Material Weight Calculator

How to work it out yourself

1. 1.Work out the volume first, in cubic yards. The gravel and mulch calculators do that from length, width and depth.
2. 2.Pick the material. Mulch is about a fifth the weight of gravel for the same volume, so a yard is not a yard when the invoice is by the ton.
3. 3.Add a moisture allowance if the stockpile has been rained on. It changes what you pay and nothing about what you get.
4. 4.Check the answer against the truck. A tandem carries roughly 15 tons and a half-ton pickup carries half a ton, whatever fits in the bed.

The formula

1. Dry weight of a cubic yard
2. Weight as delivereddry_lb_per_yd * (1 + moisture / 100)
3. Volume in cubic yardsamount * (1 * from_cuyd + 0.037037037 * from_cuft + 1.307950619 * from_cum)
4. Total weightcubic_yards * lb_per_yd
5. In US tonspounds / 2000
6. In metric tonnespounds / 2204.62262185
7. Weightpounds / to_lb
8. Loads on a 15-ton tandemceil(tons / 15)
9. Half-ton pickup loads, by weightceil(tons / 0.5)

Source: US Federal Highway Administration — aggregate properties and gradation, AASHTO M 147 — aggregate and soil-aggregate materials

Questions people actually ask

How much does a cubic yard of gravel weigh?

Around 2,800 lb dry, so about 1.4 tons. Wet it runs to 3,000 lb or more. This is loose bulk weight as delivered, not the density of the rock itself, which is roughly twice as much before it was crushed and the air got in.

Why is my delivery quoted in tons when I measured in yards?

Because a lorry is limited by weight and a hole is measured by volume. The two are related only through the density of the material, which is what this page supplies. Order by the ton without converting and you will be out by whatever the material happens to weigh.

Does rain really change the weight?

Yes, by five to fifteen per cent on aggregate and much more on topsoil, which holds water like a sponge. It adds nothing useful and you are billed for it, which is why yards from a covered stockpile are worth asking about.

Can my pickup carry a yard?

A yard of mulch weighs about 600 lb and a half-ton pickup will take it. A yard of gravel is 2,800 lb, which is nearly three times the rated payload of that same truck. The bed will hold the volume; the springs and the brakes are the limit.

Related

• Gravel & Aggregate CalculatorCubic yards and tons of gravel, sand, limestone or topsoil for an area at a given depth.
• Cubic Yard CalculatorCubic yards for any footprint and depth, with a waste allowance and the weight of the debris if you are hauling it away.
• Mulch CalculatorCubic yards and bags of mulch for a bed, with a waste allowance and a warning when the depth would smother the roots.
• Concrete CalculatorCubic yards of concrete for a slab, round pad, footing, column, wall or stairs, with bag counts and cost.
• Square Footage CalculatorSquare footage of a rectangular, round or triangular area from feet-and-inches measurements, with a waste factor.
• Paint CalculatorGallons of paint for a room, after subtracting doors and windows and allowing for the number of coats.