Gravel Calculator

Measure the area (as one shape or several, if it isn't a simple rectangle), then multiply by the depth you want, in matching units, to get a volume. This calculator does that step directly for rectangles, circles, rings, triangles, trapezoids, or a straight area entry if you already know the square footage. Multiply that volume by the material's density (tons per cubic yard, from the table above) to get the compacted weight, then add the expansion percentage for a compactable material to see how much loose volume that represents in the truck. For a driveway, do it three times (once per layer) rather than treating the whole build as one depth of one material. Short version: area × depth × density, per layer if there's more than one. It's the same math whether the job is a driveway base, a patio bed, a French drain trench or a paver base; only the depth and material change.

About 1.7 tons of crusher run, compacted, at a typical 3-inch depth: 100 sq ft × 0.25 ft = 25 ft³ = 0.93 yd³, at 1.8–1.86 tons per compacted cubic yard. That's specific to crusher run at 3 inches. Change either the material or the depth in the calculator above and the answer moves with it. This is just to show the shape of the math on a round number.

Volume = length × width × depth, in matching units, for a rectangular area; the calculator above runs the equivalent formulas for circles, rings, triangles and trapezoids automatically. Convert that volume to cubic yards (divide cubic feet by 27), then multiply by the material's density in tons per cubic yard to get weight. That's the whole calculation. The hard part in aggregate work is picking the right density and depth for your material, not the arithmetic.

Because gravel is sold loose but measured compacted. The same stone takes up 27–52% more space in the stockpile than it does once rolled into place, depending on the material: Wisconsin DOT measured 34–52% for dense graded base. The FHWA warns that ordinary compaction causes a "30 percent or greater reduction in volume" and calls it the step most often overlooked. Order the volume you measured and you will be roughly a third short.

Around 10 to 12 inches in total for a residential drive carrying cars, built as three layers rather than one: about 6 inches of coarse sub-base, 4 inches of base course, and a 2-inch wearing surface. Depth also depends on stone size: the FHWA rule is that any lift must be at least twice the thickness of its largest stone, so 3-inch sub-base stone needs a 6-inch lift to interlock properly.

A dense graded material such as crusher run, #411 or 3/4-inch DGB. These contain everything from stone down to rock dust, and the fines bind the larger particles into a hard surface when rolled. Avoid rounded stone like pea gravel for a driving surface: it will not bind, so it migrates and rutts, and it needs edging to stay put at all. Open-graded #57 drains well and suits French drains or a concrete base, but it never compacts.

Switch to the driveway build above rather than running the single-area calculator three times by hand. It applies the same area × depth × density math to each of the three layers (sub-base, base and surface), using the depths and materials from the FHWA three-lift build, and totals the tonnage across all three. If you only need one layer (topping up existing base, say), use the single-area mode instead with just that layer's depth and material.

Start with what the surface has to do, not the number stamped on the bag. Dense-graded material with fines (crusher run, DGB) binds together for anything you'll drive or walk on. Open-graded stone like #57 never binds but drains freely, so it belongs under French drains, backfill and concrete beds rather than as a wearing surface. Once you know the category, size follows from load: the FHWA rule is that a compacted lift must be at least twice the thickness of its largest stone, so bigger stone needs a deeper lift to interlock properly.

Roughly 1.3 tons loose and 1.8 to 2.0 tons compacted, depending on the material. Wisconsin DOT records dense graded base at 1.75–2.1 tons per compacted cubic yard; LA County Public Works lists loose stone or gravel at 2,632 pounds per cubic yard. It is a range rather than a fixed figure because density varies with stone size, moisture and how angular the crushing left the particles.

Roughly 13.5 to 15 cubic feet for a compacted dense-graded material, or about 20.8 cubic feet for loose, open-graded stone: the same 1.8-2.0 and 1.3 tons-per-yard figures above, just converted from cubic yards (27 cubic feet each) instead of left as yards.

Roughly 1.5 tonnes per cubic metre loose, or about 2.1 to 2.4 tonnes compacted, converting the 1.3 and 1.8-2.0 tons-per-cubic-yard figures above into metric units. Same sourced densities, different unit, not a separate measurement.

About 13.5 to 15 cubic feet, compacted: the same figure as the cubic-feet answer above. In practical terms, that's roughly what a half-ton pickup carries in a single load (see the hauling answer below), which fills about a third of a full bed.

About 2.5 to 2.8 cubic yards, compacted, using the 1.8-2.0 tons-per-yard figure above. That's below the minimum load most dump trucks run (the FHWA lists working capacities from 5 to 12 cubic yards), so a 5-ton order is a small or partial delivery for most suppliers, not a full truckload.

Only in small amounts. A half-ton pickup can carry about half a cubic yard of gravel, which is roughly a third of a level bed. At around 2,600 pounds per loose cubic yard, a bed filled to the rails weighs well over what the axle, springs and brakes are rated for. Load the front third of the bed and make more trips, or take a delivery once you need more than about three cubic yards.

