Gravel Calculator for Driveways, Paths and Drains

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Gravel Calculator

Work out how much gravel, crushed stone or sand you need in cubic yards and tons for a driveway, path, drain, patio base or fish tank. Pick the material and the page uses its own weight, including the difference between what the truck delivers and what ends up compacted in the hole, so the number you order matches the job. It also converts tons to cubic yards and back for any of the ten materials.

Tons and cubic yards, for the material above

Your order in every unittap a card to copy its value

The same area at other depths

Tons per cubic yard, material by material

Depths around yourseach row is a link

Volumes are exact geometry: area times depth, with a US ton of 2,000 pounds and a cubic yard of 27 cubic feet. Weights depend on the density of the material, and the figures built in here are typical values for clean, dry material of each description, with a separate loose figure for what the truck delivers and a compacted figure for what ends up in the ground. The same named product from two quarries can differ by five to ten percent, and wet stone weighs more than dry, so for any order over a few tons ask the supplier for the tons per cubic yard on their scale and type it in. The CSV, image and printed report contain the values you entered, nothing preloaded.

How to use this tool

Pick the shape of the area, type the length and width, or the diameter for a circle, and choose the unit you measured in. Then give the depth and the material. The answer appears as you type, in tons and cubic yards at the top and in every other unit further down, including 50 pound bags and dump truck loads.

The depth box asks one question that matters more than it looks: is the depth you typed the finished, compacted depth, or the depth of loose stone as you spread it? For a driveway base you want the first, because crusher run and other materials with fines pack down by a fifth or more, and the page works out how much loose stone it takes to end up with that finished layer. For pea gravel on a path it makes almost no difference, because clean stone barely compacts.

The two density boxes fill in for whichever material you pick. If your supplier quotes a different tons per cubic yard, and they often will, type their figure over the top. The green panel below the inputs converts tons to cubic yards and back for the same material, which is useful when a quote arrives in one unit and the plan is in the other.

What the calculation is doing

Volume is plain geometry: area times depth. A 40 by 12 foot driveway is 480 square feet, and 4 inches is a third of a foot, so the finished base is 160 cubic feet, or 5.93 cubic yards. That part is exact.

Weight comes from density, and here is where it gets interesting. Compacted crusher run weighs about 135 pounds per cubic foot, so that 160 cubic foot base weighs 21,600 pounds, 10.8 tons. But it arrives loose at about 110 pounds per cubic foot, so the same weight fills 196 cubic feet on the truck, 7.27 cubic yards. Add 10 percent for uneven ground and spillage and the order is 11.88 tons, or 8 cubic yards.

Diagram of a 40 by 12 foot driveway with a 4 inch compacted crusher run base of 160 cubic feet next to the 196 cubic foot loose pile it took to make it, the arithmetic from area to an order of 11.88 tons and 8 cubic yards, a table of square feet covered by one ton at depths from 1 to 6 inches, and typical truck capacities
The finished base holds less volume than the truck delivered, because materials with fines pack down. The weight is what stays the same.

This is why a calculator that only multiplies area by depth runs short on driveway jobs. The weight is the constant: it goes on the truck, onto the ground and under the compactor unchanged. The volume shrinks along the way.

Where these densities come from, and how far to trust them

The densities built into the material list are typical values for dry, clean material of each description. Real numbers move around them. The same nominal product from two quarries can differ by five to ten percent depending on the parent rock, and a limestone behaves differently from a granite. Wet stone is heavier than dry by whatever water it is carrying, which after rain can add another two or three percent on the ticket.

What this means in practice: the volume figures on this page are as exact as your tape measure, and the tonnage carries the uncertainty of the density you fed it. On a ten ton order a five percent density error is half a ton, which is real money and a real shortfall. So do the obvious thing and ask the supplier for the tons per cubic yard of the exact product on their scale, then type it into the density box.

Tons and cubic yards, material by material

MaterialTons per cu yd, looseCompactedCu yd per tonSq ft per ton at 2 in
Crusher run, crush and run1.491.820.673109
Class 5 road base1.491.820.673109
Number 57 crushed stone1.351.420.741120
Three quarter inch clean stone1.351.420.741120
Pea gravel1.31.30.772125
River rock1.321.320.756122
Limestone screenings1.421.760.705114
Decomposed granite1.421.760.705114
Concrete sand1.351.490.741120
Aquarium gravel1.351.350.741120

Typical values for clean, dry material. Every row is a link that opens the tons and yards converter for that material.

