loose weight itself is worked back from a compacted one: Ohio DOT's in-place 1.90 tons per cubic yard divided by 1.33 gives the 1.43 used here. The bag count divides V by 0.5 and rounds up once, after both allowances: 418.95 ÷ 0.5 = 837.9, so 838 bags. Yards and tons stay unrounded, and any cost is worked from the unrounded figures.

Mistakes that leave a gravel order short, or leave a pile behind

Ordering crusher run at its finished depth. A 12 × 50 ft driveway holds 11.11 cu yd at 6 in, but rolled crusher run starts as about 8 in of loose stone. An order of 11.11 cu yd comes up about a quarter short once the roller has been over it; the 33% compaction allowance covers that gap.
Adding a compaction allowance to clean stone. Washed stone without fines does not pack down the way crusher run does, so it defaults to 0%. Typing 33% for a decorative 10 × 10 ft pea-gravel path at 3 in raises the order from 53 bags to 70. Raise it only for a clean-stone base you plan to plate-compact under a load.
Typing an in-place weight as the loose weight. A figure labeled "in place", "compacted" or "per compacted yard" already includes the compaction. For crusher run, divide it by 1.33 before typing it under "Weight, loose" (Ohio DOT's 1.90 becomes 1.43), or the tons come out a third too high.
Typing the depth in feet. "Finished depth" takes inches, so 6 means six inches. A 0.5 typed for half a foot asks for a layer half an inch thick and an order one twelfth of the real one.
Running two layers as one. A base of one stone under a top course of another, or a paver base with bedding sand on top, needs one run per layer with its own material and depth. Adding the depths together under a single material gets the weight or the compaction wrong for one of them.
Pricing a driveway in bags. The default driveway comes to 838 bags of 0.5 cu ft. Once the bag card turns amber, at one cubic yard or more, get a delivered quote by the ton or the yard before buying bags by the pallet.

What the gravel calculator leaves to you

Each run covers one layer of one material. A driveway with a base of one stone and a top course of another, or a paver patio with its base and bedding sand, takes one run per layer, and the fold "Typical finished depths" says the same.

The form works in feet and inches. The cards add cubic meters and metric tons beside the US figures, but there is no metric input.

The answer stops at tons and cubic yards. It does not split the order into truckloads, because what a load holds depends on the hauler and the truck: ask the supplier how many tons they put on one, and divide. No prices are built in either; type the one you are quoted.

Bags are counted at 0.5 cu ft, the size of both bagged gravels checked for this tool (QUIKRETE All-Purpose Gravel at 50 lb and Pavestone Pea Gravel at 45 lb). For a store selling another size, divide the cubic feet on the "Cubic yards to order" card by that bag size.

The depth you type is the finished layer of stone. Digging out, grading, edging and landscape fabric sit outside the estimate, and the CMHA minimums in the depth table assume well-drained soil: wet or weak ground and cold climates need a thicker base.

Gravel calculator FAQ: yards, tons, bags and compaction

How many yards of gravel do I need for a driveway?

Multiply length × width × finished depth in feet and divide by 27, then add the allowances. A single-lane driveway 12 ft wide and 50 ft long at 6 in finished holds 11.11 cu yd. In crusher run that you roll, order 15.52 cu yd, because 8 in of loose stone compacts to the 6 in (33% more) and 5% goes to waste. In pea gravel or #57 stone, order 11.67 cu yd: the finished volume plus 5%.

How many tons of gravel do I need for a driveway?

Tons are the loose cubic yards × the stone's loose weight. For a 12 × 50 ft driveway at 6 in, crusher run comes to 22.19 tons (15.52 cu yd at 1.43 tons per yard) and pea gravel to 15.75 tons (11.67 cu yd at 1.35). Ohio DOT puts compacted crushed-stone base at 1.90 tons per cubic yard in place, so the finished 11.11 cu yd alone weighs about 21.11 tons; the extra ton in the order is the 5% waste.

How many tons are in a cubic yard of gravel?

Between 1.30 and 1.43 tons per loose cubic yard for the stones in this calculator: crusher run 1.43, sand 1.40, pea gravel 1.35, river rock 1.32 and #57 stone 1.30. Quarry and moisture shift these, so use your supplier's figure when you have one.

How many yards of gravel are in a ton?

Divide 1 by the loose weight. A ton of crusher run is about 0.70 cu yd, a ton of pea gravel about 0.74 cu yd and a ton of #57 stone about 0.77 cu yd: the lighter the stone, the more yards make up a ton.

How much extra gravel should I order for compaction?

Crusher run, road base, DGA and other crushed stone with fines pack down hard. Penn State's handbook has the surface stone of a gravel road spread 8 in loose and rolled to 6 in, so the loose order is a third larger than the finished volume: the 33% this calculator adds. Clean stone such as pea gravel or #57 has no fines to fill its gaps and gets 0%; raise it only if you plate-compact it as a base. The waste allowance goes on top, 5% by default, which is this tool's own choice rather than a published standard. The two multiply: 1.33 × 1.05 = 1.3965.