Calculate above and read it straight off the results: the panel converts your total into a bag count using a standard half-cubic-foot bag, alongside the equivalent pickup-truck and dump-truck loads, so there's no separate conversion to do by hand. Past about three cubic yards, that bag count gets large enough that bulk delivery is cheaper regardless (see the next answer).

About 27 to 30 half-cubic-foot bags for a compacted dense-graded material, or roughly 41 to 42 bags for loose, open-graded stone, dividing the cubic-feet-per-ton figures above by the 0.5 cubic foot bag size this calculator assumes. Bag sizes vary by retailer, so check the bag's own listed volume if it isn't a standard half-cubic-foot bag.

Bulk, past about three cubic yards. Three cubic yards is more than 160 half-cubic-foot bags, which costs considerably more per yard and takes several pickup loads to move. Below that threshold bagged stone is practical, particularly if you have no access for a truck or you are working in stages. The FHWA lists working dump truck capacities from 5 to 12 cubic yards, and a 10-yard tandem load is the usual residential delivery.

Depends on what the surface has to do. Crusher run, DGB and the other dense-graded materials on this page are angular and full of fines, so they lock together into a bound surface when rolled: that's what a driveway or parking area needs. Pea gravel is rounded and screened to a narrow size band, so it never binds; it stays loose underfoot, which is exactly why it suits a decorative path or planting bed but why it migrates and needs edging if you try to drive on it. Pea gravel is included as its own option in the material list above, so you can size a decorative job with the same calculator; just don't expect it to hold a driveway together.

The same calculator, not a separate one: select pea gravel from the material list above rather than crusher run or DGB. It's included as one of the eight sourced materials, and because it's open-graded, the calculator uses LA County's loose-rock figure for it directly: there's no compacted-to-loose expansion to add on top, since pea gravel is never rolled.

A size designation, not a type of rock: #57 is an AASHTO M43 classification for stone screened to roughly 3/4 to 1 inch with the fines removed. Because it's open-graded, it drains rather than compacting, which is why it turns up under French drains, behind retaining walls and as a bed under concrete rather than as a driveway's wearing surface. It's listed in the material table above sourced from LA County DPW's loose-rock figures, since open-graded stone never compacts and the loose volume is what you place.

Roughly 0.48 to 0.57 cubic yards for a dense-graded material once it's compacted, or about 0.76 to 0.78 cubic yards for loose, open-graded stone like #57. It's the reciprocal of the tons-per-yard figures above, and it carries the same caveat: the exact figure depends on the material, so treat it as a band rather than a fixed conversion.

For crusher run at 2 inches deep, about 87-90 square feet per ton; at 3 inches, 58-60 square feet; at 4 inches, roughly 44-45 square feet. Those figures come straight from the density data in the reference table above: divide the volume a ton represents by your depth in feet. It scales linearly, so 2 tons covers twice the area at the same depth. Coverage drops for denser material and rises for lighter, more open-graded stone, so use the calculator with your own depth rather than treating this as a fixed rate.

For crusher run compacted to a typical depth, figure roughly 2.1 to 2.4 tonnes per cubic metre, converting the 1.8-2.0 tons-per-compacted-cubic-yard figure above into metric. At 50mm deep, that works out to about 105-120 kg per square metre; at 100mm, roughly double that. These are the same sourced densities as the rest of the page, just in metric units; use the calculator above directly in m² or m³ rather than converting by hand.

Yes. Every measurement field accepts metric or imperial units and converts automatically, and the results show weight in kilograms and metric tonnes alongside tons, and volume in cubic metres and litres alongside cubic yards. The densities behind the numbers are the same sourced figures either way; only the displayed units change.

Choose "Use your own density" from the material list and enter the tons-per-cubic-yard figure from your supplier's spec sheet or delivery ticket. The calculator runs the same math on your own number, useful for a regional stone type, a specific quarry's product, or anything outside the eight sourced materials above.

This calculator won't give you a price, deliberately. Cost swings by material, region, quarry distance and order size in a way we can't state as one reliable figure the way we can state a compaction rate: there's no FHWA- or DOT-grade source for retail pricing the way there is for density. The one number worth carrying from this page into that conversation: ask your supplier for the price at the top of the tonnage range above, since one delivery that covers the job beats a cheaper quote that comes up short.

Per ton, bulk delivery beats bags once you're past about three cubic yards: that's the bags-vs-bulk threshold above. Below it, self-hauling in a pickup avoids the delivery fee entirely, but a half-ton truck only carries about half a cubic yard per trip, so it stops being worth the fuel and time past a couple of loads. There's no single cheapest option independent of quantity: bags for a very small job, your own truck for a middling one if you have the time, bulk delivery for anything past a few cubic yards.