Stone Calculator
Work out how much stone a job really takes with this stone calculator. Pick the shape, type the size and the depth, pick your stone type, and read the full order in one result. The tool shows cubic yards to order, tons by stone type, the count of 0.5 cubic foot bags, and the cost of the ton route and the bag route side by side. It suits garden beds, paths, driveway surfaces and drainage runs.
What the result numbers mean
Your volume with the allowance added, when you set one. Yards are the unit bulk yards sell by, and the number you give the yard.
Yards turned into weight by your stone type. Many yards sell by the ton, so this line lets you order in their unit.
The same order in 0.5 cubic foot bags. The count shows fast when bags stop making sense for a job.
The bare math of the shape at your depth, before any extra. The gap to the order line is your settling margin.
Add a price per ton and the tool prices the weight route on your real job size.
Add a price per bag and the tool prices the bag route. Compare both lines before you commit.
How much stone do I need?
Multiply the length by the width by the depth in feet, then divide by 27. A garden bed 10 by 5 feet at 3 inches deep holds 12.5 cubic feet, so 0.46 cubic yards. In river rock at 1.35 tons per yard, that is 0.63 tons, or 25 bags of 0.5 cubic feet.
How the math works
Choose a rectangle for beds, paths and bases. Choose a circle for a round bed or a ring around a tree.
Type the length and the width in feet. Measure a bent bed in sections and run each section on its own.
Depth drives the whole order. A bed wants 3 inches. A path top up needs 2. A driveway surface needs 3 to 4.
The tool multiplies length by width by depth for cubic feet, then divides by 27. Yards are the unit bulk yards sell by.
Cubic feet / 27Each stone type packs at its own weight. Crushed stone runs 1.4 tons per yard. Lava rock runs only 0.6. The type choice sets the weight.
Yards x Tons per yardThe tool counts 0.5 cubic foot bags from the order volume. Add a price per ton or per bag and both routes price out on the same job.
A garden bed, 10 by 5 feet, with river rock at 3 inches deep
Here is the garden bed from the quick answer, on a breakdown slip, the way the tool builds it.
Read the slip top to bottom. The volume is the bare bed at depth. The order total restates it in yards, the unit the yard sells. The ton and bag lines let a weight yard and a bag store fill the same order. The stone calculator above runs your own bed the same way.
Shapes and stone types, explained
This stone calculator weighs each type at its own density, because a yard of one type never weighs the same as a yard of another. Tap a card to load that shape or type in the tool.
Beds, paths, patios and bases. Measure the length and the width in feet. A bent bed splits into two rectangles, one run at a time.
Key measure: length and width in feetTap to load in the calculatorRound beds, tree rings and fire pit pads. Measure straight across the middle. That line is the diameter the formula needs.
Key measure: diameter across the middleTap to load in the calculatorThe base and drainage workhorse, with numbered grades like #57 for driveways and drains. Sharp edges lock under load. It packs the heaviest here at 1.4 tons per yard.
Key measure: 1.4 tons per yardTap to load in the calculatorSmooth, rounded stone for beds and borders. It runs 1.35 tons per yard and stays put in rain better than small round gravel.
Key measure: 1.35 tons per yardTap to load in the calculatorSmall round stones for paths and play areas. It runs 1.3 tons per yard. The gravel page owns pea gravel depth work in full, and both pages use this same rate.
Key measure: 1.3 tons per yardTap to load in the calculatorThe light stone. Air pockets in the rock drop its weight to 0.6 tons per yard, so a ton of it covers far more bed than a ton of any other type here.
Key measure: 0.6 tons per yardTap to load in the calculatorStone dust and crusher fines
Not all stone comes in chunks. The fine grades do quiet work under and between the big pieces.
Stone dust
Stone dust is the powdery fine left from crushing rock. It packs hard and flat, so crews bed pavers on it and surface paths with it. Plan it at the crushed stone rate, 1.4 tons per cubic yard. Lay it in thin lifts, and wet and pack each lift before the next one lands.
Crusher run
Crusher run mixes stone dust with small crushed pieces. It compacts into a firm base for driveways and sheds. Order it at the same crushed stone rate, and at the base layer depths in the table below.
Estimating truckloads
How many truckloads is that pile? A tandem dump truck hauls about 13 to 16 tons of stone per load. The legal road weight sets the limit, not the size of the bed.
Divide your tons by 13 and round up for a safe load count. Twenty six tons lands as two loads. Ask the yard about the delivery fee per load before you split an order across days.
Stone numbers, in one place
| Stone type | Tons per cubic yard | Pounds per cubic yard |
|---|---|---|
| Crushed stone | 1.40 | 2,800 |
| River rock | 1.35 | 2,700 |
| Pea gravel | 1.30 | 2,600 |
| Lava rock | 0.60 | 1,200 |
Common mistakes
River rock packs at 1.35 tons per yard, not the gravel rate. Use the gravel number for a rock order and the load lands off by real weight.
A bed guessed at 1 inch that needs 3 shows the soil through in weeks. Match the depth to the job before the order, not after.
A job past 1 yard in 0.5 cubic foot bags means 54 bags and more. Read the count here first, then pick bags or bulk with open eyes.
Stone gains weight when it sits wet. A by the ton load after rain weighs more per yard than the dry rate in the table.
How to buy stone for your job
The result moment is the buying moment. Use the yards and tons from this stone calculator when you call the yard or stand at the shelf. Two routes cover almost every job.
Option A: The bag route
- One standard bag holds 0.5 cubic feet. The tool counts them for you.
- Bags ride in any car and place clean in tight yards.
- The cost per yard climbs fast in bags. Check the count before you commit.
- Landscape fabric under the bed is the supply the job needs next. It keeps stone and soil apart.
Option B: Bulk by the ton or yard
- Ask if the yard sells by the ton or by the yard, then order in that unit.
- Decorative stone delivery often beats many pickup trips. Ask for the full price with the fee in.
- Pick the dump spot before the truck rolls. Stone moves hard after it lands.
- Confirm the type rate with the yard on a big order. Quarry stone can run denser than the planning rate.
For gravel types and driveway gravel, the gravel calculator gives yards, tons and bags in the same style. For the soil in the beds beside the stone, the topsoil calculator and the mulch calculator return the same kind of result.
Questions, answered
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