Gravel Calculator

Quarries weigh trucks, so bulk stone prices by the ton; volume is what your project actually needs, so estimates start in cubic yards. The bridge is density — roughly 1.4 tons per cubic yard for common crushed stone, ~1.5 for limestone, varying with moisture and gradation. Give your supplier the yardage and material; their conversion for their stone beats any calculator's constant.

Walkways and decorative cover: 2–3 inches. Patios and shed pads: 4 inches, compacted. Driveways done properly are layered: a 4-inch base of large crushed stone (#2/#3) compacted, then 2–3 inches of smaller angular surface stone (like #57 or crusher run) — 6+ inches total for new construction. A single thin layer on dirt is the false economy that becomes mud and ruts in a season.

Shape decides it. Crushed stone is angular — pieces lock together under compaction and bear vehicle loads, making it the only right answer for driveways and pads. Pea gravel is rounded and stays loose — comfortable underfoot and good-looking on paths and play areas, but it migrates under tires and never firms up. If a car will drive on it, angular; if feet will walk on it, either.

5–10% over the calculation: gravel compacts and settles into soil, spreading is never perfectly even, and delivery minimums make a small second order disproportionately expensive. Leftover crushed stone is the rare surplus that's genuinely useful — pothole fills, fence post bases, drainage touch-ups — so rounding up has little downside.