How is the volume calculated?
For a rectangle in US units, cubic yards = length in feet × width in feet × depth in inches ÷ 324. Cubic feet = cubic yards × 27. If you already know the area, cubic yards = square feet × depth in inches ÷ 324.
In metric units, cubic metres = length in metres × width in metres × depth in centimetres ÷ 100. With a known area, cubic metres = square metres × depth in centimetres ÷ 100. That exact volume is converted with 1 foot = 0.3048 metres and 1 cubic yard = 27 cubic feet. One inch is 2.54 centimetres.
Nothing is rounded along the way. The two-decimal figures are a final display. A positive value that would show as 0.00 is shown as <0.01. An exact zero stays 0.00.
What can I type?
Every active field needs a plain nonnegative number, such as 0, 12, or 12.5. Spaces, commas, plus or minus signs, fractions, and scientific notation are rejected. Extra decimal places are rejected rather than rounded for you.
- Length: 0 to 1,000 feet, or 0 to 304.8 metres, at most 2 decimal places.
- Width: 0 to 200 feet, or 0 to 60.96 metres, at most 2 decimal places.
- Depth: 0 to 24 inches, or 0 to 60.96 centimetres, at most 2 decimal places.
- Area: 0 to 200,000 square feet, or 0 to 18,580.608 square metres. At most 2 decimal places in US units and 3 in metric.
- Custom density: 1,000 to 4,000 pounds per cubic yard, at most 2 decimal places. In metric, type kilograms per cubic metre (about 593.28 to 2,373.10). The value is kept only when the exact conversion sits inside the pound range.
- Allowance, and only when the switch is on: 0 to 25 percent, at most 1 decimal place.
An empty required field is invalid. Fields that are hidden are not used, and switching measurement method clears the ones that no longer apply.
What is a cubic yard compared with a cubic foot?
A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet. Yards are the usual bulk measure at a landscape yard. Cubic feet are the same volume in smaller units, useful when you measured in inches and want to see the arithmetic. Cubic metres are that same volume again, for metric readers.
What is a US short ton compared with a metric tonne?
A US short ton is 2,000 pounds. A metric tonne is 1,000 kilograms. One pound is 0.45359237 kilograms, so one short ton is 0.90718474 metric tonnes. The calculator multiplies the exact cubic yards by the density in pounds per cubic yard, then converts. It does not start from a rounded volume, and it does not treat “ton” as a single ambiguous word.
Both lines are estimates of weight. They are not a count of bags and not an order quantity. The density is the assumption. The conversion between pounds and kilograms is the exact part.
Which densities are built in?
Pea gravel uses 2,600 lb/yd³. Crushed stone uses 2,800 lb/yd³. River rock uses 2,700 lb/yd³. Each figure is one supplier’s published yard weight for a specific product. The kilogram numbers shown beside them are rounded reading aids. The math uses the pound figure, then converts exactly.
Why do published gravel weights disagree?
The same common name covers different rock, different sizes, and different amounts of water. A dry loose pile and a damp delivered load are not the same weight, and a compacted layer does not cover the same ground as loose stone. These pages show the spread for the names used here:
Aggregate Markets washed pea gravel lists a bulk density of 2,570 lb/yd³.
Wild Toad, Stoney Creek 3/8″ pea gravel says approximately 2,700 lbs per cubic yard, and that actual weight may vary with rock type, size, and moisture content.
Outdoor Warehouse Supply pea gravel is priced by the cubic yard at about 1.25 tons. The page also says this pea gravel can settle and compress somewhat, and that rounded stone does not compact tightly the way angular crushed aggregate does.
Birch Tree Bark & Stone, natural stone lists about 2,800 lb per yard for 3/8″ pea stone, about 2,600 lb per yard for 3/4″ crushed limestone, and about 2,700 lb per yard for 1″–2″ washed stone (Michigan river rock).
Hello Gravel, large river rock lists about 2,700 lbs per cubic yard for its 2–4 inch river rock.
Some of those yard cards also print a coverage slogan, such as about 100 square feet at 3 inches. Pure geometry is 108 square feet per cubic yard at 3 inches, because 27 cubic feet ÷ 0.25 feet = 108. This calculator uses the measured geometry only. It does not copy a coverage slogan into a hidden compaction factor.
If your supplier prints a different bulk weight, choose custom density and type that number in the unit shown on the field.
Does this include compaction?
No. The volume is an uncompacted estimate of the space you measured. Rolling, rain, fines, and the shape of the stone change how far a delivered load goes. A supplier can advise compacted coverage. This tool does not recommend a layer thickness and does not add a compaction percentage for you.
What does the allowance do?
It is off unless you turn it on. When it is on, the percent you type is applied once to the measured volume, and the weight is calculated from that adjusted volume. The result states the percent and the volume before the allowance. A 0% allowance adds nothing and still says it was applied once. There is no second, hidden markup.
What do the presets change?
Garden path sets depth to 2 inches (5.08 cm) of pea gravel. Walking path sets 3 inches (7.62 cm) of river rock. Driveway surface sets 4 inches (10.16 cm) of crushed stone. Length, width, and area stay as they were. A driveway preset is not a structural thickness.
What happens when I switch units?
A finished number is kept as a real measurement and shown in the other units. Ten feet stays ten feet when you switch back, even if the metric box shows more decimal places. An unfinished or rejected entry stays with the units where you typed it, and the other side is left blank rather than guessing. Length and width are remembered separately from a direct area. Switching units or the way you measured clears the previous result until you calculate again. Reset clears every draft.
Can I enter zero?
Yes, if every active field is a valid number. The result is 0.00 and the note says the volume is zero because a measurement is zero. If another active field is empty or malformed, you get an error rather than a zero result.
Is the ton figure how many bags to buy?
No. Bags are sold in their own weights, and yards sell by the ton or the cubic yard on their own ticket. Use the estimate to start that conversation.