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Gravel calculator: cubic yards to tons

Work out how much gravel, crushed stone, road base, sand or topsoil to order. Enter the area and the compacted depth, choose the material, and get the cubic yards, the tons the quarry will weigh out, the truckloads and the cost.

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Tool 10

Gravel, stone & fill: cubic yards to tons

Base courses, driveways, pipe bedding, topsoil: enter the area and the depth, choose the material, and get the cubic yards, the tons to order after compaction, the truckloads and the cost.

The area

Result

Compacted volume = length × width × depth ÷ 12 ÷ 27 cubic yards. Loose volume to order = compacted × (1 + compaction %). Tons = loose cubic yards × density. Densities are typical figures for dry material; wet or washed stone weighs more — your quarry’s scale ticket is the real number.

How to use it

  1. Enter the length and width in feet.
  2. Enter the compacted depth in inches.
  3. Choose the material — it sets a typical density — and a compaction allowance.
  4. Enter the price per ton and the tons your trucks carry, and read the order.

A worked example

A 60 × 12 ft driveway base at 6 in compacted is 13.3 yd³ in place. With 15% for compaction you need 15.3 yd³ loose; at about 1.4 tons per yard of crushed stone that is 21.5 tons — two 14-ton truckloads, about $687 at $32 a ton.
Quantities are half the job. The trade guide covers what to track once the material is ordered — unit costs, waste against the estimate, and the software that shows them.
Read: Software for excavation contractors →

Questions

How many tons are in a cubic yard of gravel?

About 1.4 tons for dry gravel or crushed stone, roughly 2,800 lb. Road base and crusher run run closer to 1.5 tons; topsoil about 1.1. Wet material weighs more, so the quarry’s scale ticket is the number that counts.

How do you calculate gravel for a driveway?

Length × width in feet × depth in inches ÷ 12 gives cubic feet; divide by 27 for cubic yards, add 10–20% for compaction, then multiply by the material’s density to get tons.

How much does gravel compact?

Crushed stone and road base typically compact 10–20% from loose to in place, depending on the material and how it is rolled. That is why you order more yards loose than the hole measures.

How many tons does a dump truck carry?

A tandem dump truck usually carries 12–15 tons and a tri-axle 16–20, within local weight limits. Enter your hauler’s figure in the calculator.

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Want this on your live data, every morning?

These tools are manual. The dashboard does the same arithmetic across every job, every company and every week — plus the money-at-risk view, the audit findings and the overrun radar. Join the private beta and we will connect it to the systems you already run.