How deep should gravel be

The depth matters more than any other input, because the weight rises in a straight line with it. These are the depths most guidance settles on; your soil, climate and the traffic the surface will carry all move them.

JobUsual materialDepth, inchesNotes
Gravel driveway basecrusher run or class 54 to 6compacted, in two lifts over 4 inches
Driveway toppingnumber 57 or 3/4 inch clean2 to 3over a compacted base
Garden pathpea gravel or decomposed granite2 to 3over landscape fabric
Patio or paver basecrusher run, then sand4 to 6plus about an inch of bedding sand
French drain3/4 inch clean stone12 to 18around a perforated pipe
Fish tankaquarium gravel2 to 3deeper at the back for a slope

Common practice rather than a specification. Local frost depth, soil and traffic change the right answer.

A worked check you can repeat on paper

Take a 10 by 10 foot patch of pea gravel, 2 inches deep, spread loose. The area is 100 square feet, and 2 inches is a sixth of a foot, so the volume is 16.67 cubic feet. Divide by 27 for cubic yards: 0.617. Pea gravel weighs about 96 pounds per cubic foot, so the weight is 1,600 pounds, which is 0.8 tons, or 32 bags of 50 pounds.

That is also a handy rule to remember: a ton of loose stone covers about 120 to 125 square feet at 2 inches. Double the depth and you halve the coverage.

Mistakes that catch people out

Ordering the finished volume of a compacted base. Crusher run, class 5, screenings and decomposed granite all pack down by a fifth or so. Order the weight, or the loose volume the page gives, not the size of the hole.

Measuring depth in the wrong place. Gravel spreads thin at the edges and thick in the dips. Measure the depth you want in the middle and let the extra allowance absorb the rest.

Compacting a thick layer in one go. A plate compactor reaches about 4 inches. A 6 inch base spread in one lift is packed at the top and loose underneath. Spread and compact in two lifts.

Comparing a per ton price with a per yard price. They are not the same unit. Enter one and the page shows the cost in the other, so the two quotes can be compared.

Skipping the fabric under a path. Without a landscape fabric or a compacted base, pea gravel slowly works down into the soil and a 2 inch path becomes a 1 inch path in a couple of seasons.

Popular calculations

Each opens the calculator on that size, depth and material with its own address, and every value can be changed once it is open.

Driveways, crusher run compacted

10 x 20 ft driveway, 4 in10 x 40 ft driveway, 4 in10 x 50 ft driveway, 4 in10 x 100 ft driveway, 4 in12 x 20 ft driveway, 4 in12 x 24 ft driveway, 4 in12 x 30 ft driveway, 4 in12 x 40 ft driveway, 4 in12 x 50 ft driveway, 4 in12 x 60 ft driveway, 4 in12 x 100 ft driveway, 4 in16 x 40 ft driveway, 4 in20 x 20 ft driveway, 4 in20 x 40 ft driveway, 4 in20 x 50 ft driveway, 4 in24 x 24 ft driveway, 4 in24 x 40 ft driveway, 4 in12 x 40 ft driveway, 6 in12 x 50 ft driveway, 6 in20 x 40 ft driveway, 6 in12 x 100 ft driveway, 6 in

Paths and patios, pea gravel

3 x 10 ft of pea gravel, 2 in3 x 20 ft of pea gravel, 2 in3 x 30 ft of pea gravel, 2 in4 x 20 ft of pea gravel, 2 in4 x 40 ft of pea gravel, 2 in10 x 10 ft of pea gravel, 2 in10 x 12 ft of pea gravel, 2 in12 x 12 ft of pea gravel, 2 in15 x 15 ft of pea gravel, 2 in20 x 20 ft of pea gravel, 2 in10 x 10 ft of pea gravel, 3 in12 x 12 ft of pea gravel, 3 in20 x 20 ft of pea gravel, 3 in

By square feet, number 57 stone

100 sq ft at 2 in200 sq ft at 2 in300 sq ft at 2 in500 sq ft at 2 in1,000 sq ft at 2 in100 sq ft at 3 in200 sq ft at 3 in500 sq ft at 3 in100 sq ft at 4 in500 sq ft at 4 in

French drains

10 ft French drain, 12 in20 ft French drain, 12 in30 ft French drain, 12 in50 ft French drain, 12 in75 ft French drain, 12 in100 ft French drain, 12 in50 ft French drain, 18 x 18 in100 ft French drain, 18 x 18 in