Does pea gravel compact?

Very little. Pea gravel is rounded, washed stone with no fines to fill the gaps between pieces, so a roller cannot pack it into a dense layer the way it packs crusher run. The calculator orders it at the finished depth plus waste, with the compaction allowance at 0%.

How many tons of gravel do I need for 1,000 square feet?

At 4 in, a rolled crusher-run base takes 17.24 cu yd, or 24.65 tons; pea gravel at the same depth takes 12.96 cu yd, or 17.50 tons. At 6 in of crusher run, the order is 25.86 cu yd and 36.98 tons. Every figure includes 5% waste, and the crusher-run ones also carry the 33% compaction allowance. For any other depth or stone, choose "Square feet" and type 1000.

How much area does a cubic yard of gravel cover?

A loose cubic yard is 27 cu ft. Of clean stone, that covers 162 sq ft at 2 in or 108 sq ft at 3 in. Of crusher run that you compact, it shrinks to about 20.3 cu ft in place, enough for about 61 sq ft at 4 in or 41 sq ft at 6 in. These figures leave out the waste allowance.

How many 0.5 cu ft bags of gravel make a cubic yard?

54. A cubic yard is 27 cu ft and each bag holds half a cubic foot. Pavestone's pea gravel bag weighs 45 lb and QUIKRETE's All-Purpose Gravel 50 lb, so a cubic yard bought in bags is about 1.2 to 1.35 tons to carry.

Is gravel cheaper by the ton or by the yard?

Neither unit is cheaper in itself; convert one quote into the other with the weight per yard. A ton price × the loose weight gives the yard price: $45 a ton of crusher run at 1.43 tons per yard is $64.35 a yard, so a $60-a-yard quote is the better deal for that stone. On the default driveway the calculator shows about $998.50 at $45 a ton and about $931.00 at $60 a cubic yard. Set "Priced" to the unit the supplier quotes.

Why do gravel calculators give different answers for the same driveway?

The geometry matches: 12 × 50 ft at 6 in is 300 cu ft, or 11.11 cu yd. Answers part ways over allowances and over the weight per yard. A calculator with no allowance prints that 11.11 cu yd and, at 1.42 to 1.43 tons per yard, about 15.7 to 15.9 tons; a flat 10% buffer makes it 12.22 cu yd. This one adds 33% compaction for crusher run and 5% waste, for 15.52 cu yd and 22.19 tons. A rolled crusher-run base of that size weighs about 21 tons at Ohio DOT's in-place weight, so the no-allowance tonnage falls about a quarter short. For pea gravel or river rock, the gap comes down to the weight each tool assumes and any waste buffer it adds.

Which number do I give the supplier, the yards or the tons?

Give them the unit they price in. For a per-ton quote, read "Same order in tons"; for a per-yard quote, read "Cubic yards to order", which is already in loose yards, the yard a supplier loads. Ask which weight per loose yard they use for that stone and type it under "Weight, loose" if it differs: the tons update and the yards stay put. Then round up to the increment they deliver in.

What should I do if my gravel order is under one cubic yard?

Weigh bags against a bulk delivery. Below one cubic yard the bag card is not flagged amber, and its count is rounded up once, after both allowances: a 10 × 10 ft pea-gravel path 3 in deep comes to 0.97 cu yd, or 53 bags. Choose "per 0.5 cu ft bag" under "Priced", type the store's bag price, and compare the total with the supplier's price for one cubic yard plus delivery.

Can I use it for a round bed or an odd-shaped area?

Yes. "Circle" takes a diameter, so a round bed 10 ft across goes in as 10 and covers 78.5 sq ft. For an L-shaped patio, a curved bed or a path with bends, work out the square footage with the Area Calculator, then pick "Square feet" here and type the total.

How deep should gravel be for a driveway, patio or path?

The fold "Typical finished depths" lists them: 6 in for a gravel driveway surface, spread 8 in loose (Penn State's figure for gravel roads), or 4½ in from 6 in loose; at least 6 in of compacted base under a paver driveway and at least 4 in under a patio or walk (CMHA, on well-drained soil); 1 in of uncompacted bedding sand under pavers; and 1 to 2 in of stone mulch in garden beds (UNL Extension). Wet or weak soil and cold climates need a thicker base.

Is this gravel calculator free to use?

Yes. It runs in the browser with no account, the results update as you type, and the page address keeps whatever you changed from the defaults, so a link you send reopens the same job.

How accurate is the tonnage?

The cubic yards depend only on your measurements and the two allowances, so they are as good as the tape measure. The tons multiply those yards by a typical loose weight, and stone varies with the quarry, the rock and the moisture: Vulcan Materials' estimator spans 90 to 102 lb per cubic foot for coarse aggregate across rock types, about 1.22 to 1.38 tons per cubic yard. Treat the tons as a planning figure and swap in your supplier's weight when you have it. Yards and tons are not rounded; only the bag count is, upward.

Sources & References

Content verified by the Smart Calculators Team