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Free estimator
Landscape Material Calculator
Measure any bed, path, patio, or driveway and get the cubic yards of material to order. Pick your material below for depth advice and tons where it is sold by weight, or use the general calculator on this page for any bulk material.
Landscape Material Calculator
How would you like to estimate?
Choose the method that works best for your project
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Manual Dimensions
Enter length and width measurements directly
All estimates are approximate and should be verified before purchase.
How Deep to Spread Landscape Material
- Mulch for beds and borders
- 2 to 3 inches
- Gravel for paths and patios
- 2 to 4 inches
- Decorative stone over fabric
- 2 to 3 inches
- Topsoil for a new lawn
- 4 to 6 inches
- Soil for garden beds
- 6 to 12 inches
- Sand under pavers
- 1 inch
- Compost worked into beds
- 2 to 3 inches
What One Yard of Landscape Material Covers
- 1 inch deep
- about 324 sq ft per cubic yard
- 2 inches deep
- about 162 sq ft per cubic yard
- 3 inches deep
- about 108 sq ft per cubic yard
- 4 inches deep
- about 81 sq ft per cubic yard
- 6 inches deep
- about 54 sq ft per cubic yard
Getting the Landscape Material Estimate Right
The formula behind every calculator
Multiply length by width for square feet, multiply by the depth in inches, then divide by 324. The answer is cubic yards. For example, a 20 by 10 foot bed at 3 inches deep is 200 times 3 divided by 324, or about 1.9 cubic yards.
Yards or tons
Mulch, soil, and compost are sold by the cubic yard. Gravel, stone, and sand are often sold by the ton. A cubic yard of gravel or stone weighs about 1.4 tons, topsoil about 1.2, and sand about 1.35, and all of them weigh more when wet. The material calculators linked above show both numbers.
Round up, a little
Materials settle and edges are never perfectly square, so round up to the next half yard for small jobs and add about 10 percent for driveways and anything that gets compacted.
Landscape Material Calculator Questions
How do I calculate cubic yards?
Multiply length by width in feet for square feet, multiply by the depth in inches, and divide by 324. A 10 by 10 foot area at 3 inches deep needs about 0.9 cubic yards.
How many square feet does a cubic yard cover?
About 324 square feet at 1 inch deep, 162 at 2 inches, 108 at 3 inches, and 81 at 4 inches.
How many bags equal a cubic yard?
A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet, so it equals about 13 to 14 bags of 2 cubic feet or 9 bags of 3 cubic feet. Past a yard or two, bulk delivery is usually far cheaper.
Which calculator should I use?
Use the calculator for your material when there is one, since it sets a sensible default depth and shows tons where the material sells by weight. For anything else, the general calculator on this page works for any bulk material.