Tons and yards of gravel

1 ton of gravel in yards2 tons of gravel in yards3 tons of gravel in yards4 tons of gravel in yards5 tons of gravel in yards6 tons of gravel in yards8 tons of gravel in yards10 tons of gravel in yards12 tons of gravel in yards15 tons of gravel in yards20 tons of gravel in yards1 yard of gravel in tons2 yards of gravel in tons3 yards of gravel in tons4 yards of gravel in tons5 yards of gravel in tons10 yards of gravel in tons

Tons and yards, by material

1 ton of crusher run in yards1 ton of class 5 road base in yards1 ton of 3/4 inch clean stone in yards1 ton of pea gravel in yards1 ton of river rock in yards1 ton of limestone screenings in yards1 ton of decomposed granite in yards1 ton of concrete sand in yards1 ton of aquarium gravel in yards1 yard of crusher run in tons1 yard of class 5 road base in tons1 yard of 3/4 inch clean stone in tons1 yard of pea gravel in tons1 yard of river rock in tons1 yard of limestone screenings in tons1 yard of decomposed granite in tons1 yard of concrete sand in tons1 yard of aquarium gravel in tons

Fish tanks

5 gallon tank10 gallon tank20 gallon tank29 gallon tank40 gallon tank55 gallon tank75 gallon tank125 gallon tank10 gallon tank, 3 in20 gallon tank, 3 in55 gallon tank, 3 in

Circles, fire pits and tree rings

4 ft circle of pea gravel, 3 in6 ft circle of pea gravel, 3 in8 ft circle of pea gravel, 3 in10 ft circle of pea gravel, 3 in12 ft circle of pea gravel, 3 in6 ft circle of river rock10 ft circle of river rock

Metric

5 x 3 m at 10 cm, crusher run10 x 3 m at 15 cm, crusher run6 x 3 m at 10 cm, crusher run4 x 4 m at 5 cm, pea gravel3 x 3 m at 5 cm, pea gravel10 x 1 m at 30 cm, 3/4 inch clean stone

How this was checked

The engine was written and tested in Node before it went near the page, against hand calculations for every shape and unit: a 40 by 12 foot compacted driveway, a 100 square foot pea gravel path, a 10 foot circle of river rock, and a 5 by 3 metre metric area, each matching to four decimal places. The compaction path was checked separately by confirming that the weight is set by the compacted density and the delivered volume by the loose one, which is what makes the driveway example come out at exactly 8 cubic yards with a 10 percent allowance.

The fish tank sizes use the standard footprints for each capacity, and the tons and yards converter was round tripped for every material. Every address in the lists above was then opened and checked for a distinct title, the right answer, charts that render, and clean CSV, image and print output containing only that calculation, at desktop, tablet and phone widths.

Common questions

How much gravel do I need for a driveway?

For a typical single car driveway of 12 by 40 feet with a 4 inch compacted base of crusher run, about 11.9 tons, or 8 cubic yards delivered, including 10 percent extra. Most gravel driveways want 4 to 6 inches of compacted base, often with a couple of inches of clean stone on top. Put your own length, width and depth into the calculator; the answer moves in a straight line with each of them.

How many cubic yards of gravel are in a ton?

Between about two thirds and three quarters of a cubic yard for most gravel. A ton of number 57 crushed stone is about 0.741 cubic yards, pea gravel about 0.772, and crusher run about 0.673, all measured loose. The exact figure depends on the stone, so ask the supplier for their tons per cubic yard.

How much does a cubic yard of gravel weigh?

Roughly 1.3 to 1.5 tons loose, which is 2,600 to 3,000 pounds. Pea gravel is at the light end, about 1.3 tons, and crusher run at the heavy end, about 1.49. Compacted, materials with fines get heavier still, up to about 1.8 tons per cubic yard for crusher run, because the same weight is packed into less space.

How much area does a ton of gravel cover?

About 120 to 125 square feet at 2 inches deep for loose stone such as pea gravel or number 57, about 80 square feet at 3 inches, and about 60 at 4 inches. Compacted crusher run covers less, about 44 square feet at 4 inches finished, because it packs down.

How much gravel do I need for a fish tank?

About 42 pounds for a standard 20 gallon long tank at 2 inches deep, on its 30 by 12 inch footprint. The old rule of a pound per gallon for each inch of depth is close for tanks of that shape but overestimates for tall ones, so it is better to work from the footprint, which the calculator does for every common tank size.

Should I order gravel by the ton or by the cubic yard?

Whichever the supplier prices in, but compare like with like. A yard that sells by the cubic yard is selling loose volume; one that sells by the ton is selling weight, and the conversion between them depends on the stone. The calculator gives both, and if you enter either price it shows the cost in the other, so two quotes can be compared on the same footing.

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