Material calculators that use real numbers
Work out how much mulch, gravel, sod, soil or stone your project needs. Every calculator uses the actual density of the material you are buying, adds the compaction and waste allowances the job calls for, and tells you whether bags or a bulk delivery costs less.
Start with your material
Landscape materials
Mulch calculator
Cubic yards, bag counts and weight for hardwood, cedar, pine bark and rubber mulch, plus a bag versus bulk break even.
PopularGravel calculator
Yards and tons for driveways, paths and base layers, with the compaction allowance applied where it belongs.
River rock calculator
Decorative stone by yard and ton, with coverage adjusted for the stone size band you are buying.
Topsoil calculator
Soil for beds, lawns and raised boxes, including how much it settles in the first season.
Sand calculator
Bedding, mason, play and fill sand by the yard, ton and bag.
Lawn and hardscape
Sod calculator
Square footage, piece counts and pallets, with the cutting allowance sod farms actually recommend.
Grass seed calculator
Pounds of seed by species for a new lawn or an overseed. Rates vary sixteenfold between grasses.
Paver calculator
Paver counts by size and pattern, plus base stone, bedding sand and polymeric joint sand.
Retaining wall calculator
Blocks and caps plus the base and drainage stone most block calculators leave out entirely.
Fence calculator
Posts, rails, pickets and concrete per hole, worked out from real hole volume.
Build and surface
Cubic yard calculator
Convert any area and depth into yards, cubic feet and tons using the real density of your material.
Asphalt calculator
Tons of hot mix for a driveway or lot, with the density of the specific mix you are quoting.
Drywall calculator
Sheets, screws, joint compound and tape for any room, with openings subtracted.
What makes these different
Most material calculators online treat every product as if it weighs the same and every job wastes the same amount. That is where the errors come from, and the errors cost real money at the supply yard.
Density by subtype
A cubic yard of pine bark weighs about 500 pounds. The same volume of rubber mulch weighs 1,250. Order by the ton using a generic figure and you are out by more than double.
Compaction where it applies
Crusher run loses about 20 percent of its loose volume when compacted. Pea gravel loses nothing. We add the allowance only to the materials that actually need it.
Waste that matches the job
Paver waste comes from the laying pattern, not the paver. Running bond wastes 5 percent, a 45 degree herringbone wastes 15. A flat 10 percent is wrong both ways.
Bag versus bulk break even
Bulk is always cheaper per yard. The real question is whether your order is big enough to cover the delivery fee. We give you the exact crossover point in yards.
Irregular areas
Almost no real bed is a rectangle. Add as many rectangles, circles, rings and triangles as your space needs and the calculator totals them.
What is underneath
A retaining wall needs base stone and drainage gravel. A patio needs base and bedding sand. We count those too, because they are usually the bigger order.
A note on accuracy
Bulk material is a natural product. The weight of a cubic yard moves with moisture content, screen size and how long the pile has been sitting in the weather. A yard of topsoil after a week of rain can weigh 30 percent more than the same yard in August.
So every figure here is a planning estimate built on the middle of a realistic range, and we show you that range rather than pretending a single number is exact. Round up when you order, because a second delivery costs more than the extra half yard, and confirm the final quantity with your supplier before you pay for it.